Udupi: The Indian Catholic Youth Movement (ICYM), under the leadership of the Udupi diocese, successfully held the 'Yuva Dabazo 2024' youth conference at the Xavier Hall in Udyavar. This annual event aimed to bring together young people from various parishes of the diocese to showcase their talents and foster strong relationships among the youth.
The conference was inaugurated through a ritual led by the chief priest of the Udupi diocese, Rev. Fr. Charles Menezes. In his address, he encouraged the youth to be pillars of faith and leadership within their communities.
Subsequently, various competitions were organized as part of the event. These competitions were designed to showcase creativity and teamwork. The morning sessions included activities such as Creative Walk, Futuristic Art, Flower Carpet, and Brain Wave.
The much-anticipated Battle of the Bands competition took place, highlighting musical and dance talents.
In the Yuva Dabazo event, the Kanjaar unit emerged as champions, while the Perampalli unit was the runner-up. The top honors in the Battle of the Bands went to the Kallianpur unit for first place, the Udupi unit for second place, and the Karkala unit for third place.
At the closing ceremony, prominent attendees included Rev. Fr. Charles Menezes, the Parish Priest of Udupi church; Rev. Fr. Anil D'Souza, parish priest of St. Francis Xavier Church, Udyavar; Assistant Priest Rev. Fr. Stephen Fernandes; ICYM director of Udupi diocese Rev. Fr. Steven Fernandes; youth lawyer Ryan Fernandes; president of ICYM Karnataka, Vilina Gonsalves; vice-chairman of the governing board, Lawrence D'Souza; and youth commission coordinator Priya Furtado.
Godwin Mascarenhas, president of ICYM Udupi diocese, welcomed everyone, while vice-president Marvin Almeida delivered the vote of thanks. The event was hosted by Secretary Riya Aranna, and more than 800 youth from the Udupi diocese participated in the program.