Guwahati, Feb 23 (PTI) The first Bodoland International Knowledge Festival to be held in Assam's Kokrajhar district will be inaugurated by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, officials said on Thursday.

The international event is the first of its kind in the region and will be organised by Bodoland University with support from the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) from February 27 to March 2.

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The event will be inaugurated by Yunus, while altogether 35 foreign delegates from 14 countries have confirmed their presence at the four-day long event in the western part of Assam, about 225 km from Guwahati.

"Over the years, Kokrajhar and Bodoland were portrayed negatively. We were known for insurgency and backwardness. But time has changed and we have moved ahead," BTC Chief Executive Member Pramod Boro said at a press conference here.

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Now, the people want Kokrajhar and the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) to be known as a destination for intelligent people and the Bodoland International Knowledge Festival (BIKF) will be one of the biggest events being organised in the region, he added.

"We want to establish Kokrajhar and the BTR as destinations for education, knowledge sharing and tourism with this mega event," Boro said.

"There will also be the participation of more than 300 invited delegates from across India. More than 10,000 participants from varied fields will be attending the festival," Boro said.

He said many Memorandum of Understandings in the field of knowledge sharing as well as investments during the festival are likely to be signed.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)