PANAJI
Goa is going to host a forum called ‘Difficult Dialogues’ between January 28-30 next year at the International Centre Goa (ICG) and Cidade de Goa. Difficult Dialogues is an independent and non-partisan forum for discussing critical issues affecting lives of people in South Asia. It is an initiative of philanthropist and businesswoman Surina Narula, who has worked tirelessly for street children of the world and who is also behind prestigious ‘Jaipur Literature Festival’.
Talking more about what went behind her thought process, Narula said, “There are so many issues in South Asia. For instance, we recently put together a report which said every second girl in India feels unsafe. Often, people blame the government. But, it is people like us who select the government. The government and civil society should work together.”
To this end, the forum is bringing a number of policy-makers, experts and scholars on one platform. Eminent personalities like award-winning author Amitav Ghosh, renowed Goan artist Subodh Kerkar, telecom inventor & policy-maker Sam Pitroda and political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta will speak at the forum.
This is the very first time that this forum will be held. Global finance, infrastructure, India, West Asia and civil society are the key focus areas for this year.
Difficult Dialogues is curated by South Asia Centre, London School of Economics (LSE). Post the event, LSE will come out with reports, which will be presented to relevant bodies and ministries of the government to help them in policy-making.
