Tura, October 29: The Meghalaya Government, through the Meghalaya Programme for Adolescent Wellbeing, Empowerment and Resilience (MPOWER), has intensified efforts to identify local economic opportunities, address barriers to economic growth and expand employment and livelihood opportunities for young people across the state.
As part of the MPOWER Youth Opportunities and Economic Growth initiative, a stakeholder workshop was organised to identify key economic constraints and explore practical, locally driven solutions to promote sustainable economic development.
The workshop brought together government institutions, development partners, community representatives, entrepreneurs, producers and young people to develop a shared understanding of local economic challenges and opportunities.
The initiative is being undertaken in collaboration with MPOWER, Harvard Growth Lab (HGL) of Harvard University, Meghalaya Institute of Governance (MIG) and Bharti Institute of the Indian School of Business (ISB).
Discussions focused on identifying economic opportunities in key sectors, including tourism, border trade, high-value agriculture and agro-processing.
Participants also examined local capabilities, available resources and business potential while identifying barriers preventing enterprises and economic activities from expanding.
Addressing the workshop, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma stressed the importance of moving beyond identifying problems and focusing on practical solutions that could bring meaningful changes to people’s lives.
“Sustainable development begins with a shift in mindset—from criticism to action, and from identifying problems to finding solutions. We must focus our energy on a few clear, achievable priorities, take responsibility for the changes we can influence, and build momentum through visible results. Real progress comes when we move beyond discussions and turn our aspirations into meaningful action for the people of Meghalaya,” Sangma said.
The workshop adopted Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) and Adaptive Leadership methodologies to encourage collaborative and evidence-based approaches towards addressing economic challenges.
These approaches are aimed at helping stakeholders identify the root causes of economic constraints, draw upon local knowledge and develop practical solutions through experimentation and continuous learning.
Speaking on the occasion, Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner, who is also the Project Director of MPOWER, Sampath Kumar, IAS, highlighted Meghalaya’s potential to achieve inclusive economic growth and create sustainable livelihood opportunities, particularly for its youth.
“Meghalaya has immense potential to drive inclusive economic growth and create opportunities that match the aspirations of its people, particularly its youth. Through MPOWER, we aim to translate this potential across sectors into sustainable livelihoods and stronger enterprises, while embracing uncertainty, learning from experience and remaining open to change,” Kumar said.
He also expressed appreciation to the development partners, stakeholders and communities for their continued commitment towards translating shared aspirations into meaningful and lasting outcomes for Meghalaya.
The initiative places particular emphasis on strengthening coordination among government departments, traditional institutions, community organisations, entrepreneurs, producers and youth.
Their active participation is expected to ensure that proposed solutions reflect local realities, encourage shared ownership and address sector-specific economic constraints more effectively.
As part of the next phase, the workshop aims to identify priority economic challenges and opportunities and develop practical pilot initiatives based on stakeholder discussions.
A constituency-level project will also be selected and aligned with the Constituency Development Plan to ensure that the proposed intervention addresses local development priorities.
Through the MPOWER initiative, the Meghalaya Government seeks to strengthen the foundation for inclusive and sustainable economic development by harnessing local potential, supporting enterprise growth and expanding employment and livelihood opportunities for young people across the state.
