Odisha Govt, KISS Come Together to Support UNESCO’s ‘Fit for Life’ Prog

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), a constituent of KIIT DU, have joined hands to support UNESCO’s ‘Fit for Life’ programme to tackle challenges such as physical inactivity, mental health issues and inequality to foster peaceful, inclusive and resilient societies.

To support UNESCO’s Fit for Life programme an MoU was signed amongst UNESCO, Govt of Odisha and KISS on 24 February 2023 in the presence of Eunsong Kim, Programme Specialist and Head of Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO New Delhi; R. Vineel Krishna Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Sports & Youth Services and Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS.

Vineel Krishna noted that” sports for youth, youth for future is the vision of our Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and we are guided by it. Promoting physical and mental fitness is core to many of our initiatives. We are delighted to be associated with UNESCO and the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences.

“Fit for Life is designed to tackle contemporary challenges such as physical inactivity, mental health issues and inequality to foster peaceful, inclusive and resilient societies. UNESCO as the United Nations’ lead agency for Physical Education and Sport aims to strengthen the global framework on the use of sport for development and peace.” remarked Eunsong Kim, Programme Specialist and Head of Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO New Delhi.

The partnership will be used as an opportunity to define a new message from sports as leverage for social inclusion, and gender equality, particularly at the grassroots level. KISS is playing a critical role in the socio-economic transformation of the tribal communities. While education is offered free of cost to the children, a special focus is laid on sports. This has led to many students becoming celebrated sportspersons, some of whom have represented India at the national and international levels including the Olympics.