Targeting Nepali youth aged 18 to 30, the contest encouraged participants to reflect upon, discuss, and create ideas about youth’s role in the larger socio-political context of Nepal. The contest was designed to mine and publicize youth-generated responses to the all-important question: In what way, how, and when will the young Nepali generation play a more decisive, active role in the country’s future?
Nearly 100 youth participated in the contest, which ended August 12th. The essays were reviewed for the ideas presented as much as the contestants’ creative writing skills by a judging panel that included author Manjushree Thapa and journalist Rabindra Mishra. [break]
“Responsible Youth: Prosperous Nepal”
Saroj Dhakal
On a learning mission about how the pond irrigation scheme helped farmers, I knew Ganesh Thapa Magar,a 21 year old father who grows vegetables for livelihood in rural Dailekh. Laxman, a good volley ball player from the same village,is a 17 year old boy who will soon leave his 15 year old wife to go to India to make ends meet.Ramesh, a 27 year old graduate has been looking for a job in Kathmandu for the last two years. There is Ashim, around 21 year old tech entrepreneur, who is also involved in facebook movement “Common Youth Stand Up” to pressure the government for timely constitution. There are youths in organizations such as Association of Youth Organizations Nepal (AYON), who have done an incredible job of helping the government collect the new upcoming census. There are youth from political wings of CPN (UML) who are holding bandas (shut down of cities) these days, and there are youth such as the 16 year old Kushal KC from Baglung who just madea Solar Car.
The list of youth engaged in good, evil or beyond is much longer in the context of Nepal. How to promote good and how to eliminate evil within youth who have lost track are important questions in a country where about 38% of the youth are currently unemployed and each year 400,000 young people enter labor market(Youth Survey of Nepal 2011). How should Nepal engage labor force where 46 percent of young people aged between 20-24 years are highly underutilized and remain outside the formal economy? (Nepal Labour Force Survey 2008)We all know, this year 47.16 percent of the 419,049 of students who appeared in this year´s SLC examination passed. Last year the percentage of students who passed the examination was 55.5 percent. What happens to youths who do not pass the exam?Furthermore, same issue arises on students are involved with undergraduate and graduate studies. There are youth who cannot complete education or the ones that spend a year or two looking for jobs after university have to be engaged. Is the rote learning culture instigated in these youth enough to make them adequately prepared for the job market? Furthermore, the society, including the parent who sees their kids as chickens that had better lay golden eggs rather than individuals who can think for themselves is not helping the youth from designing a sustainable future for themselves and the country. Amongst the youth as well, the blind imitation of the west and their values, without a proper self-introspection on its implications for our own cultures is confusing them.
If we are to promote youth to be champions of reform, then these youth along with other fortunate youth should be empowered. For that we need to provide them with practical opportunities that have remained beyond the interests of academic institutions, many of which seem more of a business than temples of learning. We need to give youthopportunities that are pragmatic and outside the domain of formal education. So far, the existing system has failed the youth, because it is broken. Therefore, a systemic reform to create a conducive /enabling environment for youth empowerment is an immediate urgency. To do so there are many policy approaches.This essay elaborately speaks why youth empowerment via institution creation is vital for Nepal, and how that could be done.
For the purpose for youth empowerment, a new semi-autonomous center under the Ministry of Youth & Sports with a name “Youth Empowerment Center (YEC)” with a working mechanism similar to that of “Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC)”has to be created.AEPC function as an independent body of the Government of Nepal,and receives basket funds from the donors to promote renewable energy. Similarly, YEC will be created under the Ministry of Youth and Sportsin coordination with youth agencies such as Association of Youth Organizations Nepal (AYON). Youth between the age of 18-30 are eligible to run this center. Government officers, politicians and other stakeholders who are above that age can only sit inthe board of this center for mere guidance. Youth who are already affiliated with the youth organizations of the existing political parties are barred from taking any responsibilities in this center, to prevent politicization of YEC. However, the youth who have worked with the center are free to join any political parties after their departure. Apart from running Social Year Program which will be discussed elaborately in this essay, the center will support any innovative ideas of any young person. The Center will also have a leadership development department to improve leadership skills amongst the youth.
