Age Is Just A Number - YIF is back!

Brought to you by YIF's Centre for Youth Policy

Sep 16, 2022
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YIF is Back - Better than Ever! The YIF team has undergone an overhaul - we’ve added members, re-calibrated our focus into 3 verticals and built strong partnerships.

With this edition of YIF’s newsletter, read on for updates about:

  • Updates on our #Why25 campaign (psst, sign it here!)
  • A letter on our next two years from our CEO, Rishika Arora.
  • Opportunities for you to create impact with YIF.

Come join the movement of, for, and by the youth of India. As your one stop-shop for all youth news, we don’t spam – that’s a promise!

 

YIF is Back - Better than Ever!

The YIF team has undergone an overhaul - we’ve added members, re-calibrated our focus into 3 verticals and built strong partnerships.

 

Visit the new website

YIF Rewind

YIF's #Why25 campaign is back!

Our campaign to lower the age of candidacy for the Lok Sabha by asking how 25 year olds differ from 21 year olds in the world's youngest country is now underway with The Body Shop & Sanya Malhotra. Sign the petition here or at a Body Shop store near you!
On 12th August 2022, Young India Foundation hosted “Humara Yuva Manch” at the Indian Social Institute in New Delhi. On occasion of International youth Day 2022, the day brought together over 20 civil society organizations such as Pravah, Internet Freedom Foundation and PRIA to create the country’s first Youth Bill of Rights.
Read more on this and participate here!
The day also saw the ideation and formation of an ambitious coalition between youth-centric organizations, named "Humara Yuva Manch."
The coalition is a nation-wide venture creating a space for organizations to collaborate and learn from each other; and formalize these interventions into state and central policies for India's youth
If this excites you, join our coalition! 
Young India Foundation sat down with the Hon'ble MoYAS, Anurag Thakur, to discuss youth civic engagement and the upcoming National Youth Policy. We look forward to working with the MoYAS to implement our programing and youth-centric campaigns.

Newsroom

Why the system is failing its young. 

If unemployment has also been at the center of your news feed (or affected you and your young friends) and you’ve wondered why the system is failing you – check out this article.

CMIE recorded a surging urban and rural unemployment along with a low labor force participation of women in its data for August 2022. This is “reported” to be the culmination of everything from erratic rains and heat waves to incommensurate economic growth coupled with rising population. What do you think?

You now have your own office!

You heard that right – in a monumental step towards empowering the youth, The United Nations Youth Office was established via the UN General Assembly. The office will  lead engagement, advocacy and a greater UN system wide collaboration  for the advancement of issues that concern us. Member states, including India, will now have additional support to utilize its 670 million young people during its make-or-break demographic dividend.

Read the article here.
 

CEO's Corner

Everytime I’m met with the question of  ‘how is work going’ — which is a lot of times — I have a super reductive go-to response, which is to say it’s going super well, so many exciting things are happening. There’s just no other way to contain how immensely proactive our team has been this year to completely overhaul what we do and how we do it — so many exciting things are indeed happening at YIF, and I truly believe that we are in gear to bring about some super relevant developments in the field of youth civic engagement and electoral politics this year. For starters, we’ve had the opportunity to partner with The Body Shop as part of their Be Seen Be Heard campaign, a global initiative centered on empowering young people to become more active participants in their country’s public life. 

We’re streamlining our focus on three key initiatives: first, we’re collecting signatures on our #Why25 petition to reduce the age of candidacy in the Lok Sabha; second, we’re hosting Youth Voter Festivals all across India to register and re-register upwards of 25 million young voters in the country; and finally, we’re also providing support to young independent candidates campaigning for elections at the grassroots to ensure that the realm of politics is accessible to our country’s youth. All of our work boils down to a simple premise—if the promise of a democratic nation is the rule of the people, it makes no sense that 64% of that very population — India's youth — is disenfranchised and prevented from participating in political decision-making. Of course, such ambitious initiatives cannot be made possible without two key factors: a dedicated team, and well-versed research that supplies our work with credibility and honesty.

In service of these goals, we’re constantly expanding to recruit individuals who can help further our work (read below to find out more), and also establishing YIF’s Center for Youth Policy: the official research wing of the organization focused on placing young people at the forefront of political, economic, social, and civic research. YIF always has a place for young people who believe in a democratic future for the country — come work with us to make this future possible!

Rishika Arora, Chief Executive Officer

 

YIF Recommends

 

Parliamental
Book by Meghnad S

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to exist simultaneously through your alter ego on Twitter and in the heart of Indian politics, consider giving yourself the gift of this page-turner. Read how a lawyer, journalist and Youtube star come together when their freedom of expression is bulldozed through in the power corridors of Delhi.

 

Knock Down the House
Netflix Documentary | Watch here.

The story of 4 women interrupting powerful men and their years of political incumbency - by creating communities, their sheer will and most importantly, with their stories of change. Knock Down the House traces the origins of a young woman from New York, AOC, who learns to balance her life as a bartender and run her campaign to the primary seat for the Bronx, and then to the parliament.

Youth Empowerment and Sustainable Urban Development

Research by Sinha, A.K & Rai, Markandey (2022) | Read here.

The youth contribute 34% of the gross national income today and are considered the key to realizing higher economic and social development goals. Here’s a reality check.

This paper correlates the significance of the goals of the first Youth Global Program for Sustainable Development and Peace by UNDP with the impact of skill development of the India youth in the light of Sustainable urban development as envisaged by the UN SDGs. 

 

Join Our Team!

Help us in expanding our digital reach.
  • We, at YIF, are looking for social media savvy young people to lead the execution of our campaigns, initiatives and projects online. 
  • If you believe you have what it takes to crack the engagement algorithm, head on here for more details or send us your CV at rishika@yif.org.in 

Join CYP as a researcher.

  • If you’re a research enthusiast and a firm believer in the power of youth vote in politics, we have the perfect opening for you.
  • Tap here for more details or send us your CV and work samples at shefali@yif.org.in