And So We Started! :)

When Bhanu first mentioned the organisation on chat to me, he made it sound like a multi national corporation. Well he has the knack of propagating, sometimes a bit too much, but for me it was actually the idea of having youth as a part of the policy making and policy implementation procedure that got me excited, for I had never before heard of youth taking decisions or even being a part of them. It was a small dream, a little idea that grew and kept on growing as we kept on seeing each other meeting after meeting and on numerous occasions we had to hold ourselves back, hold each other back just a little bit, for a moment, because just for a moment we would end up getting a little too ahead of ourselves and collectively start dreaming of what this could be. So what exactly could this be? A youth organisation enabling dialogue? Yes. A youth organisation researching new avenues? Yes. A youth organisation taking up policies in a different light, bringing a futuristic ideology for change? Yes. A youth organisation bringing the grassroots closer to the policy makers? Yes. A youth organisation initiating the the first think tank of the country? Yes. A youth organisation building the nation? Yes. And a lot of yeses more.

So there we went, taking our first steps to what will hopefully be a fruitful and a long, long journey. But since taking up too many things at a time was obviously not feasible for a small organisation like ours, we decided to take up three highly important issues - International Relations, Skill Development and Climate Change.

International Relations because we are of the view that as we, as a country, progress further towards 2020 and beyond and with our continuously growing economic might and the intelligentsia and the ever shrinking world, India needs to take a stance on various issues with various countries. There was never going to be a bigger platform than the G-8/G-20 Youth Summits and with the youth world over ready to let the bygones be bygones and look ahead at the future in a new light, YPD recognised that this would be an opportunity missed if India was to go unrepresented and for this very reason we became the first and till date the only Organising Committee of G-8/G-20 Youth Summits in the country. It is the time to develop new ties and new strategies and take up issues and policies left ignored and carve a niche for diplomacy. Youth has an advantage of not carrying any baggage and the clarity of looking at new ideas without the failures of past blurring the vision. But in the same breath I would like to add that YPD recognises that experience can be replaced by nothing and hence we made efforts for mentoring from one of the greatest scientists in the world and the former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

Skill Development was an issue close to all of our hearts. Despite it being one of the priorities of the 11th plan, we saw precious little being done in this regard. India produces the largest number of IT experts in the world each year and it is the same country that has one of the largest number of illiterate people in the world. No matter the number of literacy programs that run across the country, simple literacy in today's world is no answer for the unemployment problems. Schooling and education can do wonders, but for the simple reason of the huge physical infrastructure required to reach all parts of the country, we might miss the bus in imparting employable skills to the citizens. It was decided that our skill development program will not only concentrate on the policy issues, but will be an enabler in imparting skills to the underprivileged. In the process we will also be studying the requirements of the people in the hitherto unreached areas in our effort to make the real picture clearer to the policy makers.

Climate Change happened because of the unflappable spirit of Devanik. We all knew that it was all messed up when it came to environment and little was being done. Delegates from Maldives have been crying in vain, as they fear their country being drowned. But it was Devanik who actually opened our eyes in how we can contribute in our own little ways-from turning vegetarians to avoiding flights-he just set the fire burning. And there ensued an immensely long discussion after which we were actually on the road. Devanik continues to work from Vellore and with our Green Fellowship we aim at involving the youth and creating awareness for the environment. Also there are a lot of people working at places rendered vulnerable due to rapid climate change. Unfortunately these dedicated workers do not have a say when policies for the environment are designed. With our huge network of youth based organisations and our research teams, we intend to make their voices heard at the highest levels.

This is just the beginning and we intend to incorporate a lot of issues calling for attention. But as I said before it is the idea, the prospect of getting the young from not only all across the country but in fact the whole world, work for a cause that is so enthralling. I can not wait for the next morning to dawn upon me so that I can start working for a better world, a better future.