Youth for Governance’s Fellowship Knowledge-Sharing Event

Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), Grassroots Research and Advocacy Movement (GRAAM), and Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), organised a knowledge-sharing event on the 19th of December at JSS Medical College (Bannimantap Campus).

The discussion was centered around the findings of four community-based participatory studies undertaken by Youth for Governance fellows on participatory governance, social accountability, and the provision of inclusive services in Mysuru, Karnataka. These studies ranged from emotional awareness wellness in adolescent populations, to zero waste management, to the ecological impact of development in Chamundi hills, to the role of local communities in keeping the lakes of Mysuru clean.

These 21 fellows, who are college students between the ages of 18-25, participated in the first cohort of PRIA’s nine-month Youth for Governance (Y4G) learning program, which is being implemented in partnership with GRAAM and HSF in Mysuru.

This program, launched in January 2022, was aimed to develop the youth’s willingness to contribute to the participatory functioning of governance institutions and also promoted the ideas of federalism and decentralized governance in India.

After the discussion, the valedictory program was conducted at the JSS Medical College, Mysuru with Dr. Shalini Rajneesh, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, Department of Planning, Programme Monitoring and Statistics virtually addressing the youth as a keynote speaker. Dr. Basavaraju R Shreshta, Executive Director, GRAAM chaired the program. Dr. Praveen Kulkarni, Vice-Principal, JSS Medical College, Dr. Anil Bilimane, the faculty of JSS MPH, and Dr. Anushuman from PRIA were present.

Addressing the youth, Dr. Shalini highlighted the findings from the recently approved Karnataka Youth Policy 2022 and stated that Karnataka comprised 30% of the youth population. She emphasised that the State has a huge youth force and that the future belonged to them. However, she shared her concern expressing whether the youth were ready for the future.

Dr. Nagaraju, Chief Medical Officer of MCC, Mr. Ramesh Kikkeri, Sustainable Development Professional, Dr. Jyothi, Chairperson, MSW Department and Prof. Indira M., former Chairperson, Economics Department of University of Mysore, Dr. Sadashiva Murthy B.M., Professor and HoD, Environmental Engineering, Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, Dr. Gangadhar, HoD, Dept. of Anthropology, UoM were the panelists to review the presentations.