Obs serverResearc R chFoun ndationMumba ai

Ne ewsletter roftheR Roundtab bleDiscus ssionon

Oppo ortunitie esforYouth Y le edDeve elopmen ntinUr rbanIndia

Saturday,2 28thAugu ust2010

Mr.Sudheen ndraKulkarni,Ch hairman,ORFMum mbaiwelcomesg guestsandparticipantstotheroun ndtable

Organis sedinco ollabora ationwit theSocialScienc cesandUN U HABI ITAT to ocelebratetheInternat I tionalYe earofYo outh(201 1011)

IncelebrationofthelaunchoftheInternationalYearofYouth(from12thAugust2010to12thAugust2011), the Observer Research Foundation Mumbai, in collaboration with eSocialSciences and UNHABITAT organised a Roundtable Discussion on the topic of Opportunities for YouthLed Development in Urban India.Theaimofthiseventwastohighlighttheimportanceofyouthinvolvementinsocietyandprocesses ofgovernance,andtoworktobringaboutimprovementsnotonlyintheirlocalsurroundingsbuttocreate acatalystforchangeanddevelopmentatthenationallevelthroughtheirempowerment. TheRoundtableDiscussionwasledbyMr.EirikSorlie,Projectofficer,UNHABITATUrbanYouthFundand Ms. Supriya Sule Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development, and Convener of the Maharashtra State Youth Policy Declaration. The participants were from a broad sections of society amongst which were students, professionals,youngsocialpractitioners,representativesfromNGOsworkingforyouthempowerment. Initiating the afternoons event, Mr. Sudheendra Kulkarni, Chairman, ORF Mumbai, spoke about youth development and youth affairs as one of the six broad areas of study and advocacy at ORF and the roundtable being a preliminary effort in this area. One of the main aims of the Youthissuesshould roundtable was to provide inputs to formulation of the youth notbeandneednot policyofMaharashtra.Mr.Kulkarniexpressedthat,Youthissues bediscussedonlyby should not be and need not be discussed only by the young. theyoung.Seniors Seniors should know what the young people are thinking, shouldknowwhat dreaming and aspiring for and also what issues are agitating them.HeelaboratedthatInourtraditionandculturewedont theyoungpeopleare havethis youngversus oldmindset.Itis young andoldyoung thinking,dreaming foroldandoldforyoung.Hefurtheremphasisedtheimportance andaspiringforand of reflecting and taking proactive action with respect to youth alsowhatissuesare developmenttodaybysayingthatthegiganticchallengesfaced agitatingthem. by young nations like India can only be addressed with the energyofyoungpeople,andthereforeitisnecessarytoenvision asocietyinwhichtheyoutharegivenanopportunitytolead. A range of issues regarding the ongoing initiatives to support youthled development, activities and empowermentprogrammes,suggestions,commentsandprobablesolutionstoaddressthevariousissues regardingtheyouthwerediscussedattheroundtable. One such innovative initiative is taken by eSocialSciences an online social science research portal establishedin2005isthecreationofayouthportal(YeSS)forAsianYouth.eSSaimstomakesocialscience research more accessible to Indian academics especially young researchers, policy makers, political leaders,bureaucratsandjournalists.Italsoseekstocreateanetworkofresourcestofacilitatetheexchange of ideas and informed policy making. Ms. Padma Prakash, Editor of eSocialSciences, elaborated on YeSS saying, As a response to the needs of young people, this portal has been created keeping in mind their needstosimplifythewaysocialsciencesarewritten.Thisportalisoperatedwiththevoluntaryeffortmade byyoungpeopleatIRISFoundationandothers.Ithasallthefeaturesofayouthsite.Wealsohaveasection namedaseStories,whichisbasedonresearchthatisgoingon,writteninamannerthatwouldmakesense 2

toyoungpeople.YeSS alsoincorporatesfeatureslikediscussionforums,polls,photogalleries andvideo contentsharing.Pleasevisitwww.yess.co.in

