Mission Youth empowers youth as important stakeholder in good governance

ZUBAIR QURESHI

Srinagar, Jan 10 (IANS) Mission Youth is focusing on encouraging, engaging and mobilising young volunteers of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to support the government efforts of socio-economic transformation of the Union Territory.

Youth Clubs, under Mission Youth initiative, provide an opportunity for the young generation of J&K to contribute to society and achieve self-growth, an official said.

As energetic and vibrant partners of panchayats and district administration, these clubs are ensuring that governance effectively reaches to the grassroots level.

The official added that through Youth Clubs, the government is not only generating awareness about various employment and self-employment schemes but also uniting young men and women of the UT of J&K to pursue their dreams.

Youth's commitment to social service, national integration provides the foundation of developed J&K, the official said. "These Clubs are unique not only by virtue of their composition but also in providing leadership in different sectors and entrepreneurship commitment."

"More than 74,000 members have become a beacon of hope for thousands of others. Youth are now active partners in the process of building a peaceful and prosperous J&K," he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that more than 74,771 youths from 20 districts have joined the Youth Clubs, which are playing a significant role in providing youth an opportunity to work through real challenges and make meaningful change.

A total of 4,522 Youth Clubs have been constituted across 20 districts with a maximum 9,000 youths enrolled in Poonch district.

Young people in these clubs, who volunteer, regularly develop a civic identity, as leaders and change-makers and therefore become more socially active. They also learn new social skills like collaboration and problem solving that are vital to succeed in academics, the workplace and their personal lives. Thus, Youth Clubs are playing a pivotal role in creating lifelong change among youth and result in their overall personality development, which happens to be the core agenda of Mission Youth.

The initiative of Youth Club was approved by the governing body of Mission Youth, headed by the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha in its first meeting held on June 17, 2021.