Nation celebrates National Youth Day On January 12

Why In News

National Youth Day is celebrated every year on January 12 to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

Key Points

National Youth Day is celebrated every year on January 12 to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. Every year on this occasion, the government organises National Youth Festival in collaboration with one state willing to host from January 12 to January 16. This year Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurate the festival on January 12 in Huballi, Karnataka.

The basic objective of National Youth Day is to bring the youth of the country together in an attempt to showcase their talents in various activities to cover almost all socio-cultural aspects of life, providing an opportunity to amateur young artists to express themselves and interact with fellow artists and to further learn the new art forms from experts of various disciplines.

Theme

The Centre said the festival is held to provide exposure to youths at a national level and this year’s theme for the four-day programme is “Viksit Yuva – Viksit Bharat (Developed Youth – Developed India)”.

This year the festival is being organized by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports in collaboration with the Karnataka. The event will be held from January 12 to January 16, 2023, at Hubballi- Dharwad, Karnataka. More than 30,000 youth will attend the inaugural function where the Prime Minister will share his vision with them. During this unique five-day event, over 7500 youth delegates from all over India, recognized and leaders in their own field of activity, get together to engage in different learning activities.

History

In the year 1985, the government had declared the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, January 12, as ‘National Youth Day’. Since then, all the centres of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission have been celebrating the occasion through various programmes.

 Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda, born Narendranath Datta on January 12, 1863, was a disciple of Sri 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna Paramhansa. He went on to become a key figure in the introduction of the Indian darsanas (teachings, practices) of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world and was credited with raising interfaith awareness.

Vivekanand was highly regarded as a major force in the contemporary Hindu reform movements in India and contributed to the concept of nationalism in colonial India.

Famous for his famous speech in Parliament of World’s Religions in Chicago, 1893, he focused on channelling the energy of the youth.

As his teachings and practices had a huge influence on the youth, the Government of India in 1984 declared January 12 day as National Youth Day.

Hockey India enters the world of Metaverse

Why In News

Hockey India has launched a new metaverse product to tie in with its hosting of the Men’s World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13-29.

Key Points

Hockey India has launched a new metaverse product to tie in with its hosting of the Men’s World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13-29. ‘Hockeyverse’, which Hockey India claims marks a first for a national sports federation, has been launched across the governing body’s social media platforms and is designed to enhance the tournament experience for fans around the world.

‘Hockeyverse’ features

The ‘Hockeyverse’ features unique attractions such as replica of the newly built Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium, there is also The Time Machine which is uniquely designed based on time travel elements, this building just outside the main entrance of the stadium has 2 rooms, consisting of a brief history of Indian Hockey’s achievements so far and their current achievements.

‘Hockeyverse’ will provide a new virtual experience where global hockey fans can visit and experience their favourite sport from the comfort of their home, on their personal computer. Upon entering the ‘Hockeyverse’ URL in a browser they are welcomed to the ‘hockeyverse’ virtual world page.

Fans can then enter their name, email address and then select their virtual Avatar’s gender between male avatar and female avatar. Then they should click on ‘Enter Hockeyverse’ button. Once they are in, the Hockeyverse can be explored by fans using their keyboard and mouse.