Representing India at the UN

In an outstanding achievement, Sai Praneeth Reddy from Vaishnavi School of Architecture and Planning in Hyderabad, has been selected to represent India at the 2017 Summer Youth Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, from August 9 to 12. The 21-year-old Bachelor of Architecture student is the youngest delegate to represent India at the UN.

“UN has 17 sustainable goals, and Education for all and Zero Poverty will be my goals. I will be talking about these goals at the assembly, where 500 global leaders will be present, sharing their inputs. Delegates from each country will present their solutions to these issues. I’m nervous but also excited,” says Praneeth, who has been selected through an online interview process. “Ironically, I wasn’t selected when I had applied for Hyderabad Youth Assembly recently. This is a dream come true!” he adds.

Praneeth will be in New York for four days, where he will participate in various workshops. “I have been researching about my goals extensively since a few months now. After I’m back from the assembly, I plan to start an NGO in my hometown, Zaheerabad, and work on the same goals. I think education for all is possible only through zero poverty. In the long run, I want to get into politics, just like my parents. I want to give back to my country,” he says.  Talking about his inspiration, Praneeth says, “V.V. Lakshminarayana, former Joint Director for India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), is my inspiration. I follow his work and even watch his speeches on YouTube. My father also inspires me.”

Praneeth thinks that youth should contribute to the country’s development. He says, “A lot of youngsters these days go abroad to work, even when they have opportunities to work here. That should stop. ‘Be the change that you wish to see in the world,’ like Mahatma Gandhi said.”

Praneeth, who’s passionate about architecture and design, also writes literature in Telugu in his free time.