For engagement and empowerment of youths in Odisha, the Government has recently announced the Nua O initiative. Envisioned as a series of sports competitions and cultural activities, the initiative will be launched across the State. The sports competitions will feature six disciplines, including kho-kho, cricket, hockey, football, kabaddi and volleyball with registration targeting the ages of 13-35.
Indicating the massive reach of the initiative, currently over 47,000 teams have registered to participate in the sports tournament amongst the men’s and women’s categories. From the pool of registrations, 19,701 teams have registered for cricket, while around 8,385 teams have signed up for football. Furthermore, 7,567 teams registered in volleyball along with 6,202 teams in kabaddi, while kho-kho and hockey have seen 4,209 and 1,683 team registrations respectively. Notably, over 5,000 of the team registrations are in the women’s category.
The programme will be conducted on four tiers, namely, the block level/UB level, institutional level, district level and State level. At its core the block/UB level will feature sports competitions and cultural competitions, while the institutional level will also have provisions for social work and activities. At the district and State level, the sports and cultural competitions will feature youth festivals as well that will include digital engagement and social media contests with the themes revolving around social awareness. Free sports kits and cash awards have been allotted for the programme as well.
The collaborative effort has brought together key stakeholders to ensure the seamless execution of the youth empowerment initiative under the vision of the Nua O Campaign and Nabin Odisha. Departments including Higher Education, School and Mass Education, Skill Development and Technical Education, ST and SC Development, Health and Family Welfare, Agriculture and Farmer’s Empowerment, along with the Department of Sports and Youth Services (DSYS), District Administrations, and State Sports Association, are collectively working towards unlocking the full potential of the programme.