Box1 AboutYeSS(YoutheSocialSciences) YouthpopulationintotalpopulationofIndiais41.05%in2001. ThisisthedemographicpictureacrossthewholeofAsia.Andtheirproportionsaregrowing! Thispredominanceofyouthinthepopulationisexpectedtolastuntil2050. AtthattimeitwillbeadvantageforIndiaevenascomparedtoChina. Ourcitiesareattractinglargenumbersofyouthwhomigratetowork,orstudy,ortakeadvantageofnew opportunities. Urban youth are a burgeoning phenomenon. This is a generation growing up in a new and 'shining'Asiathathasemergedfromtheravagesofmanywars,freedomstrugglesandeconomicdistress,to make a space for itselfamong themostdeveloped western world.Their aspirationsand hopes, dilemmas and problems are surprisingly similar across countries, but different from every other strata of the population. They are struggling to find a space that is uniquely their own. We have created Youth eSocialSciences or YeSS as just such a space where young people can access the best of social science researchandunderstandtheirworldacrossregions,classesandcategories. YeSSisgroundedinthefirmconvictionthatyoungpeopleshouldhaveasayinthesociety,politics, culture,economicsandthegovernmentoftheday. Mostimportantly,YeSSrestsonthebeliefthatyoungpeoplearemorethancapableoftakingcharge oftheirlivesandimpactingthesocialandeconomicfabric.Alltheyneedisanopportunity! YeSS is designed to allow young people to participate in social science enquiries that eventually informpoliciesthatconcernyouth. YeSS also offers a platform for youth to post their social science research work on youth issues, givingthemaspacewheretheycangetfeedbackfromotheryoungpeopleontheirwork. YeSSoffersanopportunityandaspacetothinkaloudandcomeupwithsomeanswers! YeSSislinkedtoeSocialSciences,apanAsia,socialsciencesportal,basedinIndiawhichisaunitof IRISKnowledgeFoundation,aCSRinitiativeofIRISBusinessServices,India. Source:www.yess.co.in

Inadditiontothisinitiative,eSocialSciencescontributedtotheUNHABITATsrecentlypublishedreport titled, State of the URBAN YOUTH 2010/2011 Leveling The Playing Field: Inequality of Youth Opportunity,whichlooksattheopportunitiesavailabletotheurbanyouthinfivedifferentcities(Nairobi, Rio de Janeiro, Kingston, Lagos and Mumbai), where eSocialSciences compiled the report on youth opportunities in Mumbai. eSocialSciences is working with the UNHABITAT on ongoing projects and is collaboratingwiththemtodeveloptheGlobalHelpDeskInitiative(pleaseseeBox3).

 Ms.PadmaPrakash,Mr.SudheendraKulkarniandMr.EirikSorlieinitiatethediscussion

Mr.EirikSorlie,fromtheUNHABITATsharedsomeinteresting insights on global youth trends and the efforts of the UN HABITAT to build capacity and empower the youth through various projects. Reiterating the importance of undertaking initiativesforsupportingyouthleddevelopment,hesaid,Ifwe look at the age group of 15 to 24, which is the UNs official definition of young people, almost one fifth of the worlds population is young, that is about 18 percent. Of these young people, 85 percent of them are living in developing countries. That means the young people in the developing countries are increasingly meeting challenges like access to employment, housing,education,andhealthservices.

Almostonefifthofthe worldspopulationis young,thatisabout18 percent.Oftheseyoung people,85percentof themarelivingin developingcountries.

