Naidu launches essay competition, stresses value-based learning

<p id="content">Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has launched the Heartfulness essay writing event 2020, and called for recognizing the importance of value-based learning for youths.</p>

"The government of India is undertaking reforms in the education sector to ensure that education meets the requirement of today. At the same time, it is very much aware that the foundation of the system is based on imparting the right values," he said.

The 'Heartfulness essay event 2020' has been jointly organized by the Heartfulness Education Trust, Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM), and United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan (UNIC). It was launched in the presence of Daaji, a guide of Heartfulness on Friday.

Naidu said he was glad that organizations such as Heartfulness Institute were investing their time, energy and efforts over several decades to guide the youth in the right direction.

Initiated 28 years ago with a vision of inculcating value-based thinking through reflection, discussion and contemplation, the event held annually is a unique competition. It is held across the country in English, Hindi and nine regional languages.

"The youth forms the fabric of the nation and they need to be delicately treated. It is very critical that they are inspired from within to find the answers, to know what is right and pursue that path. In this fast-paced world, the importance of reflection, discussion and contemplation is lost. This has an impact on the development of the intellect and value system amongst the youth. Through the essay event, we are trying to preserve and encourage the wisdom of the traditional learning methods so that the moral fabric remains strong and intact," said Kamlesh Patel (Daaji), the guide of Heartfulness.

Participants can log on to www.younghearts.org for guidelines on participation and submission of entries. The last date to submit entries is October 10, 2020.

Entries are invited in English and Hindi at the national level and Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu at the state level under two categories — Classes 9 to 12 and UG&PG..