Apoorva

28 States Awakening of the Golden Bird

INTRODUCTION

"With gratitude to all who toiled for but never got to see Their dreams of a developed India fulfilled,

With hope that this generation has the courage To make that dream a reality."

- Atanu Dey

An unparalleled national event held for the first time anywhere in the nation, it encourages the youth of India to raise their voices and be the change. The event provides a unique platform where young ignited minds, representing their home state, armed with knowledge and experience of their state, assemble to exchange views on and reason about some given major national issues.

A huge number of children in our country go missing every year. Many families sleep hungry every night. Our country is plagued by various pressing issues like poverty, overpopulation, cast discrimination, unemployment, corruption, energy crisis to name a few. “28 States” has a vision to expose youth to these national problems and brainstorm innovative solutions that would reform and revolutionize the present day scenario in India.

The event aims to gather diverse perspectives from participants around the country regarding the problems being faced in their states and finally assemble in IIT Kanpur to present their respective state problem(s) along with the feasible solutions. The presentation would then be followed by cross-questions from the representatives of other states and audience.

Apart from having a strong knowledge of problems persistent in their home-state, the participants should also take a holistic view of the problem from the point of view of other states.

The discussion would be moderated in front of eminent personalities including administrative officers, editors and young leaders and we aim to come upon solutions that could be implemented by the government and have a strong and lasting impact on the society.

It’s your chance to create an impact. It’s your chance to be the change.

It’s your chance to envision a better India!

EVENT STRUCTURE

Round 1

• Online submission of the Event Questionnaire

• To judge the overall awareness regarding the problems present in India.

• Deadline: December 25, 2012

• Results: January 1, 2013

Round 2

• Submission of two essays

• Submit 2 essays (1 essay between 200-500 words, another essay between 500-1000 words) one each from two given categories.

• Deadline: January 14, 2013

• Results: February 4, 2013

Round 3

• Telephonic Interview

• A basic intellectual conversation with one of our mentors consisting of a cross-questioning of the thoughts expressed by the participants in the essay and a brief discussion about 3-5 topics regarding general awareness on issues prevalent in the country.

• Duration: February 4-14, 2013

• Results: February 27, 2013

Round 4

• Problem Pitching

• Final round to express the problems and showcase the feasible solutions to the problems in front of judging panel.

• Place: IIT Kanpur

• Date: March 15- 16, 2013

JUDGES PANEL

Aseem Trivedi

Aseem Trivedi is a controversial Indian political cartoonist and activist, best known for his anti corruption campaign Cartoons Against Corruption. He started his career as a freelance cartoonist and worked for several Hindi language newspapers and magazines. He is a founder member of Save Your Voice, a movement against internet censorship in India. He also appeared in Bigg Boss 6 as a contestant. Aseem Trivedi has been announced as the 2012 recipient of the "Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award" of Virginia based Cartoonists Rights Network International. He has been selected for the award for launching the Cartoons Against Corruption website, in an effort to mobilize his fellow citizens against India’s pervasive political corruption and after being charged with treason and insulting national symbols, taking a leadership role in India’s emerging free speech movement and launching a freedom of expression campaign called ‘Save Your Voice: A Movement Against Web Censorship’. The honour is presented to a “cartoonist in great danger or who has demonstrated exceptional courage in the exercise of free-speech rights".

Alok Dixit

Alok Dixit is a journalist turned social activist, fighting for the freedom of internet in India. He is the founder member of 'Save Your Voice’, a movement against internet censorship in India. Alok Dixit joined Indian Air Force in 2007 and served till Mar 2009. He resigned from the service and became a fellow of IIJNM, Bangalore. After a short service as a reporter in TV9 News channel in Mumbai, he switched to Jagran Prakashan Limited and launched a portal Inext Live. His works includes campaigning against the censorship on the online media and to help acid survivors to live a life free of violence. With his demand of free and open internet, Alok is creating a nationwide awareness among the youth through his writings and peaceful protests. He is advocating for the protection of freedom

of expression and human rights by engaging communities and supporting people’s voices around the world. He is also working hand in hand with government, donors, media, NGOs, celebrities and students to help acid survivors rebuild their lives and to prevent further attack.

Ashish Gupta

Ashish is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the

1989 batch, and holds the rank of Inspector General

of Police (IGP). Ashish received his Bachelor’s degree

in Computer Science from IIT Kanpur in 1987 and

MBA from IIM Calcutta in 1989. He is currently

posted in Lucknow as IG of STF (Special Task Force)

to combat organized crime. Prior to this he worked

as Director in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)

from 2006 - 2011 where his work related to advising

the Prime Minister on policy matters of energy and internal security. He also

worked as a Senior Faculty in the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police

Academy (2002-2006). The Academy trains all newly recruited IPS officers who

serve at senior positions in the police formations. He was also the Indian

Contingent Commander to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Kosovo

(2000-2002). During his posting in the State of Uttar Pradesh, Ashish served as

district police chief of seven districts and was Commandant of State Armed

Battalions. He headed the Anti-Terrorist Operations in the Terai region of

Shahjahanpur in 1991. Ashish is the recepient of President’s Police Medal for

Meritorious Service, Special Police Medal for Difficult Areas, and UN

Peacekeeping medal. His wife, Tilotama, is also an IPS officer and they have two

children.

