Our Year Our Voice

2010 is our year for our voice. August 12, 2010 – August 12, 2011 is International Youth Year. UN declared 2010 as international youth year. The slogan of international youth year is Our Year Our Voice. The youth year was commenced in 12 August, 2010 as the international youth year: Dialogue and Mutual Understanding with different program around the world. The year was coincided with the anniversary of first International Youth Year in 1985.

In Pokhara, Nepal 10 youth organization directly involved and about 30 youth organization indirectly involved jointly celebrated the international youth day. They jointly alerted the constitutional member for their right in new constitution of Nepal. They organized different cultural program to create awareness about youth issues to mass public. Many organizations declared yearly program in 12 August, 2010 in Pokhara, Nepal.

In my views the voices of the youth should be overt throughout the year as well as there should be maximum of youth participation and engagement towards social services. There are many organizations having different program targeting youth issues in Nepal. Most of the programs in Nepal are centered to limited circle of youth. So the organization who works for youth should go beyond this circle of youth from this youth year.

To be more specific the program of youth should be mass orientated rather than for limited people. It should target to the mass people towards empowerment. The next is that the program and the opportunities of youth are mostly city oriented with limited circle of youth groups. So the program should tend towards the rural areas of Nepal. For example Alternatives has its program in Taparang for the development of rural youth and their entrepreneurship development. If we consider two conditions that is mass orientated program and rural orientated program for youth in Nepal then we can see some change in our community.

For celebrating a year means the time has been change to address the youth and its issues. The time has been changed a lot so that the culture of youth have been also changed. A decade ago information center is very essential for youth but now every youth have laptop in their hands with internet. Teenage pregnancy has been increased now a day which is one of the major issues in world which clearly indicate the culture of youth. Now the traditional issues of youth that different organizations have been taking should leave and the emerging issues according to the time should be taken on for the development of youth.

The most important part for the development of youth is donors or sponsors who fund to other organization. They should center to those organization that are more committed to rural areas and action oriented.

The present youth want to work more than to hear and watch. It means they are neglecting talk program such as seminars, workshop, interaction, debates etc whereas they are showing more interest in program like plantation, volunteer teaching in school etc. So every sector should concentrate towards youth interest for the development of youth in Nepal. So like Alternative is the best example which worked on entrepreneurship development for the development of youth, community and the country (www.alternativesnepal.org.np). So youth year would be better if all the youth are sustain in term of their requirement.