SHILLONG, June 27: Meghalaya’s population ratio of 74% people under the age of 35 is greater than the national average, and to tap into this distinct demographic lead, a pioneering initiative called the Youth Engagement through Empowered Youth Organisations (YESS) was launched by Chief Minister Sangma on Wednesday.
Over 3,000 registered youth clubs and organisations are working for the development, engagement and rejuvenation of the youth population while extending support to activities like environmental conservation, financial literacy, substance abuse prevention, teenage pregnancy prevention, career counselling and guidance, and mental well-being
In view of this, registered entities focusing on youth development and empowerment have now been provided with a chance to apply for financial assistance up to Rs 1 lakh under the YESS initiative if the entity matches the criteria and is deemed fit by a proposal evaluation committee.
The targeted stakeholders for the programme include societies and cooperatives, voluntary organisations, youth clubs, not-for-profit organisations, socio-cultural clubs, alumni associations, community-level youth institutions/organisations/groups.
Speaking after launching the initiative, the chief minister said, “With the youth dominating our state demographic, it was imperative that the state government took measures to create positive impact on the community. The youth of Meghalaya played a pivotal role during the pandemic with on-ground management of affairs for contact tracing, planning and delivery of essential supplies, awareness campaigns etc. The programme YESS is in line with the state government’s vision of empowering the youth of Meghalaya. The key objective is to provide the proper opportunities for the abundant potential in our youngsters, as well as the freedom to seek excellence without financial or societal constraints.”
The YESS programme has been formulated in pursuance of the State Youth Policy notified in 2021 which outlines the commitment of the state government towards youth engagement, empowerment, and rejuvenation.
The broad objectives of YESS include empowerment of youth clubs and organisations for planning and implementation of grassroots level programmes and activities pertaining to key themes affecting the youth, besides positively channelising their energies through empowered youth bodies, enhancement of youth development ecosystem by promoting effective collaboration with key stakeholders in the state and creation of an annual corpus fund for extension of financial support to registered not-for-profit youth clubs, organisations, and associations.
The youth organisations participating in YESS initiative will engage in activities like environmental protection and conservation programmes and workshops, financial literacy workshops and campaigns, awareness dissemination workshops and seminars, career counselling and guidance workshops and clinics, mental well-being seminars and campaigns, et al.
The state government’s commitment to youth involvement, empowerment, and rejuvenation is a testament towards their commitment of making Meghalaya one of the top 10 states of the country, a statement issued here said.