Speakingabouttheneedtodefinewhatyouthleddevelopmentmeant,Mr.Sorliesaiditisakindofanew buzzwordindevelopmentcircles,theUNagenciesarealsotalkingaboutitbutthereisnocleardefinition ofwhatitis.WehavetriedatUNHABITATtoarriveatadefinitionalongwiththeyoungpeoplewhoare involved with UNHABITATs work. So far Youthled Development has been outlined by the UN as involvingyoungpeopleactivelyforcreatingabetterfutureforthemselvesandtheircommunities.Youth leddevelopmentimpliesthatsocietyrecognisesyouthasanassetandforceforchange,aresourceforthe advancementofsocietiesandinitiatorsofsocial,economical,politicalandtechnologicaldevelopments. Mr.Sorlie,inconsonancewithMr.Kulkarnisviews,saidthatWhilewesaythatyouthleddevelopmentis abouttheyouthpeopletakingthelead,wedonotsaythattheyaretakingtheleadinavacuum.Hewasof 4

theopinionthatyouthleddevelopmentisnotaboutyoungpeopleworkingalone,butaboutyoungpeople andadultsworkinginpartnership,toadvicemutuallydesirablegoals.Itisaboutyoungpeoplecontributing their ideas and resources, and adults contributing their experiences, and supporting young people in the development. UNHABITATistheleadagencywalkingtowardsMillenniumDevelopmentGoals(MDG)targetsonwater and sanitation and slum upgradation. The agency works with local government in most of their programmes; this partnership works well as UNHABITAT provides technical and nontechnical support, whilstlocalgovernmentsaretheonesabletoimplementandsustainprogrammesandprojects.According toMr.Sorlie,oneofthemainthingstheUNHABITATistryingtoachievethroughtheInternationalYearof the Youth, is to come up with a work plan and concrete initiatives on how young people can contribute towardsreachingtheMDGs. The UNHABITAT has undertaken various initiatives such as opening of Youth Centres, setting up a Regional Training Centre in Nairobi, and launching the Global Youth Help Desk. This UN agency, besides funding, also supports capacity building for young beneficiaries and their projects by advising them, and providinganetworkwithotherorganisationsandpractitioners whoaredoingsimilarthings,sothatthey can learn from each other. For instance, the Regional Training Centre in Nairobi provides vocational training for young people living in the slums with no formal education to acquire construction skills throughexperientiallearning.Themotiveistoenabletheseyouthfromtheslumstoemploytheselowcost construction skills to start their own small businesses and construct their own structures. For more informationaboutthisprojectandotherprogrammesbyUNHABITAT,pleasevisitwww.unhabitat.org. UNHABITATalsoundertakesresearchasanimportantcomponentoftheirwork.Recognisingthatthereis very little research available relating to urban youth internationally and their role in development, UN HABITATattemptstoprovidedataandresearchontheopportunitiesavailabletoyoungpeoplearoundthe world,aswellascollectingbestpracticesofyouthleddevelopment,inordertohelppolicymakersdevelop betterschemes. MovingtoamorefocusseddiscussionoftheIndianscenarioespeciallythesituationinMumbaiPriyanka Bhosale,astudentfromMumbaiUniversitysaid,TheUNYouthFundisefficientlyworkingtowardsyouth empowerment. But would that model effectively work in India as well?. Mr.Sorlie pointed out that any efforts at the international level have to work in conjunction with local governments and youth organisationstocreatesignificantandsustainablechange. Inthisregard,researchcouldbeconductedbytheorganisationssuchastheUN,withpolicydevelopment and formulation taking place in conjunction with local government bodies, who then become fully responsible for implementation of the end programmes. It is not realistic to think that international agenciesalonecanbeeffective inimplementingprojectsandpolicies,asoftentheirknowledgeandskills may not be tuned to local conditions. At the same time, the local governments often lack capacity and imaginationinhowtheytackletheissuesthatplaguetheirconstituencies.Therefore,suchpartnershipscan bestenableknowledgeandresourcesharingtoovercomespecificconstraints. 5

