6th Global Kokan Festival Promoting Development of Konkan Region from 6th Jan - 10th Jan 2018 in Mumbai

Kokan Bhumi Pratishthan is back with the 6th edition of Global Kokan Festival to be held at CIDCO Exhibition and Convention Center, Vashi, Navi Mumbai from 6^th Jan 2018 - 10^th Jan 2018. Shri. Suresh Prabhu (Union Minister for Commerce and Industry) will be the Guest of Honor of The Global Kokan Fest 2018 and it will be inaugurated by Shri Devendra Fadnavis (Chief Minister - Maharashtra). Other dignitaries like Shri Nitin Gadkari (Union Minister - Roads and Transport), Shri Anant Geete (Union Minister - Heavy Industries), Shri Sudhir Mungantiwar (Cabinet Minister - Finance & Planning), Shri Jaykumar Rawal (State Minister - Tourism), Shri Manohar Parrikar (Chief Minister - Goa) will be present at the event. The event is co-organized by Make in India & MTDC.

Global Kokan Festival

The event to be held from 6^th Jan to 10^th Jan 2018 will attract around 3-4 Lakh visitors over the period of 5-days. Over the next decade, Maharashtra will be witnessing several revolutionary changes such as four-laning of Mumbai Goa Highway, Twin tracking of Kokan Railway, Water transport, JNPT, Panvel and Mopa (Goa) International Airports, Mumbai-Mandwa Ro-Ro Boat service and many others and the Global Kokan Festival taking place at this juncture adds to the much needed impetus to the developing state. Extending his support towards Global Kokan Fest Shri. Suresh Prabhu, shared “There are huge opportunities for development of Konkan, such as tourism, fishery, agriculture and ports. Make In Kokan Campaign under Make in India is being started at the Global Konkan Fest for the benefit of youth and businesses in Konkan with the co-operation of various departments, banks, a well-known experts, who can give guidance and expert tipswhich will help the region grow and take it to a global level.”

Cultural performances @Global kokan festival 2017

The show looks promising with arenas like Kokan Travel Mart, Advantage Kokan and Conferences broadly. Shri. Sanjay Yadavrao Chief Organizer, Global Kokan & Kokan Bhumi Pratishthan shares, “The idea behind organizing the 6^th Global Kokan Fest is to promote Kokan tourism on global map, boost reverse migration and starting a mega youth entrepreneurship drive in theKokan region”. An executive all-party committee consisting of stalwarts likes Shri. Ashish Shelar (MLA), Shri Bhai Jagtap (MLA), Shri Bhaskar Jadhav (MLA), Shri Prasad Lad (MLA), Shri Sunil Shinde (MLA), Ex- Mayor Vasai, Shri Rajiv Patil, Shri Pravin Darekar (MLA), Shri Sandeep Naik and Shri Madhav Bhandari others have come together to make Global Kokan Fest a resounding success.

The key highlight of the fest is the four effective seminars i.e Make in Kokan, Advantage Kokan, Blue Revolution and Tourism Conference. He further adds, “It will provide a platform for several self-employment projects at every village in Kokan in the areas of Tourism, modern agriculture, processing, fisheries, forest herbs, port development and many more”. Shri Kishore Dharia added “Anyone who wants to start their own business should register online on www.globalkokan.org for one of the seminars where they can gain firsthand knowledge of the whole business process and also be aware of various schemes and loan facilities available to them. The “Advantage Kokan”, seminar will showcase new schemes, infrastructure updates on ports, highway construction, airport development etc. Special pavilions are dedicated at the fest for “Make in Kokan” and “Advantage Kokan” where the visitors will get all the information on industrial opportunities in Kokan to those entrepreneurs who wish to invest in industries or businesses in Kokan. Special discourses on Organic farming, Horticulture in Kokan region, wineries, food / fruits processing etc will be conducted. Apart from this, guidance will be provided from various sources such as experts, Banks, Government Departments and others to the sons of the soil from Kokan and Mumbaikars who wish to develop their land in Kokanfrom a single platform."

The Seminar on ‘Blue revolution’ will elaborate on exploring the potential of 720km Kokan coastline and various opportunities for entrepreneurs. ‘Blue Revolution’ will also see live demonstrations of Crab Farming, Basa farming, etc organized by MPEDA and will be held on all the days of the fest to promote fisheries as an industry. The ‘Tourism conference’ will throw light on business opportunities for promoting backwaters, home stays, tour guides etc and promote Maharashtra Cuisine, Art & Culture and more. Another highlight is an Exhibition of paintings and photographs by artists from Kokan who have made a mark in the sector and are recognized globally. A special Hall of fame about the success stories of industrial houses sprinkled by generations as well as new industrial houses created by ambitious Marathi youth will be a special presentation this year in the form of Maharashtra Gaurav Hall. Along with the seminars, a special talk by waterman of India, Dr. Rajendra Singh, a Ramon Magsaysay Award winner and Stockholm Water Prize Winner on Kokan Water Mission and rejuvenation work of four Rivers in Kokan namely Gandhari, Jagbudi, Arjuna and Janavali.

Besides the seminars, everyday there will be cultural shows showcasing arts and crafts from the various districts in the region. Foodies are also not left out with and delicacies from Kokan can also be relished at the venue at the Kokan food festival. Along with the cultural and food fest, Spice board is also organizing a buyer & seller meet at the event.

The event is supported by Government Departments such as MTDC, Agriculture, Fisheries, MPEDA, CIDCO, Maharashtra Maritime Board, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and more.

About Global Kokan Fest

Started by Kokan Bhumi Pratisthan, Global Kokan Fest is the brain child of Shri Sanjay Yadavrao who wanted to give a global platform for the Kokan region where its beauty, business opportunities, culture, food will be on display. Global Kokan Festival is a small step where many Government and Non-Government initiatives are going to be implemented in future so that tourist and businesses should arrive from all over the world to this region. Global Kokan Fest has the support of several Government and Non-Government agencies.