April 17, 2010
Youth Initiative (YI) is an outstanding Nepali youth
organization established in 1999 and formally registered in April 2001. It is
affiliated with the Social Welfare Council (SWC) of Nepal. YI focuses on youth
empowerment, strengthening of student and youth politics, promotion of civic
engagement, the democratization of the state and the protecting of human
rights. Strategic partners have included Danida HUGOU, Search For Common Ground
(SFCG), World Bank, Friedrich Naumann Foundation, World Health Organization and
UNESCO, among others.
I first became aware of Youth Initiative in the fall of
2007, when I conducted a group discussion with some of Nepal’s most promising
young leaders. The three-hour discussion was filmed in the evening at Youth
Initiative’s Kathmandu offices during a blackout. I remember it was cold and
everyone kept their coats on. Members of the group included: Gagan Thapa, Robin
Sitoula, Ram Kumari Jhankri, Rajendra Mulmi, Manish Jha, Sudyumna Dahal, and
Deependra Chaulagian (who was President of YI at that time.)
CLICK HERE for 2007 Group Discussion
This month, Youth Initiative has just published a valuable book called Generation Dialogues – Youth in Politics: Nepal, co-authored by Bhoj Raj Poudel and Pieter De Schepper.
The first section concentrates on general perceptions of youth in Nepal and how those perceptions have changed during the last few decades. The second section addresses student politics in Nepali academic institutions and national politics. The third illustrates the means by which young people in Nepal can get involved and engaged in mainstream politics.
The book is a wonderful undertaking, long overdue and highly recommended.
To learn how to get your copy of the book, CLICK HERE
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