Ms.SupriyaSuleaddressesthegatheringatORF

BringingthediscussionbacktotheIndiancontextandMaharashtrainparticular,Ms.SupriyaSule,spoke aboutvariousissuesrelatedtodevelopmenttheyouthinMaharashtra.Shecategoricallyspokeoutagainst thecastecensusandquestionedtheneedofsuchadetailedcensuswhichissocasteoriented.Shewas alsoquitecandidaboutthefailureofthepoliticalestablishmentinreachingevenasingleMDG. For Ms. Sule, The biggest MDG challenge is malnutrition, which is connected to everything else education, livelihood, everything in India. The other challenges that she held as obstacles to the bright future of our country were: urbanrural divides; disparities in rural and urban electrification; scarcity of water(andthedilemmaofchoosingbetweenallottingwatertoagriculture,industry,orprovidingdrinking water);andfinally,fightingNaxalism. AccordingtoMs.Sule,thequalityofeducationisanotherissuethatposesagravechallengefortheyouth, aswellasthedevelopmentandprogressofIndia.Givingsomestatisticstoexplainthedismalstateofthe education in our country, Ms. Sule said, Only 11 percent of this countrys children go to college. And for Maharashtra which is a so calleddevelopingstateonly13percentofthechildrengotocollege. She blames the swelling population in part, for the strains on the Todaytheyouth education system and employment opportunities as well as the poor areconcernedand humandevelopmentindicatorsIndiaisconsistentlydoledout. theywanttomake On a more optimistic note she said that, Today the youth are concerned and they want to make a difference. They want a better quality of life, and to facilitate that, A good infrastructure, schools, colleges,agoodqualityeducationandextremelygoodandsolidvalues isneededfortheyouth.

adifference.They wantabetter qualityoflife

She ended positively acknowledging that People like us [politicians] have to learn to listen, take the suggestions and will of the people back to the parliament, debate with and influence policy makers and peoplelikeyouwhoworkinthefield.Additionally,shealso invitedcommentsandsuggestionsfromthe 6

participants for the Maharashtra State Youth Policy Declaration and offered to organize a further interactionwiththecoordinatorsofthedraft. Ms. Sules point on the urbanrural disparity invited a number of questionsontheimplementationofseveralpoliciesintheruralsector. Whilstthefocusofoureventwasprimarilyonurbanyouth,theneed toengageandbeinclusiveofruralyouthinthisregardwasrepeatedly felt and expressed. Devendra Singh, a class XI student of Kendriya VidyalayaII,Colabasaid,Wetalkaboutdevelopmentofanationbut oftendowe thinkabout therural youthwhocannot accessthebasic amenities.

Wetalkabout developmentofa nationbutoftendo wethinkaboutthe ruralyouthwho cannotaccessthe basicamenities.

Theurgencyofaddressingthisissuewasespeciallyhighlightedinthe contextofemploymentopportunitiesandskillsdevelopmenttocreate more equal opportunities for youth in urban and rural areas in particular creating employment opportunitiesinruralareastostemruraltourbanmigration.Ms.NilimaJadhavfromUtkarshspokeofthe needforvocationaltraining,ofruralpopulationstoalsopreparethemforurbanemployment.Peoplefrom theruralsectormigratetotheurbanareaslookingforjobsandtheirskillsetsarenotuptodatetogetajob intheurbansector.Sotheyremainunemployed,causingastrainontheresourcesintheurbanareas.As Indiaspopulationislargelyrural(over70percentasperthe2001census),weneedtobeattunedtothe difficulties and realities in rural areas and take proactive action to prevent social and economic polarisation.WhilsttheMaharashtraStateYouthPolicyDeclaration(MSYPD),aimstoaddresstheneedsof both rural and urban youth, most of its recommendations are urbancentric. It is therefore necessary to tackletheneedsoftheruralyouthinMaharashtraanddraft a rural youthdevelopmentpolicy andwork towardsitsimplementation. The 2007 Maharashtra Development Report, by Planning Commission, Government of India, states that, "UrbanMaharashtracontinuestodrawmigrantsfromitsruralhinterlandsandfromotherstatesofIndia. MigrantsaregenerallyyoungmenwhocometoMaharashtrainsearchofemployment.Citiesheredooffer employmenttomanywhoenterthelabourmarket,butexcesssupplyoflabourinrelationtothedemand for it results in high incidence of unemployment in urban labour markets." It is therefore critical to plan andexecuterelevantskillsdevelopmentandlabourtrainingprogrammesthatcanhelptoprovidegainful employmenttomoreyoungpeople,especiallythosecomingtothecitiesinsearchofbetterprospects. TheNationalYouthPolicy(2003)entailsasectiononTrainingandEmployment.Itacknowledgesthatthe incidenceofunemploymentismorepronouncedinruralareasandinurbanslumsandthereexistsamis match between skillsrequirement and employment opportunities. The National Youth Policy recognises the need for providing vocational training for the urban youth besides developing special training programs for young people in the rural areas, based on their needs as assessed by the Government, in conjunction with youth organizations. The draft of the Maharashtra State Youth Policy also contains a sectionontrainingandskillsdevelopmentbutmostofitsrecommendationsarespecifictourbanareas.It doesnotprovideforanydistinctiveprogramsseparatelyaimedatruralandurbanyouth.Itrecognizesthe importance of establishing skills development institutes and reorganising Industrial Training Institutions 7

