Annapurna, class 12 Raj girl, selected for UNESCO's World Teen Parliament

Jaipur, Jan 24 (IANS) Annapurna Krishnavat, 17, a resident of Lunda village in Udaipur, has been selected as an Influencer MP in UNESCO's World Teen Parliament.

Applications for this parliament were floated in July last year. The theme was - how the world can be improved.

Teenagers were asked to upload videos after which about 72,000 teenagers from all over the world came forward, out of which first 300 children were selected. After this, the top 200 were selected through zonal line voting which also included Annapurna. Now 100 MPs and 100 influencer MPs will put forth their suggestions in the Teen Parliament. They will debate on issues around the world like a parliament and discuss their solutions.

Annapurna, included in these 200 participants, suggested promoting digital working and paperless work in a 59 second video.

In her video, Annapurna said, "Digital meetings of ministers and leaders will save money and time spent on lodging and commuting in hotels. This money can be used for the right cause."

Annapurna also questioned the manner in which ministers were selected in the cabinet. She said that the knowledge of the department should be the basis of selection of a cabinet minister. Annapurna believes that the person who holds the post of minister should have complete knowledge about his department. Just like the education minister should be better educated, the health minister should be from the medical profession. If a person does not have the qualifications related to the department and does not have any background, then how will he handle the department, she asked.

Annapurna also talked about changing the education policy. She argued, "Today's education policy says -- study and get a degree. Start doing some work and earn money. But education should not mean earning money, but earning knowledge."

She also said, "Every person should have a place to live. Citizens should feel safe in the country."

Annapurna's father is a farmer and mother is a housewife. The UNESCO team, which made the selection, shortlisted Annapurna's name on the basis of her views on education and Indian politics.

In the first Parliamentary Session of the World Teen Parliament in which the World's 1st 100 Teen Members of Parliament were shortlisted, Master Class was run by C.P. Joshi, Speaker, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly who spoke on topic - Parliamentary Ethics for Teen MPs.

Dhuwarakha Sriram, chief of Generation Unlimited (YuWaah - UNICEF), Youth Development and Partnerships spoke on the topic --How can Teens influence Global Policies, while Purushottam Kaushik, Head of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network (INDIA), World Economic Forum, spoke on Economics of Democracy for Teens.