By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR: Shri Arjun Munda, Minister of Tribal Affairs launched the second phase of the Going Online As Leaders (GOAL) program. The programme is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Meta (FaceBook). GOAL 2.0 initiative aims to digitally upskill 10 lakh youth by on promoting entrepreneurship amongst tribal communities of the country and opening up opportunities for them using digital technology.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Munda said that the people that are being developed by GOAL programme are giving leadership to their communities and this programme is becoming a silent revolution. The Union Minister added that the resources held by our communities can now be harnessed with modern tools to empower the tribal communities.
Shri Arjun Munda said that connecting and skilling, developing potential and making a change in the lives of their communities – these are the basic goals of this programme. These are ambitious targets and would aim to reach and empower 10 lakh people directly and many more people through them, he added.
Through this program, the identified GOAL participants will have access to Meta Business Coach – a WhatsApp based learning bot – that will give the participants an opportunity to learn skills on how to build and grow their business using Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. To empower the participants to play an active role in the digital economy, the program will also include Facebook Live sessions in 9 languages by master trainers on topics like Anti Scamming education, staying safe online, how to combat misinformation and being a good digital citizen. The first phase of GOAL included inspiring, connecting and upskilling tribal youth from across the country and some of whom have now created businesses that are scaling nationally.
On the occasion Shri Anil Kumar Jha, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs; Shri S.N. Tripathi, DG, IIPA; Dr. Navalljit Kapoor, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs; Youth and entrepreneurs from tribal communities from across the country were also present.
As a result of first phase of GOAL, 75% of the participants from the tribal community admitted to being able to better articulate their thoughts to words and saw an improvement in their interpersonal skills. About 69% were able to leverage Digital Commerce for increased reach and about 63% said that it helped them understand how to set up their business.
The programme is aimed at empowering youth and women from tribal and indigenous communities to harness the full potential of digital platforms and enhancing their leadership skills for driving community development. Along with digital inclusion the program aims to actively contribute to the economy by continuing to support the most vulnerable communities in tribal districts with a focus on tribal youth and on businesses led by tribal women in rural areas.