Social Year Program (SYP)
Social Year Program (SYP) will be one of the core objectives of the YEC. Under this program YECselects youth between the age of 18-30, who care to devotetwo yearsof their time for the overall development of Nepal. YEC will issue them a two year work program. These youth are selected from all over the country. With the presiding youth unemployment, we can be certain that there will be innumerable applications.So when the application is received, youth selected by YEC after fair evaluation process,will be placed in any organizations working onsocial or development work or a private company, at a place different than their hometown. So a youth from Dailekh, who could hardly afford to come to Kathmandu can come and serve the old people shelter home or work with the first goat cheese factory of Chitlang in Makwanpur to learn how to make cheese. A youth from Kathmandu if interested can go to Dailekh and learn how to grow vegetables while teaching the cons of early marriage. A youth from Terai can go to the mountains to learn about tourism. A youth from mountains can come to Terai to learn about paddy farming. Under SYP, participants receive a three months training program before their placements to make them aware of their role and responsibilities. In the first pilot project, certain number of youth maybe 500 can be engaged for a year to see the effectiveness of the program. Voluntary Social Year in Germany and organizations such as Peace Corps of the United States of America, are great ones to learn from if we seek to create a blue print for the program.
At the end of the period, each participant will be asked to present a paper about his experiences and a review of his work by the institution where he provided his service. At the end their term, selection committee will select top 5% (depending upon the total numbers who decided to enroll in the program) of the total participants who perform best in their work. These top 5% will receive education scholarship, priority placement in jobs or some interest-free fund to start their own business. Furthermore, all youth who have participated in the SYP are eligible for a very low-interest loan to fund their education if they seek to further study. Henceforth, even youth from poor background can afford education even if they cannot win a scholarship. This model somewhat resembles a model used in the medical services exams of Nepal by Bir Hospital. Government doctors who decide to go to rural areas to work for two years get some extra points when they apply for graduate school of medicine at Bir Hospital, thus increasing their selection possibilities in scholarship quota (Poudel 2012). Youth can win these incentives by fulfilling various criteria such as rural/urban placement, nature of work, and performance indicators which will be developed by YEC. The youth who go through SYP should be given priorities in college, government jobs, private sectors, and INGO(s) and NGO(s) placements as these institutions can find experienced individuals to carry on their policy agenda.
Of course, all of these sound rosy, but what will these youth exactly do and how will SYP help them is a great question? How will such program become a game changer?If the government or affiliated institutions guaranteesa stipend for the participants on a monthly basis, then it will provide much need employment or a career break through for young people. In addition to that, the program will help familiarize participants with new cultures, traditions, and development challenges of the country. It will expose them to different ethnicities, their culture and history. It will help them see the differences in urban and rural life. Out of almost 100 ethnic groups present in Nepal, participants can go and live in the house of some other ethnic groups. This will harness ethnic sentiments and understandings, a much needed factor in today’s Nepal. A Brahmin who stays at a Dalits home, and Dailt who stays at a Brahmin home can perhaps understand where each other’s bias comes from and how can they be tackled. Such creation of loose network can play an important role to tie the nation. Furthermore, the exchange of perspective and understanding onissues directly relevant to Nepal will make them aware on the areas that need reform. An urban youth who familiarizes himself with the harshness of rural life may be inspired to focus his career on rural development. For youth who have just finished SLC and high school, they can foresee their future not only in the much hyped areas such as doctors and engineers but also in agriculture and animal husbandry. Furthermore, it is well known fact that many youth are dependent on their parents up until they are married or till they finish graduate schools.SYP will harness early working culture for young people. Inscribing working culture via a proper mentoring canteach them responsibilities and respect for work.Furthermore, familiarizing the youth on issues such as climate change, health, banking and giving them real responsibilities in these fields can instigate career aspirations and develop leadership skills.
Apart from the youth, families that host the participants of SYP would have to be incentivized.First of all YEC will be provide the cost of living of the participant along with a small stipend to the participants. Secondly, urban parents will have a tax incentive. If they are involved in the program, some portion of their tax can deducted as reward for their help. Thirdly, their own children can live with the parents of the youth whom they are hosting so there is a sense of security of their children welfare during the stay. For rural parents, they will get cash voucher for being a host. This can provide them with much needed extra cash for poverty alleviation. A portion of Youth Self-employment Fund that was established by the UCPN (Maoist) three years ago along with some cooperation from donors operating in Nepal can provide initial fund to set up YEC and run SYP .For families whose children decide to join the program, it will be mandatory that they also host someone in their home. Since parents may feel insecure about letting especially female members go far away. Therefore, provisions can be made where female can seek to work near their home or they can stay with their relatives if they have one in the place of their preferences. Nevertheless, options will be given to the participants so they can decide to either to stay with a family or rent their own place. Youth can leave the host family if they seek to change the family. They can also quit the program if they see it unfit for their career aspirations.
Organizations that seek to provide opportunities and mentor these youth for skill development should be given incentives by the government. The organizations that participate in SYP are eligible for competing in yearly grants which has a high lump sum. They can win such grants if they become the best place to mentor youths. For example, if someone wants to work with physically challenged people, organizations working in that area not only have a passionate follower but they can also compete for grants to scale up their program. Thus, NGOs and private companies who are in need of money have incentive to participate in SYP. Furthermore, the supervisors of these youth are given promotion incentives and “mentor of the year award.”