(ITIs), District Industrial Centres (DICs) and the Maharashtra Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (MCED) with a focus on equipping youth with entrepreneurial and marketrelevant skills. The policy mainly looks at training and developing the skills of the youth so as to empower them to increase their chancesofemploymentandbecomeselfsufficient. Ms. Supriya Sule pointed out that the MSYPD needs to be widely discussed and suggestions from youth organisationwillbemuchappreciated.Youthintheagegroupof1335stillhaveachancetoputforththeir viewpointsandsuggestionsaboutthispolicyinastructuredmanner.SomeoftheorganisationslikeTata Institute for Social Sciences (TISS), Yuva, CORO, CYDAPune, Navnirman, PUKAR, College of Social Work, NirmalaNiketan,CCDT,YouthtoYouth(Pune),BAIFJawhar(Thane)andmanyotherNGOswerepartner organisations in the formulation of this policy. To make this policy even more inclusive of youth views, otherNGOsworkingtowardsyouthdevelopmentcouldalsoinvitesuggestionsandcommentsfromalarger youth audience and incorporate the unaddressed issues in the final draft. It is envisaged that multiple consultations will yield a more suitable and widely accepted policy, which will aid its success. It is anticipatedthatthepolicywillbeadoptedinDecember2010,sofeedback,suggestionsandimprovements shouldbediscussedandsubmittedasamatterofpriority. Inresponsetothecallforsuggestions,BhagwanKeshbhatfromYUVAproposedthat,Theyouthshouldbe involvedandengagedinthedecisionmakingprocessinallministriesanddepartments.Similarly,MSYPD includes the Right to participate in decision making in relevant schemes and programs for self and society's development as a component. Secondly, he was of the opinion that student elections in colleges and universities are needed to facilitate the engagement of the youth in collegelevel Theyouthshouldbe decisionmakingprocesswhichwouldhelpthemtoexercisetheir involvedandengagedin democraticrights.Thirdly,hespokeabouttheneedofsettingupa thedecisionmaking State Youth Commission, which would not only be a discussion processinallministries body but it would ensure protection of rights of the youth and anddepartments. promotion of issues concerning them. This concept has been coveredintheMSYPD butmoredetaileddiscussionsonthe role andfunctionsofsuchabodyneedtobeelucidated. Another important aspect highlighted by Dr. Rajesh Sarwadnya, was that of spirituality. He said, Apart fromallotheraspectsofdevelopmentinurbanIndia,thereshouldbeafocusonthespiritualgrowthofthe youth.Asaresultofthelackofspirituality,problemslikegreed,anger,jealously,suspicion,andstressare creeping in. Thus, enhancement of spiritual growth could lead towards personality building, leadership andoveralldevelopmentofanindividual,whichwouldespeciallybenefittheyouth. There was a general consensus that there was a lack of information available to the youth about their rights,responsibilitiesandopportunities,therebylimitingtheireffectiveempowerment.Ms.SunitaDhaka, a teacher from Kendriya Vidyalaya II, Colaba, said that school children, do not even know if they can contributeingovernanceandwhethertheirideashaveanyimportance.Sheaddedthattheyhaveideas, butdontknowwheretovoicethem,orhowtocontributetothedecisionmakingprocess.Itwasagreed thattherewasaneedtomakemoreinformationavailabletoyoungpeopletoincreasetheirawarenessof 8

