AVENUES explores the potency of design thinking as a life skill for indigenous youth, writes Dalariti Nongpiur
Somewhere in the Northern Territory of Australia, around Darwin is a barber shop that has an inspirational little story behind it. It is owned and run by a young man belonging to the Larrakia community, one of Australia’s First Nations people. What is special about this barber shop is that it also functions as a space for older members of the community to communicate with the younger members; and what has emerged as a priceless by-product of something as ordinary as a haircut is the passing down of cultural values from one generation to another. Taking note of this unique aspect, the young barber-entrepreneur is not only in the business of cutting hair, but also plays a key role in bridging the gap between the elders and youth of his community. He did not only create a business opportunity for himself, but has also generated employment for others and started a much-needed cultural movement for his people.
This humble enterprise is a result of a design thinking programme by Young Change Agents (YCA), an award winning Australian social enterprise, under its entrepreneurship education initiative – Lighting the Spark.
On February 6, 2024, Young Change Agents signed a memorandum of understanding with Avenues, Meghalaya to co-design and execute a similar operational plan in the context of Meghalaya, through a knowledge-exchange programme. The objective of this partnership is to introduce the idea of entrepreneurship as a career choice at the school level and empower students to be more open minded not only about what they want to do in life, but what they want out of it. Just like the story of the young barber in Australia, the key focus of this programme will be on the indigenous youth of Meghalaya, and it will be designed to identify and include nuances that are part of the traditional and ethnic fabric of the grassroots communities.
The General Manager (Partnerships and International) of Young Change Agents, Aruna Venkatachalam, was in Shillong for a fortnight-long knowledge-exchange exercise in February-March 2024 with the trainers of Avenues, Meghalaya.
“The reason why Young Change Agents exists is we help young people of all backgrounds, to turn problems in their own lives – that are meaningful to them – into opportunities, and the way that they do that is through setting up their own social enterprises.” Aruna said while introducing YCA.
While there are several entrepreneurs in Meghalaya who have adopted this model of entrepreneurship, the idea of introducing this kind of curriculum at school level is the first of its kind in the state. The target group of beneficiaries ranges from 8th standard to undergraduate students. The course being designed will break away from the conventional methods of teaching and learning and take on an approach that is more interactive and inclusive with simple methods like low teacher-student ratio, team building exercises, brainstorming sessions, visual thinking and design thinking. This approach is driven by the objective to nurture problem-solving mindsets from an early age.
“There is a lot of strength and a lot of pride in the first nations and the indigenous community, and they have existed in Australia for more than 60,000 years so there is a lot of deep knowledge and deep understanding that exists in the communities already. That was taken away 250 years ago, and as a result indigenous communities are now trying to reclaim that sense of self determination – that sense of sovereignty.” Aruna explained when asked about her work with the indigenous people of Australia.
It is a similar story here. Whether a Khasi, Jaintia or a Garo or any other indigenous people, there is a rise in ethnic pride. There is more folk music being produced today; ethnic wear is creating waves in the fashion world; traditional art and craft is flooding the market. This bears testimony that it is a very important and profitable entrepreneurial 
sector. Including a course module that presents social entrepreneurship as a valid and reasonable career option to students who are beginning to make career decisions will broaden their horizons. The job market is not what it used to be. Unemployment is high. Self-employment is an option that needs to be considered. The youth needs to start exploring this at the very start and not when everything else has failed. For a state like Meghalaya, this might be one of the promising ways to ensure that its young population is healthily employed and contributing to the economy. The need to be creative – in our education system, in the way we operate things – is now.
Avenues, Meghalaya is already deeply invested in making this change. The trainers and instructors are being updated on the design thinking technique and process that YCA has been using in Australia. Concepts and an operational model that would help implement the programme into the schools and communities here in Meghalaya are being shaped and planned.
In its 21 years of operation, Avenues has pioneered numerous flagship interventions to augment education frameworks in the state. Its focus on communication, soft skills and life skills has impacted thousands of youths across Meghalaya. In 2023, Avenues introduced STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) based workshops which have had quite a remarkable impact in building scientific thinking and problem-solving skills in young adults.
Business Development Lead at Avenues, Raj Kharmih says, “By fostering creativity, innovation, and leadership amongst indigenous communities, the partnership endeavours to bridge educational gaps and create opportunities for economic growth.”
Partnerships Lead at Avenues, Daphishisha Kharhujon adds, “Through this joint effort, both organisations are paving the way for a brighter future, where youth in Meghalaya can harness their potential and drive positive change in their communities.”
“We can share what we’ve learned – as a programme, as a concept – so they understand the way we worked in terms of the inter-generational side, working with communities, working alongside young people, letting them reveal their potential and show it through social enterprise. All of that is being shared with Avenues.” Aruna states. “It’s Avenues who then has the expertise to decide how we contextualise this – how this works with young people here in the Garo, Jaintia and Khasi Hills.”
The word ‘context’ here is key. Right from the pilot phase, the idea is not to exact what YCA has done in Australia for Meghalaya, but rather making it operational and viable in the context of the people here.
Lead Academics at Avenues, Jasmine Laitphlang elaborates on what this contextualising means by saying, “For our students to be able to look at social issues and think of them as opportunities to give back to community – this will take us to a place where we realise that we all have an entrepreneurial spirit within us.”
When it comes to taking this experience to classrooms across the state, Laitphlang further adds, “We are looking at an all-inclusive, hands-on approach – taking learners through a structured process that involves design thinking components of Empathy, Critical and Creative thinking, and Problem Solving, to acquire a scientific, entrepreneurial mindset”.
There is a resonating buzz amongst the staff and trainers of Avenues as they prep for the pilot phase of this programme. Aligning with the futuristic goals of the state, Avenues believes that the creation of job opportunities requires a ready pool of skilled, resilient and employable youth; and with its track record in the state along its team of experienced trainers, it has the ability to bring about a monumental change in the way people think about education frameworks in our state through this initiative.