In conclusion, SYP will giveyouth a firsthand exposureto various areas of development needs of Nepal. With such exposure and the insights that will come about in youth can hold a huge potential to push this country forward. Empowering the youth at the local and national level, but also mainstreaming them in the
task of nation building via SYP holds a better dawn for Nepal. Elbert Green Hubbard, an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher once said, ““Progress comes from the intelligent use of experience.” I presume giving an intelligent experience to youth could immensely help in their empowerment and personal development, thus, enabling them to be the champions of reform and a better adult in the near future.
The essayist is the chief operating officer of Wind Power Nepal Pvt Ltd, with a keen interest in farms - from poultry, coffee to wind.
The Role of the Nepali Youth for a Better Future
Jason Shah
“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” – Alan Kay
Human thought and action shape the arc of both individual and social prosperity. This understanding could not be farther from the truth given the present precarious situation in Nepal, both as a state and, most importantly, as a society. In this essay, I argue that the youth of Nepal are our best hope for creating a favorable environment for socio-economic reform in the country. Specifically, I emphasize that the need for a solution demands the acceptance of the “reality of now” and warrants an activist approach among the youth to facilitate a critical inquiry of our value systems, a culture of entrepreneurship, and an openness to the changing paradigms of regional and international affairs.
Critical Inquiry as an Ethic
The Nepali youth constitutes a dominant share of the national demography, and thus the best hope for a better future for the country. The youth, aged 16-40 , comprises two-fifths of the national population and more than three-quarters of the independent workforce . Unfortunately, socio-economic state institutions and cultural realities inhibit meaningful and substantial youth participation in most of the important national conversations, such as post-conflict reconstruction and economic reform. In addition, the popular opinion of youth involvement is misrepresented by the militant youth organizations that serve narrow political interests; hence, the most definitive challenge of the Nepali youth is to redefine its contribution to the country and to alter the perception of its misrepresented identity. Additionally, conventional wisdom has it that youth lack wisdom; even if this popular adage is conceded for the sake of argument, the youth possess ingenuity, knowledge, and ability to drive national development. This redefinition of youth identity can pave a path toward mutual respect and cooperation between youth and other national demographic groups as well as the international community.
Nepali youth needs to redefine itself by assuming a position at the forefront of critical inquiry into dogmatic social, economic, and political values. For example, Nepali society has a strong commitment to cultural traditions and stagnant social hierarchies. One aspect of this commitment is manifested in an unquestioned respect for authority that unfortunately makes it palatable for many Nepali to glorify unjustified state interventions and indulge factional disputes among political elites. Hence, I call upon the youth to create a culture of individualism and activism that will confront all infractions against the rule of law and economic freedom. This culture will include contributions such as reading groups on the issues of individual liberty and social organization, discussions of the daily experiences of communities, and action groups that build unwavering commitment to a non-aggressive stand against reactionary agitations. Furthermore, the Nepali political sphere is heavily influenced by parties that espouse a particular ideology; however, the assumptions of these ideologies are rarely publically challenged. Thus, there is a need for youth forums that encourage constructive dialogues of these assumptions (Atteberry 2012). I believe that the desired outcome of such critical inquiry is positive change through reasonable discourse rather than revolutionary attempts to promote social engineering through political power.
The translation of critical inquiry to meaningful action results in positive change. An understanding of socioeconomic challenges and political marginalization often creates a powerful urge to alter the social reality, and frequently, those who act on this urge aim to achieve political power, and subsequently, use the government to correct the perceived errors. History provides numerous examples of such efforts: the emancipation from the Rana regime, the Jana Andolan I, the People’s Liberation War, and the Jana Andolan II. Surprisingly, most youths – even today – are comfortable with the notion of repetitive revolutionary movements followed by predictable disappointments. However, political power is not invariably a solution: if political power is attractive because governments can impose conditions on society, it is also true that those who seek political power are often people with self-serving and narrow intentions who are likely to abuse power (Friedman 1962). The antidote is the creation of a robust youth society that values the inalienable rights of the citizenry. Having said so, several government acts, including the recent effort to ban women under the age of thirty from working in informal economic sectors of the Persian Gulf region , are clearly intended to protect citizens and prevent them from making bad decisions; however, a mature democracy allows individuals to make their own decisions by providing them with concrete information—in this case, information about the employment conditions in the Gulf—and making them aware of the circumstances they would be likely to face. This approach obviates the need for coercion and instead allows room for discourse, which is essential given the human tendency to denigrate the motivations of others while maintaining confidence in one’s own subtleties and complexities. Thus, the respect for individual liberty and a desire for revolutionary transformation do not contradict one another; it is time for the youth to realize their own abilities to facilitate positive change.