socialissues,aswellastohelpthemfindwaysofbeingabletocontributetosocietyinameaningfulway.In thisregard,theMaharashtraStateYouthPolicyDeclarationdetailsthepotentialrightsandresponsibilities of the youth (please see Box 2 for details). Once this policy comes into existence, it will serve as a very powerfulinformationtoolforyouthandcanhelpthemtobetterunderstandtheirroleinsociety.

Box2 RIGHTSOFYOUTH Thispolicyisbasedonahumanrightsperspectiveandenablesrealisationoffollowingrights: 1. Right to citizenship of the country and therefore guaranteed fundamental rights stated in the constitutionofIndia. 2. Righttoparticipateinthedecisionmakingintherelevantschemesandprogramsforselfandsocietys development. 3. Righttoenablingenvironmentandequalopportunitiestoaccessandqualityeducation. 4. Righttolivelihoodinordertoleadadignifiedandproductivelife. 5. Right to organize and participate in democratic, autonomous student and nonstudent organizations andgovernancemechanisms. 6. Righttoliveahealthylifeinacleanenvironment. 7. Righttoexercisechoiceintheirsexualandreproductivelife. 8. Right to be protected from all forms of discrimination, abuse and exploitation. DUTIESANDRESPONSIBILITESOFYOUTH Thispolicyrecognisesthatyouthhaveanimportantroletoplayinsocietysdevelopment;henceinadditionto therightsofyouth,thefollowingresponsibilitiesanddutiesoftheyouthhavebeenputforth: 1. Topromotepeace,securityanddevelopment. 2. Topromotehumandignityandrespectforall. 3. Tocontributeinbuildingasocietyfreefromallformsofviolence,crime,discriminationandexploitation. 4. Toappreciateandrespectdiversecultures,languages,religionsandpoliticalaffiliations. 5. To contribute constructively to the development process through national and state services, communityserviceandvoluntaryendeavors. 6. Torespectpublicpropertyandthepropertiesofothers. 7. Tobesensitivetoecologicalbalanceandprotectandpreservethesame. 8. Tobearesponsiblecitizen. Source:MaharashtraStateYouthPolicyDeclaration,2010

Thedraftpolicyclearlyempowersyouthfromallsectionsofsocietywithrightsanddutiesasdetailedin Box 2. In addition, the document acknowledges empowerment of disabled youth as a priority area. However, Kanchan Majumdar from Reliance Industries Limited raised the issue of various government policiesfailingtospecificallyaddresstherightsof,andtosupport,disabledcitizensespeciallytheyouth. In this regard, it was suggested that more focussed efforts should be made to identify and address the challengesfacedbydisabledyouth. 9