Varun Santhosh

He is currently Director, Governance Lab at Swaniti

Initiative. He has previously worked with the state

governments of Gujarat and Sikkim on social and

environmental policy, a non-profit think tank on tourism

policy and on business intelligence with HSBC. His research

interests lie in the fields of political ecology, social policy,

governance and decentralized democratic institutions. He completed his under-

graduation from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Surathkal in 2008.

Associates

Avanti Fellows

Swaniti Initiative

Deepalaya

Cartoons Against Corruption

Central Vigilence Commission

Save Your Voice

Teach For India

Youth Ki Awaaz

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The first round measures the social awareness of the current national issues

prevalent in our country. The participants are expected to fill the questionnaire in

a responsible manner.

The second round expects the participants to raise their voice and show their

deep concerns regarding few of the burning issues given by us. It tries to measure

the in depth knowledge and ability to provide us with a feasible solution for it.

Obvious to mention, the event expects the individual to be very original in his/her

thoughts as any kind of plagiarism, if found, would strictly lead to disqualification

from 28 States.

The third round deals with a telephonic interview/conversation with the

participant to judge the inter-personal skills. This would consist of cross-

questioning of the thoughts expressed by the participant in his/her essay. This

might also consists of a brief discussion about 3-5 topics regarding general

awareness on issues prevalent in the country.

The final round invites the qualified participants to the 28 States platform held in

IIT Kanpur during Techkriti to represent their home states. This round judges how

well you are able to present your thoughts, your concern towards your state and

the ability to provide innovative and feasible solutions to the problem(s)

presented. In addition to this, the event tests the participant’s skills to answer the

questions related to his/her state problems (especially the problem(s) addressed

by him/her) on the spot raised by other representatives.

INCENTIVES

1. The prospect to express your views in front of the public and media.

2. Internship opportunities in the topmost NGO’s in India like Avanti Fellows.

3. Cash prizes worth more than INR 20, 000 and lots of goodies.

4. An opportunity to showcase yourself to the world through the exclusive

profiles of the participants at our website.

5. The event provides unique opportunity to witness your proposed ideas and

solutions being implemented.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

A student studying in any institution/college/university in INDIA.

The participant must be an Indian national and willing to represent his

home state and share and discuss the problems and their solutions.

The participant must have passed his class X in his home state.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

The participant should be able to understand both English and Hindi in

basic sense and able to speak freely at least one of them.

The essays written by the participants should be their own intellectual

property, and should not be copied from any sources in any form.

Plagiarism can lead to outright rejection of the entry.

Required documents: Valid College Id-card, 10th pass certificate issued

by affiliated board.

The participant should be able to produce all required certificates,

whenever asked for.

Entries submitted after the deadlines will not be considered.

There is no offline submission of the entries. Participants will have to

register online only.

All entrants must submit entries to 28 States with the understanding

that we solely hold the intellectual property rights to entries received

and discussions held. The event team may publish the discussion

summary, or adopt them for implementation. However, in such case, we

will attribute it to the concerned author/speaker(s).

In case of any discrepancy, the final judgement lies with the organizing

team of Techkriti’13.

FAQ’S

Can I participate in a team?

No, participation is on individual basis.

If the event promotes equality, then why the form is only in English?

Although all Indian languages are equally important, limited resources

prevent team from systematically assessing non-English entries. Contestants

who prefer to write in a regional language should get their work translated

into English before submission. No weight is placed in this competition on

English expression. Accuracy (including spelling), however, is paramount.

I’m eligible. So, how do I start?

If you are eligible, start by filling in the Questionnaire for 1st round. Further

process will be briefly explained to you by the Team 28 States through email

during the course of the competition.

Submit here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFFVS05WZlNYV1Axb

XBsalppR1JGa3c6MQ

What language restrictions does the event impose for essay submission?

Other than English, you can submit the essay in Hindi as it is the national

language.

I am college pass-out and interested to participate in the event. Can I do

so?

No, the participation is open only to those who are currently enrolled in any

of the colleges in India.

Would travel reimbursement be given to the participants who would

come to IIT Kanpur for the final round?

Team 28 States, Techkriti’13 would be happy to provide full reimbursement

(to and fro) of Sleeper Class Railway Fares from your college to Kanpur.

CONTACTS

28 STATES COORDINATORS Akshit Gupta +91-9005674124

Arcchit Jain +91-7607448699

Rishabh Katiyar +91-7897720434

Sumit Gupta +91-8090020070

For any queries, please feel free to mail us at 28states@techkriti.org