Activities
We will attempt to give our volunteers grassroots experience through participation in their neighborhood or in the vicinity of their colleges. They will be encouraged to take up small civic issues and we will guide them in resolving these issues through interactions with the local government or agencies. The volunteers will identify and take ownership of the projects and take them to completion.
Each college should take up a small project on a civic issue that affects them. The students are free to choose the project.
We have also created a PROJECT BANK with sample project ideas that can be picked up. Any other projects suggested by students will be added to this list.
The other activities we have conducted are:
MCIM project
Janaagraha first approached Mount Carmel Institute of Management to address the students of the institute in a Saturday workshop, educating the students about the organization and their participation with the youth in solving community issues.
As part of the Community Development Project to be undertaken by the MCIM students, it was decided to partner with Yuva Janaagraha for the year 2007-08. Hence it was decided that the students would spend 80 hours each on a segregation awareness campaign which was required in ward 35, Vijay Nagar.
Objectives of the Yuva Janaagraha are two-fold:
- To create awareness about local govt. & civic participation among students, generate interest among students through training sessions, fests & events
- To give volunteers grassroots experience of participation through civic project
With the aim of acting on the second mentioned objective, Janaagraha approached MCIM with a proposal to work with the students and give them grassroots experience.
MES Research Course
In February 2008, Yuva Janaagraha launched a pilot qualitative research course in partnership with MES College. A cohort of 40 students from various courses at MES College has enrolled in the course, entitled “Introduction to Social Science Qualitative Research Methods: Applications in Democracy.” This 8-week, intensive hands-on course guides students through the process of designing and carrying out a qualitative research project and then gives them free reign to apply this process to a topic of mutual interest. Lectures are discussion-based and questioning is highly encouraged. Students will work in teams to produce a research paper that will provide Janaagraha with valuable insight into how and why individuals make decisions about participation in government. In going through this process, students will gain valuable analytical research skills, experience in conducting interviews in the field, as well as a greater understanding of urban issues related to governance.