Youth Insight: informing policy on health, gender and well-being by The YP Foundation

New Delhi [India], Aug 31 (NewsVoir): The YP Foundation has organised a two day conclave for 170 young people from 17 states to engage with policymakers and other relevant stakeholders on issues of adolescent health, gender and well-being.

The event was culminated in the instituting and inauguration of a national youth-led policy working group on adolescent health.

The panelists include Dr. Ajay Khera, Public Health Specialist and Deputy Commissioner at Ministry of Health & Family Welfare Government of India, Dr. Gautam Kr Singh (State Program Officer, Adolescent Health, Dept of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of Delhi), Dr. Saroj Bala Yadav, Head of Education in Social Sciences and Humanities, NCERT, Dr. Jaya J (Program Specialist, Adolescent and Youth, UNFPA India), Dr. Aparajita Gogoi, Executive Director, Centre for Catalyzing Change, Shailendra Sharma, Principal Advisor, Directorate of Education, and Govt. of Delhi.

The conclave brought together youth, government, technical agencies and civil society stakeholders on an equal-footing platform to effectuate a range of focused multi-stakeholder discussions towards affecting youth-informed programming and policy.

As per Manak Matiyani Executive Director The YP Foundation, conclaves like this are important because they break this idea that young people don't have expertise, or can't understand policies and point out the gaps.

"The experience of having senior organisations and officials in a room listening to adolescents and young people and being held accountable by them doesn't come very often, but has been very powerful and goes a long way to ensure voices from the ground influence decisions at the top," added Manak Matiyani.

"It was exhilarating to see young people across 17 states to come together and determine their own health priorities. It was even more rewarding to see them engage in direct dialogue and advocate for their own Rights and Wellbeing with high level policy makers and other stakeholders from the sector," said Programme Manager, KYBKYR The YP Foundation, Manasa Priya Vasudevan.

"However, the launch of the youth-led policy working group on young people's health was definitely the most significant and momentous for all of us. We are excited to see how the group grows and shapes a more sustainable future for all young people," added Manasa Priya Vasudevan.

TYPF is a youth-led and youth run organization which was formed with the hope of bringing together young people from across the country to build a stronger understanding of Human Rights. TYPF builds young people's feminist and human rights perspectives on social issues and connects them with opportunities to lead and create on the ground impact on relevant issues and enables them to address systemic gaps through public and policy advocacy based on their experiences. In the last 16 years, TYPF has reached out to 5,00,000 adolescents and youth to set up over 300 projects in 18 states of India.

At the local level, TYPF works with young people and other stakeholders to create an enabling environment that enhances young people's access to information and services that impact their citizenship and rights.

At the national and international level leverages forums to amplify the voices as well as experiences of young people towards shaping policies and legislation so that they can better address young people's realities. Most importantly, TYPF advocates for the systematic and meaningful involvement of youth across all levels of programming and policy. (NewsVoir)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI