Kantipur Media Group will be hosting the second iteration of the Kantipur Conclave on February 7&8 at the Hyatt Regency, Kathmandu.

During the course of the event, personalities from Nepal and across the globe will discuss diverse issues facing Nepal, including solutions to propel the country forward, according to the event organisers.

This year’s conclave, with the theme ‘Reimagining Connectivity’, will serve as a platform for thought leaders to share innovative ideas and present solutions to deal with problems that Nepal faces. The programme features nine sessions—in both English and Nepali—and 40 speakers and moderators.

The conclave will kick off with four keynote speeches—from Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli; C Raja Mohan, director of the Institute of South Asian Studies; Bruno Macaes, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute; and Andy Mok, senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization.

On the second day, on February 8, a keynote speech will be given by Hussain M Elius, the CEO and Co-founder of Pathao, the Bangladesh-based ride-sharing service.

Prominent political leaders such as Pradeep Gyawali, minister for foreign affairs, and Gagan Thapa, a Nepali Congress Member of Parliament, will also participate in the sessions on Nepal’s political environment.

The first session, ‘Lessons from the East’, on Friday will see Gwen Robinson, editor-at-large of Nikkei Asian Review; Neeta Pokhrel from the South Asia Urban and Water Division of the Asian Development Bank; and Valentino S Bagatsing, president of Investment & Capital Corporation of the Philippines discussing the lessons that Nepal can learn from East Asia. The session will be moderated by Sujeev Shakya, founder and CEO of Beed Management, a management consulting firm based in Nepal.

The conclave will also discuss issues surrounding climate change where Sneha Pandey, program officer of Clean Energy Nepal will moderate the session featuring speakers like Arnico Pandey, formerly of ICIMOD; climate change campaigner Bindu Bhandari; Manjeet Dhakal, head of the Least Developed Countries Support Team and Climate Analytics; and Smriti Basnet, associate director of the South Asia regional office of Future Earth. The session ‘Mitigating Climate Change—The Big Connector’ will take place on February 8.

A session on why the #MeToo movement didn’t kick off in Nepal is also scheduled to take place on February 7. The session will talk about why the movement didn’t gather pace even though women courageously stood up against their perpetrators. The Post’s investigative reporter Bhrikuti Rai will moderate the all-women panel featuring theatre artist Akanchha Karki, lawyer Durga Karki, and political activist Manushi Yami Bhattarai.

On the second and final day of the programme, Nepal Communist Party co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal will be in conversation with Kantipur Editor-in-Chief Sudheer Sharma. During the session, Sharma will speak to Dahal about his personal journey and his views on Nepal’s past, present and future.

The event has been designed to provide an opportunity to Nepali and global thought leaders to forge professional and personal relationships.

All sessions of the conclave will be live-streamed on the event’s official website, as well as on social media platforms of The Kathmandu Post and Kantipur as well as its websites.