H

undreds of Hindu youth leaders from 13 countries gathered on the predominantly Hindu island of Bali for a two-day conference to discuss issues related to the future of the ancient religion.

“We are here to work together to see what we can learn from each other, from different countries, how we can work together across the globe. How we can share ideas, how we can share solutions,” the coordinator of the conference, Bhavin Davdra, said during the opening ceremony of the conference on Friday.

The conference was organized by Hindu Students and Youth Network with the theme of “Shaping the Next Generation of Leaders of the Hindu Resurgence”.

Among the participants are those from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, India and Singapore.

The conference is expected to devise key strategies to prepare Hindu youths to achieve their goals and fulfill their responsibilities at local, national and global levels in a straightforward and effective manner. Such strategies would also enable Hindu youths across the globe to disseminate information on critical issues on a real-time basis.

The conference also aims at providing opportunities for young students, professionals and youth organizations to build effective networks, so that they can effectively coordinate with each other on strategies and information to advance their respective work.

“This conference will discuss several issues related to Hindus, such as the economy, politics, human rights as well as mass media,” organizing committee member Gde Dharma Nugraha said.

Nugraha, who serves as an executive with the Indonesia Hindu Students Association (KMHDI), explained that the conference was the first conference held based on an agreement made at an informal meeting of Hindu youth leaders in India in 2010.

Hindus belong to a minority group in Indonesia. Bali province is only 0.29 percent of Indonesia.

“Our population here is only 4 million, among 240 million Muslims in this country. So, we are a small minority group. However, Bali has been steadfastly faithful to Hinduism and its heritage. That’s why we have to be very proud of this, and we are very proud to host this conference here. I hope more and more Hindu world leaders will come to Bali to strengthen our commitment to being Hindu followers,” Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said.