Entertainment
Imagination and the evolution of society
In conjunction with events held in 60 nations around the world, the French embassy co-organised a panel discussion, titled la nuit des idees (The Night of the Ideas) at Hotel Himalaya in the Capital on Thursday.In conjunction with events held in 60 nations around the world, the French embassy co-organised a panel discussion, titled la nuit des idees (The Night of the Ideas) at Hotel Himalaya in the Capital on Thursday. The programme revolved around the theme ‘Power of Imagination’ and had as panelists Aayushi Kc, founder of Khaalisisi.com, Akhilesh Upadhyay, editor-in-chief of The Kathmandu Post, Richard Werly, journalist for Le Monde and Subina Shrestha, journalist for Al Jazeera.
During the panel discussion, prompted by the question ‘How does imagination drive the evolution of Nepali society in a global context,’ journalist Subina Shrestha remarked that the Nepali political imagination reached its height during the people’s movement of 2006, and the country needed to return to that imagination so that the underprivileged of the nation can benefit.
Meanwhile, panelist Aayushi KC spoke to how Nepalis are being extremely courageous and imaginative in finding ways to overcome hurdles while setting up businesses, despite the presence of mafias, syndicates and cartels.
The programme was moderated by Sumnima Udas, a TV personality who has recently associated with CNN.
In his opening remark was given by HE Yves Carmona, the French ambassador, remarked “That globalisation doesn’t lead to uniformity; on the contrary, it allows for more diversity in the way people think” and emphasised the need for a cross-cultural dialogue. According to him, similar la nuit des idées was organised in 150 locations that spanned 60 nations. The global theme for this year was ‘Power of imagination’.
The programme was jointly organised by the French Embassy, Nepal Economic Forum (NEF) and the Alliance Française de Katmandou (AFK).