Delhi seminar explores role of youth in social transformation

NEW DELHI — India has the largest youth population in the world, a reality that holds both tremendous promise and potential challenges for the future of the country.Recently, the Indian Institute of Public Administration and the Office of Public Affairs of the Bahá ‘ ís of India organized a seminar at the India International Centre on the subject of youth, entitled “The Role of Youth in Social Transformation. Over 40 people attended the event on February 10, 2016, comprising representatives of civil society, government, media, and faith organizations.Young people are needed as leaders and decision makers in spaces where the course and direction of society as a whole are determined. Examining this theme, the seminar looked specifically at youth in community building, the impact of media on youth, and the contribution of youth in addressing climate change.”It’s necessary to include the voices of youth in a meaningful way,” said Farida Vahedi, a Baha’i working as the head of Youth Empowerment and Capacity Building at the City Montessori School in Lucknow and convenor of the Quality Education Forum of India.”Integrating young people into formal structures of power is of course advantageous for a variety of reasons, but simply feeding ‘ young ‘ voices into ‘ old ‘ systems, if unaccompanied by more substantive forms of participation, runs the risk of degenerating into mere tokenism.”Representing the Indian Government, Kiran Soni Gupta, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, agreed. “The concept of leadership needs to be redefined,” Ms Gupta said in her talk at the beginning of the day, setting the tone for the consultation that followed. “It is the youth who can bring a fresh wave of ideas and innovation in society.” This theme was the root of the issues explored during the first panel, which addressed the role of youth in community building.
The seminar was the second co-organized by the the Indian Institute of Public Administration and the Office of Public Affairs of the Bahá ‘ ís of India on the subject of youth in society.