Itwasalsorecognisedthatlanguagecouldbeapotentialbarrier,creatinginequalitiesinopportunitiesfor youth. The participants of the roundtable discussion were all of the opinion that no youth should be excluded on the basis of language, and they should not be denied the right to information because they cannotaccessresourcesintheirlocallanguages.ShriSudheendraKulkarnisaid,Thatisoneofthefocus areas of ORF. We are actively promoting nonEnglish Indian languages and it is a major point of our advocacy.Theneedtopromotevariousnationalandinternationalschemes,fundingopportunitiesinlocal languagesforthelargeraudiencethroughmediawasexpressedbyMsSunitaDhaka,especiallyinaneffort to reach students and youth in vernacular schools. It was pointed out that capacity building workshop shouldalsobeconductedingovernmentschoolsandcollegestoequiptheyouthwithlatesttechnological skills,togivethembetteraccesstoinformationavailablethroughnewmediaandonlinemediums. Justasuseoftechnologyhasgrownextensivelyamongtheyoung,sohavenewmeansofengagementwith societyandsocialproblems.Theyouthoftodayhavetakenadifferentpathfromtheirpredecessorsandare increasingly turning their efforts into social enterprises. However, a number of such youth organisations havenoinstitutionaloradministrativebackingandoftenhavenomeansofaccessingfundsonasystematic and sustained basis. They do not have a brand name or a track record that they can show to corporate funders. Youth startups especially face large sunk costs and cannot afford to invest a lot of money in advertising and PR activities. Abhinav Mehra, a student from H.R College has started a social enterprise named Chirag,whichisworkingtowardssolarelectrificationinruralareas.Hesaid,Asastartup,Ifaced huge problems when I looked for funding, because I had no brand name. What we lacked was infrastructure.Therearemanyfundingoptionsavailableforyouthledprojectstodaybuttheyshouldbe publicisedandaccessedinachannelisedway.Thebiggestchallengefortheseyouthledsocialenterprises aresustainingprojectsonalongtermbasis.Inaddressingthisissue,Mr.Sorliesaid,Itisveryimportant tofundtherightprojectswithsocialgoalsandhelptheentrepreneurtogeneratetheirownprofitthatcan be reinvested when the scholarships or donation stops flowing in. He assured participants that the UN takesgreatcareinselectingprojectsandthatonlytheverybestandmostdeservingprojectsgetfunding, andyethesaidthatwhentheycallforprojectideastheyget anumberofvery goodproposalsincluding fromhundredsofyoungpeopleandyouthorganisationsinIndia.InadditiontolaunchingtheYouthFund, UNHABITATisworkingtomakemoreinformationavailabletoyoungpeopleandwillsoonUNHABITAT willsoonlaunchaportalGlobalYouthHelpDesk.Themainideaistohaveasitewhichtheyoungpeople canusetoputuptheirowncontent,ideas,storiesandsolutions.Mr.Sorliesaid.
Box3 UNHABITATGlobalYouthHelpdesk(GYH) ThecentralfocusoftheGYHistoprovideyoungpeoplewiththeresourcesneededtolaunchand undertakeinnovativeprojectsthataddresssocial,economicandculturalchallengesinthe community. Theobjectiveistoempoweryouthwithinformationandknowledge,skillbuildingopportunitiesand ameansofcreatinganenrichingspaceforlikemindedyoungpeople. Theportalwillalsobeafunplaceforyoutolaunchvirtualcommunities,takepartincontests,engage indialogue,sharemusicandvideosandphotographs,listentoexpertsandmuchmore. Importantly,itisacollaborativewebsiteandwillbeasexcitingastheyouthwanttomakeit! Itwillbecloselylinkedtocollaborativecommunityradiostationsmanagedbyyouthandfeaturing youthprogrammes. Source:PresentationbyMrEirikSorlieatORFMumbaion28 thAugust2010

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In concluding the discussions, Mr. Sudheendra Kulkarni commended the efforts being made by UN HABITATandeSocialSciences,andthankedthespeakersandparticipantsfortheirvaluablecommentsand suggestions. He was especially appreciative of Ms. Sules candid remarks and the work she is doing to promotetherightsoftheyouthinMaharashtra.Hefurtheremphasisedtheneedforpromotingdialogue betweenruralandurbanyouthandsaidthatORFwouldcontinueitsengagementwiththisimportanttopic, whichwouldactivelyinvolveruralandurbanNGOsandyouthgroups.Incomplementingtheseefforts,ORF wouldalsoendeavourtosupportinformationdisseminationofopportunitiesfortheyouthintheformof locallanguagepublicationsandinteractionswithlocalactivists. *** ForfurtherinformationaboutthiseventpleasecontactMs.VarshaRajbyphoneat61313825orbyemail tovarsha.raj@orfonline.org. *** ObserverResearchFoundationMumbai NKMInternationalHouse5thFloor BabubhaiChinaiMarg,Mumbai400020 02261313800orfmumbai@orfonline.org 11