VIJAYAWADA: Stating that the Happy Cities Summit would be used as a platform to adopt the best global practices in making Andhra Pradesh a happy State, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said over 200 delegates from across the world would participate in the three-day summit. While Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev has already accepted the invitation, the State government will also invite Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay, UAE’s Minister for State of Happiness Ohood Al Roumi and others.
In a teleconference held on Friday, the CM took stock of the arrangements being made for the summit to be held from April 10. He directed the CRDA officials to use the summit to showcase the potential of the State, especially Amaravati. “Amaravati, which is the symbol of pride and culture of the people of the State, should figure among the top five best cities in the world. The summit should be a platform for exchange of innovative ideas to make our capital and the State an international benchmark for citizen happiness index,” Naidu said. He expressed the hope that the outcome of the meeting would help the government in effective capital building.
“Plan activities to provide opportunities for stakeholders to takeaway tangible and practical learnings, and toolkits for implementation of the plan in their respective cities, besides actively engaging citizens in planning and designing the cities,” he said. The summit, for which the Chief Minister is the brand ambassador, will be held at CK Convention Centre in Mangalagiri, as against the initial plan to organise it at A Convention Centre in Vijayawada.
The three-day event will also discuss pressing urban issues and initiatives to tackle the challenges of urbanisation. Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana said that more than 20 speakers from Harvard Kennedy School, Michael Sorkin Studio and other organisations would participate in thematic panel sessions.