NURTURING ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP AMONG YOUTH IN INDIA: A CONSULTATION
The consultation will be held at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi on March 3-4, 2009

South Asia is home to one of the largest and fastest-growing youth populations on the planet, with 33% of India’s population between 15 and 35 years old. In India, a growing democracy with a complex and diverse society, the challenge is to ensure that this huge cohort becomes a vibrant, constructive force that can address social issues and create a more just, equitable and peaceful world. Imagine if 33% of the population could be mobilized to volunteer one day in a year. We would have 3.3 million person days of active citizenship available! Rather than seeing young people merely as passive recipients of services and consumers, it is critical to recognize them as change agents who have the energy, passion and creativity to make a significant contribution to society while also building their skills for the future.

The consultation will be held at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi on March 3-4, 2009. Designed as a listening space to understand different perspectives on youth development and civic engagement, it will bring together key stakeholders, including government officials committed to strong youth policy, leaders of high-performing youth development programs, heads of educational institutions, representatives from the private sector and young people who are active citizens. The consultation will engage participants in a dialogue to explore the needs of the field, highlight innovative approaches that address these needs, and to develop a framework for creating a more supportive environment for youth development and active citizenship.

Approx. 70 participants representing different organizations will be present in addition to the young active citizens. Mrs. Sindhushree Khullar, Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs will open the consultation by sharing how the government is investing in youth and the role that different stakeholders can play. Panelists deliberating on the need to invest in youth as active citizens and innovative approaches to building active citizenship among youth include representatives from the US Embassy, Times Foundation, the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Oxfam, the Youth Collective, PUKAR (Mumbai), Drishti (Ahmedabad), the Bosco Institute of Social Work (Jorhat), CYDA (Pune), Pravah, Project Citizen and the Green schools program of CSE in New Delhi.

Mr. Eboo Patel, Executive Director and Founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, USA will engage the young participants in a discussion on the role of young people as active citizens.

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