Students at the unveiling of the new AIESEC Calcutta scheme. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Following successful ventures like the Career Fair and Stock Euphoria (a mock stock exchange for young people), AIESEC Calcutta unveiled its YUVA scheme at the Indian Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.

YUVA signifies an expansion of AIESEC?s work in facilitating international exchange programmes over the past 50 years.The new scheme, with the slogan ?The Power of Youth?, was conceived by AIESEC Calcutta president Umesh Bhutoria.

After nine months of formulation, Bhutoria, along with other AIESEC members, devised a three-point plan to allow students to voice their opinions on issues that are relevant to them.

The project is structured around a series of inter-school debates that will start in Calcutta in April. The schools will be followed by the colleges in May and finally, by the business schools in July.

The main event, however will be the YUVA Conclave at a later date in July. The conclave will provide a select group of students of various educational institutions an opportunity to interact with members of the corporate world, who will introduce themselves through presentations.

The meet will also provide a platform for the students of schools, colleges and business schools to interact with each other. ?Hopefully, these events will be useful not only to the students, but to the corporate world as well,? said Bhutoria.

Present at the unveiling of the new YUVA logo were director of SREI International Finance Sunil Kanoria and other AIESEC backers.

Kanoria remarked: ?We have been associated with AIESEC for almost five years now, and we?ve seen students come from as far as China, Russia and Poland. It is also great that AIESEC gives the opportunity to expose our own students to the international arena.?

A spokesperson for The Telegraph, which is supporting the AIESEC cause, said: ?The reason why we got involved with the initiative was because of a bunch of kids who seemed to get even seemingly impossible tasks done in this city. Such initiatives should be replicated in other parts of the country as well.?