India is the youngest major nation in the world. Around 40% of India’s population is below 20 years of age. Ensuring a bright future for the next generation is largely the responsibility of the previous generation- that is our generation. While the various governments in power since independence have tried to do that their success has been limited. One of the reasons for that is not enough people are involved in the task of nation building and in supporting the less fortunate outside their core circle.
Fortunately, at least a few groups of people have come forward to do something about it. Volunteering for a better society has to become a huge trend. In this blog, we want to familiarise you with some of such organisations.
Desh Apnayen Sahayog Foundation, Mumbai is a movement to turn the apathy amongst the citizens towards democracy and their country into a sense of ownership, responsibility and readiness to work happily for its betterment. It has launched and hopes to launch various activities to achieve its goals. A major initiative has been to teach the prescribed Civics curriculum in schools in an interesting and experiential manner such that the students absorb the true meaning of Democracy and develop a Will to become active citizens and the skills to play their role effectively. Besides this program for the future citizens, it is launching nationwide civic engagement appeals and activities.
Needless to say, the opportunities for effective civic engagement are also vast. Here some more initiatives and organisations worth knowing.
Innovations in Civic Participation (ICP) is a global leader in the field of Youth Civic Engagement. ICP envisions a world where young people in every nation are actively engaged in improving their lives and their communities through civic participation.
IConGo is a ‘citizen union’ to bring people together to sensitize & create awareness amongst people at large about socio-political issues, to build individual social responsibility and encourage Citizen Action for Social Justice. They work with corporates, governments and even the UN to make citizen-led change possible.
Janagraha is a Bengaluru-based not profit that was founded in 2001 as a movement to enable citizen participation in public governance.It has now evolved into a robust institution for Citizenship and Democracy. With various programs for civic learning, participation and advocacy, the organisation aims to improve the quality of life in urban India, through affecting systemic change.
CMCA’s cause is empowering children and youth to be active citizens to create a society that is fairer, inclusive and sustainable. The organisation helps children understand the nuances of their rights and responsibilities, diversity, social justice, adherence to rule of law, environmental conservation and gender equality to transform them to be change enablers who meaningfully participate in decisions of the society.
Stories create impact. To give everyone a chance to share a story and spread some magic, Youth Ki Awaz, gives every one a platform on which to stand and share meaningful, impactful data, personal experiences, voice dissent and be heard. Spreading awareness is also responsible citizenship!
It gives us great pleasure to know that we are not alone in this movement. More solidarity and courage to us all!