YOUTH & INCLUSIVE CITIZENSHIP:

APPROACHES TO REALIZE DEMOGRAPHIC

DIVIDENDS IN ASIA-PACIFIC

- ABHIVYAKTI, NASHIK

Context

Education is perceived in the framework of what Institutions provide – certificates as guarantee for employment

Not related to individual context and their interest Lack of skills, perspective and knowledge enough for

employability or entrepreneurship Lack of connect with local reality – agriculture, local

resources and culture Availability of cheap labour as a source of employability Seen as either consumer or as a worker or as a problem.

Issues of Youth

Lack of opportunity to assess their worth and space to contribute to its development

No connection with the State apparatus

Exploitation of their labour

Abhivyakti’s Initiative

Capacity building of skills and perspectiveOpportunities for leadership growth through its programme – engaging with self and social issues

Connect to larger networks

For Instance Community Video enables community-based youth to learn video film-making and use it to document and narrate stories of struggle, their exclusion from contributing to village development.

Youth from different villages of Nashik found means of expressions when they started understanding their own reality, their connection to the village collective and their own empowerment by taking initiatives in village matters

Key village institutions like school, PHC, Gram Sabhas, Agriculture and PDS became point of focus and monitoring

Long-term Course on Youth Leadership

Youth are part of regional network process formed by Anubhav-Abhivyakti

Emphasis on Peer Learning of experiences, perspective and skills

Contact with other networks and exposure to larger social issues and forms of Solidarity

Opportunities for inclusive citizenship of youth

Transformation of the Self through different means – learning opportunities & developing ownership

Acting on their interests/passions through exposures, internships, projects and experiments

Self to Society – linkages to opportunity to participate in meaningful activities in socio-eco-political sphere