Hi! I'm Veda Kalra, a student of Grade 12 at the Vasant Valley School, New Delhi deeply passionate about Public Policy, in specific - Education Policy. As the captain of India's national debate team, representing India at the World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC) since 2024 where I’ve been exposed to a remarkable range of issues, arguments, and perspectives.

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The South Asia Youth Dialogue Forum (SAYDF) grew out of this experience. Having regularly been exposed to diverse viewpoints and different perspectives each year at WSDC, I realized that having difficult conversations is important. It was these conversations that prompted me to rethink assumptions, modify my thought process, and change my beliefs. I wanted to create such a platform for South Asian youth and that is how the SAYDF was born. It's a forum that aims to celebrate viewpoint diversity, build critical thinking and challenge assumptions to meaningfully deliberate across disagreement. I’ve been hosting bimonthly sessions with students from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and Bhutan. I also publish quarterly updates and have even started a Thinkpieces section since 2025 where session participants publish opinion pieces. 

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I have also been invited by various institutions in South Asia such as the Royal Academy Bhutan and The Debate Network Nepal to conduct dialogue forums and form national level chapters of SAYDF.