In a rural pocket of Fafni Moti village of Kodinar, Maheshbhai Ram is one of the key members of his local panchayat and is actively involved in decision-making for his community.  His ‘civic’ training ground however was his local Farmer Producer Organisation which he joined at the age of 23-24 with the hopes to help revitalise his flailing family farm.  It was here that he learned the power of the collective, roles and responsibilities of the group, governance formalities and structure … the list goes on.

Yet despite the powerful nature of people’s institutions in fostering leadership and enabling rural people to drive community change, there is a lack of opportunity for involvement of our youth. Young people are proven to be powerful agents of change when guided and given the opportunity, yet as a country experience has proven that with active engagement  in formal, community structures, not only does it help to nurture the community leaders of the future, but to ensure representation of one of our most powerful assets – youth!

India is a young country where nearly 34% of the nation’s total population is in the age group of 15-29, presenting an opportunity of immense value. Having a majority stake in the demographic dividend, young people in India hold the potential to become architects of transformation by reshaping behaviours and driving positive change within our society.

But there is an urgent need to include them at grassroots level, in the orchestration of community change via people’s institutions. People’s Institutions are powerful vehicles for enabling people as agents of change, and provide a framework and structure where they can learn the power of their own voice and agency.

By involving and engaging youth from a young age in such forums, we imbibe a valuable education and harness the vitality and creativity of their ideas to drive change for communities, and indeed, the country, for the future.

Whilst some work is being done in this area, there is vast scope for more!  In Madhvad and Kothada village, the success of the SHG model is being emulated via the formation of a youth group for girls to encourage internal lending, bringing social issues to the fore for action, and creating awareness on health and hygiene. Sukaniya Mahila Bachat Mandal has 120 young girls as members and already learning key aspects of running a people’s institution which will serve them throughout their lives.

Already, we have seen powerful work emerge from young people, where they have been the driving force working on issues ranging from menstrual hygiene to advocating for clean communities and the environment. There is great potential for their engagement in more formal forums like Farmer Producer Organisations to help revitalise the future of farming among our young people; Water User Associations to teach the value of water and how to sustainably manage it; and Village Development Committees to empower them as advocates on community issues, and provide them with the voice and platform to do something about it.

Harnessing their passion and energy is critical towards ensuring they have a voice in issues that affect them and in guiding them to become powerful agents of change throughout their lives. However, at present, there is a limited involvement of youth in community decision-making forums and civil society needs to work hard to foster their engagement.