Category: Young Visionary
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The Young Visionary- 2015
November 14, 2017In 2015, responding to the need of the hour, The Young Visionary was a Student-Run Community Volunteer Program with the primary focus being ‘Waste Management and Environment Sustainability’. We divided Delhi into clusters, working through a six-month collaboration between Schools and NGOs with surrounding RWAs and municipal councils, to develop Community specific models of ‘Waste Management’.
Working with Bluebells School International, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya and organisations like Delhi Shramik Sangathan, ROPIO and Ritinjali, we reached out to over 2000 SCHOOL and NGO students from the age group of 14-18 years.
The urgency was to inspire young People to ideate and execute innovative projects to make Delhi a Cleaner City. Urban Villages and Slums were chosen as sites where workshops on Waste Segregation were conducted. Community Walks and Street Plays in Schools helped us create an enthusiastic group of Green Ambassadors to take charge of GREEN ZONES across the city.
For the students, it was a diversification of their educational experience through the lens of Volunteering and Environmentalism. Leading projects on Solid Waste Management, they helped create opportunities for Social Entrepreneurship by involving communities in Up-Cycling Initiatives.
Under this banner we also conducted workshops at the offices of Teamwork Arts, shedding light on Wet Waste Management and with the help of experts, helping the office adapt a wet waste composting program.
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The Young Visionary Festival- 2009
The Young Visionary 2009 focused primarily on the “Stakeholder” – the individual and Human Being as we tried to understand what it means to be HUMAN and the core values are by which we define our “human-ness”. In the current scenario of competitiveness, are we merely reinforcing the “dog-eat-dog scenario” with our children? Is there a more humane way of achieving our dreams? And how does that impact on our relationship with our planet, our environment?
With that intention, the festival covered issues of Waste Management, Right To Information and Human Rights. A change in venue from Bal Bhawan to Gandhi Darshan also brought a change in emphasis. It was attended by by over 2000 students from 8 private schools, 12 government schools and 9 NGOs across different parts of India and various institutions from across the country. Activists from the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, who had pioneered the cause of Right to Information had graced the occasion with their presence. Key speakers like Mr. Deep Joshi, Swami Agnivesh, Mr. Ravi Aggarwal and Mr. Rakesh Mohan laid emphasis on the declining values in our ecosphere and the need for co-dependence between man and nature to save the environment.
Discussions on Human Rights were a key component of the festival. It was an effort to realise the value of human duty towards social evils that plague us. Field Trips prior to the festival to urban slums and The Yamuna Bio-diversity Park opened up the students to lifestyles and surrounding beyond their comfort zones. These experiences, coupled with interactive sessions and a creative display of music, theatre and art were an eye-opener for participants.
The Festival was concluded with an Action Plan that included steps the student fraternity can implement at various levels: of the household, the school and the community to bring changes in and around themselves.
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The Young Visionary Festival- 2007
Focussing on stakeholders in Sustainable Development, The Young Visionary 2007 was an initiative to help students understand the relationship between man and nature, reconciling economic development with the integrity of the environment
The three-day festival laid stress on Water Management, Deforestation and Recycling. Held at Bal Bhawan, the Festival was inaugurated by Smt. D. Purandeswari (then Minister of State, Education) and attended by other dignitaries from all walks of life.
Over 2500 students from 10 Private and 14 Government Schools in Delhi, along with rural and tribal students from across the country participated in this event, to understand the values inherent in sustainable development. During the course of the festival, scientists, academicians and grassroots’ activists addressed local as well as global issues, encouraging students to take affirmative action as stakeholders, to endorse models of development that are most sustainable for our planet.
Key speakers like Ms. Medha Patkar (Narmada Bachao Andolan), Mr. Ravi Agarwal (Toxics Link) and other “Green Warriors” from organisations like TERI, UNICEF, Goonj etc. encouraged the young participants to engage in creative thinking, problem solving and self learning. The festival timeline was spread across 3 days to give the students a participative exposure. Each morning the students had an opportunity to meet the activists who have battled these issues in various forums and have a wealth of experience to share. The afternoons offered workshops in creative expression like theatre, music, dance, painting, mural making, puppetry and others, through which the students would express their vision of environmental integrity. Film screenings, street plays, workshops, lectures enabled the children learn new skills which they used to generate an inspired Action Plan for themselves and their peer group.
Our vision of social integration and direct participation is possible only through an active public-private partnership. This festival was a celebration of that ideal and a further commitment to the Foundation’s cause of empowering the young people.
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The Young Visionary Festival- 2005
The Young Visionary 2005 was ‘A Festival of creative expression and youth empowerment’. A five day celebration, this innovative platform was devised by the Foundation for young people to come forward to express their Vision for the world they would like to inherit. Held at Bal Bhawan, The Young Visionary 2005” was our first attempt to bring all our young friends on a common platform, to share ideas and opinions and flow easily towards one another. Active workshops on Citizenship and Democracy had kick-started a year before the festival across 21 private and public schools in Delhi.
It was attended by the then Honorable Chief Minister of Delhi, Ms. Sheila Dikshit, industrialist Mr. Navin Jindal, Ms. Nandita Das, Mr. Pankaj Pachauri and many other eminent personalities who not only inspired students, but were left inspired by the ‘infectious enthusiasm of the students’.
The Young Visionary 2005 was a Carnival of Learning and Fun with over 2500 participants from private as well as Government and NGO schools, enabling the integration of different classes and backgrounds.
Theatre, music, dance, traditional and contemporary, a mingling of crafts people and artisans from various states in India, puppetry and street plays, workshops and lectures helped open a world of richness and diversity for our young Visionaries. During the day, we would run the drama/ music/ dance festivals, where each school would participate in a celebration of the art form.
Stalls were also made available for NGOs to set up small orientation booths – to explain their activities, and set up a volunteer drive.
At the end of the Festival, the Student Councils released an Action Plan: “Vision 2006” that was set into motion. A set of targets, along with a monitoring and review system made students active Stakeholders who would carry forward their learning from the Festival and think of innovative solutions to the problems at hand.
This festival was a cornerstone in The Foundation’s growth. It helped us connect with thousands of young people, many of whom form the core behind our work today!