 Our special guest Sri Abu Mehta will be delivering his address before which let me provide a brief introduction of this dynamic personality in our midst. Sri Abu Mehta is the advisor to the Chief Minister, Government of Nagaland and also the Chairman of Investment Development Authority of Nagaland, AIDEN. He is also the Associate Vice President of the Athletics Federation of India and Secretary General of Nagaland Olympics Association. Sir is also the Chairman of National Mountain Running Committee and has extensive expertise in media management and public relations in both private and government sector. He is keenly interested in analyzing the socio-political dynamics in debt and is a committed philanthropist working for the upliftment of weaker sections promoting social advocacy. We are honored to have you here with us sir. I request you to kindly take the stage. Thank you very much Chairperson for that very generous introduction. Very good morning to all of you. At a very outset I bring greetings from the Chief Minister of Nagaland and the Government of Nagaland to each and every one of you, especially to our guests who have come from different parts of the country, from different corners of the world. Welcome to Nagaland, the land of festivals. I am told some of you are going up to Kohima after a couple of days. I am told some of you are leaving but I would suggest that during your stay or in your future visits, I would advise you to not end your visit here in Gimapur but get to the hills, to the mountains of Nagaland because it is there in the mountains and the hills where the heartbeat of the Naga people beats the villages, the mountains. So you got to get there and see the sounds, see the colors, smell the various smells, listen to the sounds and understand Naga society better. I am Chairperson and the Management and Director and Principal of Tetsuo College. The organizers of this leading together dialogues are friends from the University of Melbourne, from Puna, from Chennai, from Konhati, students and faculty of Tetsuo College, dignitaries, friends, invitees, everybody present here, ladies and gentlemen. First and foremost I think we ought to give, I give praise and thanks to Almighty God for this wonderful occasion for bringing friends from around the world and the opportunity to have fellowship with one another. I must congratulate the organizers of this event, the institutions that are behind this strategy for your third dialogue, right? Your third dialogue, first which was during the COVID. So congratulations on this and congratulations on the MOU you just signed. To begin with I would like to assure the cooperation all possible help, assistance towards making this dialogue stronger. I have not seen the contents of the MOU, I hope to see that, but I assure you that Government of Naga land and the Chief Minister will definitely extend support to your strategies, to your aspirations. And Madam you were talking about setting up a center of indigenous knowledge in your university. We would definitely love to collaborate with you and we will see that if there is anything we can extend towards from our end, we'd love to collaborate and partner with you. So we look forward to future partnerships, future collaborations. This morning there are a number of learners, scholars, academicians and experts in the fields that they represent. Leading together a dialogue, an international conference on indigenous knowledge and sustainability. So I'm not an expert in this subject but I would take the opportunity to share a few thoughts. As an indigenous people I think we Naga people, the Nagas as a whole have a lot to contribute but not getting the right platforms or the right opportunities. The indigenous knowledge that we have, the traditional ways of life that we practice are today being studied by experts from around the world. For example the way we do our agriculture, we tune cultivation, transferring to terrace cultivation, our sustainable agriculture, our response to natural calamities, the food that we eat, the medicines that we make from nature around us. Our forefathers have been eating insects, bees and beetles for generations deriving proteins and nutrition from them. Today science is studying these foods as possible super foods or alternatives to food shortages around the world. The way tribal people react to natural calamities and the way we carry out our agriculture, tuning terrace cultivation. I feel there is so much we can share with the world if we research, analyze and share our knowledge with different societies. Naga people we are rooted in our traditions and our culture. It is our culture and our tradition that keeps us as one. We do have a lot of shortfalls and shortcomings. It's not an ideal place, it's not a perfect world here in Nagaland. But let me tell you that one of our strengths is our close-knit society, the social bonding that we have, the sharing of everything within our community in times of happiness, in times of pain, different occasions, different feelings, but we all come together on every occasion. But we also face challenges of our culture in today's progressive and modern world. How do we adapt? How do we change? How do we move forward? I feel that for Naga people our culture and our heritage is so important. Like a tree, if it is to grow higher, if its branches are to spread more, its roots and the nutrition that it gets from the soil have to be strong. As long as the nutrition and the root are strong and firm, that tree will continue to grow, its branches will continue to expand and it will reach out to new areas. Like a little child playing with a spinning toy holding a game where there's a thread that's tied with an object to it and he plays and spins it. The more he releases the thread, it spins further. The equilibrium becomes smoother, covers more space. And the more he releases the thread, it goes out further. The reach is more. But the moment the thread snaps or that little stick breaks, its end game and that object crashes, we need to know how much to cling on to, how much to change, how to adapt and how to move forward as a progressive society. We have many shortfalls in our history, in our culture, in our heritage and our customary laws. For example, I remember attending a conference where luminaries of the Supreme Court had observed that the fast-track judicial system which was introduced in India took inspiration from the customary courts of Naga people and tribes in the Northeast. We do have a lot of shortfalls in our culture and tradition. We need to change and adapt. But I feel we need to cling on to the positives, correct the negatives, adapt to a changing world and keep moving forward. The only constant is of course change. Change is inevitable. But how do we adapt that? How do we adjust that? I am sure the panel of experts here from here, from outside, within and outside will discuss these issues, share experiences of other communities, also learn from the Naga communities and share knowledge for future strategies. Since I am here in the midst of students in Tetsuo College, I love coming back here. Kulo keeps bringing me back to Tetsuo College and I love the environment, the energy that you guys give. So it's great to see you guys again. Thank you for those wonderful performances and welcoming us so warmly all over again. I want to encourage you to motivate you to continue to work hard. Like I said last time, there are no shortcuts to success. Hard work, commitment and discipline will ensure that you will succeed. Success and reward will not escape you if you put in the hard work. I am sure and I am confident that there are students here who will one day play a great role, not just in Naga society but internationally and globally. I am sure students from here will one day contribute towards getting a vaccine for AIDS, contributing towards the cure of cancer. Why not? Impossible is nothing. As long as we work hard, use the tools that are at our disposal, we can definitely reach those aspirations and ambitions that we have. I am sure this institution will produce great doctors, politicians and leaders who will contribute towards addressing the challenges of tribalism and corruption. Architects who will make great designs that will stand for centuries. This institution, this Texo college is a fantastic and a wonderful college. I think it's one of the most progressive colleges in entire Naga land and the Northeast. And you guys now, it's the students that make an institution and I am sure you people will make it a great institution in the years to come. Naga youth have the energy, the ambition and the capability to be as good as anyone. We just need to work together, achieve true unity, bring real peace and work collectively. There's no reason why we can't reach the highest standards, achieve excellence in all walks of life. Become Olympic champions, lead the country in various fields. It is possible and it is you, the next generation who will make this a reality. I want to encourage you to be brave and to know that you can get there. Once again, welcome to our guests. We still haven't gotten over that cricket match. But you're still welcome to Naga land. Anyway, life's got to move on and once again welcome to Naga land. I encourage you to visit again with loved ones and I hope many of our students will be able to visit your institutions in the country outside. I look forward to having interactions with you, share ideas with you, how we can collaborate and partner in future. Thank you for listening to me. God bless.