A Culture of Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship creates tangible gains, and thus positive change in both the private and public sectors, by harnessing scientific innovation and localized knowledge. Importantly, entrepreneurs embody the desire to take calculated risks and the awareness of the availability of opportunities (Elkington and Hartigan 2008). For instance, the successful stories of WorldLink Nepal and Nepal Wireless Networking Project successfully demonstrate the ability of young entrepreneurs to channel the synergy of both individual and social capacity for national prosperity; the former provides reliable access to the internet and IT services to its customers, while the latter strives to promote socioeconomic transformation of remote locations through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for education and public health, among others. Thus, youth represents the exciting possibility for enterprise-led economic growth, given that it recognizes the economies of agglomeration in various markets in Nepal, including but not limited to mechanized agriculture, hydropower, minerals, manufacturing, and information technology. Youth’s strategy, I believe, should employ a realistic identification of opportunities and a pragmatic idealism in entrepreneurial attempts to realize them.
While widespread growth in tourism, banking, education, and communication exemplify the abilities of the youth in Nepal, the entrepreneurial spirit is personified by the less glamorous agrarian base of the country. Agriculture is the primary mode of production that enables human labor to contribute in other economic sectors. Farmers in Nepal have utilized contemporary tools, scientific innovation, and traditional ecological knowledge to deal with the challenges of agriculture. From the harsh conditions in the rocky hills to the lushness of the plain terai, these experts have monitored the local conditions and devised solutions to boost production. The entrepreneurial lessons of the agricultural base in Nepal are extremely relevant given the rural composition of the youth in Nepal . At the same time, the agricultural sector highlights the crucial realization that all economic endeavors have to be contextualized through judicious appraisals of current global practices. While the entrepreneurial spirit of the Nepali farmers cannot be doubted, there are experts who can train the farmers and supervise the areas of improvement concerning recent technologies, farming practices, and land maintenance. This, I believe, is simply one instance of how Nepali youth can come together across urban and rural spaces to envision and realize the ambitions of a better future.
An Outlook towards Regional and Global Affairs
The critical inquiry of the socio-cultural context and the drive for entrepreneurship requires an assessment of regional and international affairs. Undoubtedly, the young generation has to be knowledgeable about global discussions of threats to liberty, ecological vulnerability, and economic crises as well as be aware of the repertoire of solutions that have been proposed. The fact remains that we are a part of an increasingly-connected world, and that the socioeconomic aspects of globalization shape us as much as we collectively mould them. Thus, the geographic reality of Nepal not only makes us vulnerable to volatile alterations in the climate, but also provides us a platform to champion entrepreneurial and national commitments to alternate energy-systems and progressive governance. Similarly, Nepal’s geo-political presence between India and China provides us with unparalleled advantages in our economic participation both regionally and globally. Thus, the deliberate orientation towards international affairs is the means to fuel the capacity-building efforts of youth.
The Nepali diaspora bridges the gap between resident Nepali youth and global practices. At the risk of generalization, I believe there are three dynamic groups in the Nepali diaspora : (1) settled Nepalis who are immersed in their particular context and enjoy a relative affluence, (2) Nepalis who have emigrated for work purposes, and (3) Nepali students who study abroad in academic institutions worldwide. All these groups play important roles in the development of Nepal, while the latter two predominantly comprise youth. The first group has the ability to bring in financial investments, enhance the international image of the country, and provide alternative perspectives in the socio-cultural discourse in Nepal. The second group is the primary source of remittance, an economic resource of incredible importance to the current stability of the national economy. Individuals in this group often leave Nepal in precarious condition, taking loans and mortgaging property, to work as skilled and unskilled laborers abroad. This group can be made relatively stable by pursuing language training and enhancing their work skills through apprenticeships that make them attractive candidates for jobs that offer financial prosperity and workplace security. The third group, the students, learns relevant skills and knowledge as well as gets exposure to entrepreneurial environments that are unavailable in Nepal. All these groups, collectively, provide an incredible resource base in ideas, finance, and workforce that can trickle down to, and benefit from the achievements of, the resident youth in Nepal.
“If not now, when?”
As stated earlier in the introduction to the essay, potential abilities transform into accomplished realities through committed human thought and action. The current young generation of Nepal faces a moment in history that other generations and places have also had to face in the past; the challenges we face now are also opportunities for a better future and a more prosperous nation. Concentrated efforts on the part of youth will allow us to attain these opportunities through the critical analyses of our dogmatic values, the acquired culture of entrepreneurship, and the orientation towards regional issues and international affairs. The obvious question remains, “If not now, when?” There is no better time than the present!
The essayist is recent college graduate in Diplomacy and International Organizations and is passionate about human security, innovation and uncertainty, and social organization.
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