Reaching out to 1 million youth to practice #DemocracyInEverydayLife
Youth Led. Youth Designed. Youth Engaged.
As citizens we study, play, work and live together, every day, in society. But, we are all different. We differ because of our upbringing. We differ on account of religion, caste, economic status, language and genders. Even when we have the same religion, socio-economic status and language, the experiences and opinions of different genders vary. In the same office, various colleagues may have different opinions and analysis of the same problem. In all generations, youngsters disagree with their parents and elders in the family and community, because experiences and views differ.
As aware, active and engaged citizens, we make democracy function in our lives, every day, in various ways.
India is the largest democracy in the world today, with half our population below 25 years of age. This is the largest group of youth in any country, at any time in history! The socio-economic future of India depends a great deal on how youth engage with democratic principles and values, and effectively participate in strengthening democratic institutions. If not addressed seriously, this might result in the disenchantment from democratic values amongst the Indian youth. It is thus important that the future generations of Indians continue to believe in, support and live democracy every day by understanding and respecting geographical, cultural, religious, racial, gender, sexual and physical diversity within and beyond higher education institutions. For it is only when we appreciate, listen, respect, value, encourage and facilitate democratic values and principles - in the political system, and in families, communities and society - will India become a truly democratic nation.
PRIA Youth believes in authentic, empowering participation of all sections of society in nurturing, protecting and deepening democracy, and is committed to facilitating the learning and practice of #DemocrcayinEverydayinLife by millions of youth.
PRIA launched its ‘Youth-n-Democracy (YnD)’ campaign in 2017 to engage and promote the participation of youth in #DemocracyInEverydayLife. The campaign envisioned with the following objectives for engaging with youth:
a. Creating safe spaces for conversations in colleges and universities
b. Deepening the understanding of Democracy In Everyday Life (DIEL)
c. Strengthening peer to peer relationships in college spaces and creating a Pan India network of youth promoting and working towards the idea of DIEL
The primary target group for the Pan India YnD Campaign was college going youth mainly in the age bracket of 18-25 years of age. The focus was on students in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and engagements were carried out with a diverse array of Indian colleges, universities and students. The campaign ensured that local and cultural contexts were given due respect and adopted the principles of dialogue, openness and participation.
Youth-n-Democracy Fellowship
The conversations during the Youth-n-Democracy Campaign provided concrete indications to issues which affect young people in India the most. Thus, it was the target population themselves who informed us about the issues related to ethnic, cultural, regional, geographical, ability, gender and sexuality differences, along with the lack of spaces to have meaningful conversations, to dissent, and to raise voice. These inputs led to the designing of the currently executed YnD Fellowship, which is divided into four modules of Self, Identity, Society and Social Change, with diversity and inclusion as overarching themes. It has been designed to increase awareness among young people about the social realities they live in as well as the concepts of active citizenship and social accountability, along with understanding the roles that they can play in affecting social change in their daily existence. The individual impact that the Fellowship has on young people is centered on the values of respecting different views and cultures, as well as accepting plurality.
The fellowship is presently in its pilot stage and is being implemented with 20 college students in Delhi. The fellowship engages with independent, motivated, and creative young adults who are interested in promoting democracy within their communities. The Fellowship aims for the following outcomes:
Youth build a network of young people across higher education institutions to take forward conversations about diversity, inclusion and democracy in everyday life.
Youthra
Youthra is an annual street theatre competition which celebrates the spirit of Youth in Democracy through the medium of Street Theatre. Organized in open public spaces, Youthra is a platform for young people to have open, fearless and non-judgmental conversations on issues that matter to them. As the competition is set out in public spaces, teams are given an opportunity to reach out to larger and varying audiences to enable them to be heard. Colleges perform street plays in public locations on different issues ranging from sanitation and religion, to language and voting, managing to cover all of the issues that hinder the principles and ideals surrounding any democracy, especially one as plural and diverse as India. The plays are watched by the average citizen of all ages, making them think, reflect, and celebrate the democratic practices that run deep in our country.
Youthra started during the initial YnD campaign, but has been held annually thereafter.
