Odisha Governor at OCOY 2025: Young Changemakers Are 'Architects of Climate Resilience'
Bhubaneswar, August 10, 2025: The Odisha Conference of Youth (OCOY) 2025 opened today at ASBM University, Bhubaneswar, with a resounding call for youth-led climate action and innovation. Inaugurated by Hon’ble Governor of Odisha, Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati, the three-day flagship event of the Youth4Water Plus campaign has convened over 800 youth changemakers, climate advocates, and experts from across Odisha and beyond.
“Odisha is proud of a generation of youth who are conscious, committed, and courageous. You are rooted in tradition and ready to lead in innovation,” said the Governor, urging young people to become “the architects of Viksit Bharat@2047.” In his address, he mentioned, “Your climate action is not just activism—it is patriotism. The world doesn’t need spectators. It needs leaders. Let this be your moment.”
Management Guru Prof. Biswajeet Pattanayak, the Founder and President of ASBM University delivered the keynote and said that OCOY 3.0 is not just an event — it is a movement – A movement to equip and inspire the next climate leaders. Further he added, “If leadership is about shaping the future, then climate leadership is about ensuring the future exists at all. The truth is stark — we are the first generation to fully understand the damage we are doing to our planet… and the last generation with the power to stop it. The question is not whether we can act, but whether we will lead. If we fail to lead on climate, nothing else we lead will matter.”
William Hanlon, Jr., Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Odisha, emphasized the importance of young people’s involvement. “What we witness here today is not just an event—it is the spirit of youth leadership in action,” Hanlon said. “At UNICEF, we believe that young people are not passive recipients of change—they are active agents of it.”
Over the next two days, OCOY 2025 will offer a high-energy Youth Parliament and collaborative workshops, culminating in the drafting of a Youth Statement on Climate Action
The other dignitaries who attended the event were: K.S. Pradeep, IFS, Director (Environment)-cum-Special Secretary, Govt. of Odisha; environmentalist Arun Krishnamurthy; global youth climate advocate Johann Hoschtialek; Sujit Mahapatra, Advisor, Youth4Water Plus & Founder, Bakul Foundation; and Blorin Mohanty, Director, Youth4Water Plus.