India’s youth is the key to building a resilient nation
Written in The Prelude around the French Revolution over three centuries ago, William Wordsworth’s thoughts about the trials and tribulations of young people could well mirror the challenges of India’s young population during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the narrative is replete with inspiring stories, where India’s young people led from the front, single-handedly assuming the responsibility to work towards a better, resilient society.
Sample this: 22-year-old #Youngwarrior, Manpreet Kaur pooled her modest resources to provide classroom coaching for children who did not have access to smartphones in Ferozepur village of Punjab. Having been forced to discontinue her studies post-high school, she understood the importance of education. She opened her house to engage classes on rotation for 8-10 students per batch while maintaining social distance.
Aslam, an 18-year-old from Nizamuddin Basti in the national capital, put his personal loss aside and put his life at risk so that he could help provide 600 families with lifesaving oxygen cylinders during an intense phase of the pandemic. While Delhi was reeling under COVID, Aslam and his team of volunteers pooled in money to buy five cylinders and delivered them to people battling for their lives.
An India in need of change
Like any country in the world, India faced severe challenges in countering the COVID-19 menace and the challenges it brought on. For a majority of our population, the resultant lockdown severely impacted not only their general health service delivery but also psycho-social wellbeing, education, employment and livelihoods. However, the impact upon young people, especially the most disadvantaged, was especially severe.
India is at the cusp of a digital revolution (digital adoption in rural India grew 13%, according to a 2020 report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India [IAMAI]). Still, there are wide disparities in large segments of young people who lag access to online education. According to a Future of Jobs Report 2020,
the pandemic interrupted training for over 80% of apprentices and trainees, impacting their chance for a brighter future. Young people have also had to lose out on various essential life experiences and the learning accompanying those experiences. The total, or limited, absence of access to technology and internet connectivity compounded matters. A 2017-18 NSSO report states, fewer than 15% of Indian rural families have Internet access, and only 8.5% of the female population actively uses the Internet. As a result, lack of classroom learning has greatly affected education for many, especially young women and girls.
United to fight COVID-19
As the pandemic exacerbated the healthcare situation and created multiple socio-economic and cultural repercussions, it was India’s young people that stepped up. They displayed exemplary leadership and resilience and engineered hyper-local and innovative solutions at the local, state and national levels, even as they were dealing with multiple personal struggles. Young people have been at the forefront of safeguarding their families, communities, and the nation, be it distributing supplies, rallying funds, monitoring the availability of oxygen cylinders or beds, etc.
Despite adversities, we witnessed remarkable optimism and resilience in our young people. They stood up and took on the onus of bringing about change. Manpreet and Aslam are just two examples – young people across the country mobilised time and resources to help their communities. COVID-19 has once again proved that young people want to lead and are capable of outstanding leadership.
Building resilience amongst young people
The country needs to step up and enable our young people for the future. With learning severely impacted during COVID-19, there is a need for imparting essential life and employability skills to help them pursue successful lives and careers. This will require a conscious effort to provide a broad set of knowledge, skill sets, work habits, and character traits to prepare for the future.
There is a need for increased focus on essential life skills like self-awareness, collaboration, problem-solving, communication, decision-making, and employability skills like vocational training. Given the psycho-social impact of COVID-19 on young people, India should also address the mental and emotional well-being of young people. Against this backdrop of urgent needs for relevant life skills, #Youngwarriornxt has been conceptualized by Yuwaah (Generation Unlimited India), UNICEF, and several partners from Government, the Private Sector and Civil Society. #Youngwarriornxt aims to empower 10 million young people with essential life skills that shall enable them to pursue successful lives and careers.
It will be instrumental for us, as a nation, to understand how the world is changing and impacting young people. Until we can identify challenges and know how they respond to them, we will not address their needs. Our responsibility is to give India’s young people hope, opportunity, life skills and a nurturing environment. We must listen to their voices and views and help them learn and grow while still building a healthy, safe, and gender-equal world. In the post-pandemic world, it is India’s young people who are key to a resilient nation.