Mangalore: The 10th National Youth Convention 2017 will be held in Mangalore.

The event is jointly organized by Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) Council for youth, Indian Catholic Youth Movement (ICYM) and Youth Activ8 Foundation at St. Joseph’s Engineering College, Vamanjoor, Mangalore, southern India, January 18-22.

The theme of the event is “To prepare tomorrow’s leaders today: Touched by Jesus, walking his way.”

Some key persons lined up to speak to the Catholic youth from across India include Cardinal Oswald Gracious, president of Federation of Asian Catholic Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) and Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI Latin Rite); Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, president of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), Cardinal George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church; Bishop Aloysius Paul D’Souza of Mangalore; Derek O’Brien, Member of Parliament, Nalin Kumar Kateel, Member of Parliament; K.J. George, Minister for Bangalore and Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore.

One of the key activities is a talk on “Laudato si”, (On Care For Our Common Home), the second encyclical of Pope Francis.

Other activities include faith witness by youth, Taize prayer and sacrament of reconciliation, Catholic response to today’s challenges, entrepreneurial leadership, youth catechism and youth Bible, revelation Gospel band, peace march, constitutional rights and responsibilities for youth, cultural programme and national youth awards, according to Sijo Ambatt, national ICYM president.

The ICYM is the largest premier Catholic Youth Movement, spread across 627 districts in India. It operates in 171 dioceses in the country.

Integral development of youth through formation, fellowship and action being the main objectives of youth ministry, ICYM caters to varied needs of the holistic development of its young members.

ICYM also coordinates National Delegations to World Youth Day, Asian Youth Day, World Youth Parliament and pilgrimages to Taize. It is collaborated with YCS/YSM and international youth body FIMCAP (Fédération Internationale des Mouvements Catholiques d’Action Paroissiale) which is an umbrella organization for Catholic youth all over the world.