We, the directorate, global leaders, national executives, regional executives, members (the entire family) of Youth Arise Organization (YAO) understand the critical charge that the youth can and should keep at the forefront of the achievement of global change and excellence, while cultivating practical and comprehensive advancement of countries, and continents.

Devoting resources to our youth now is the cornerstone for the rest of the globe to have a flourishing and bright future. We vow to invest resources in youth and place them at the center of global and national transformation to harness their ingenuity, influence, and social capital towards the innovation of countries of this world.

We recognize young people’s revolutionary potential and ensure that our global policies, programs, and programming clearly reflect their interests and goals, empowering them to contribute significantly to national and global progress.

We acknowledge the challenges faced by many young people, and the roles they themselves can play to mitigate, not just their challenges, but also the challenges of people belonging to other age demographics.

Hence, Youth Arise Organization (YAO) is primarily a youth-centered organization and all other activities carried out by YAO should be youth-centered.

WHAT DOES YOUTH-CENTERED MEAN TO US?

In recent decades, adults have placed a higher priority on the role of the youth in planning, executing, and assessing social change. It is critical to the YAO family that we stress the importance of youth-centeredness.

But what does it really mean for our organization to be youth focused? How can the various stakeholders ensure that the central point of every activity in the organization is the youth?

YAO is a youth-focused organization because we view our work, predominantly, through three lenses:

1.       Youth-driven:
Young people are the catalysts for action that extends out to others in their communities. In other words, young people plan and carry out the organization’s different operations. Being youth-centered implies that all activities and initiatives are aimed at assisting young people in becoming better versions of themselves through focusing on young people’s talents and leadership.

2.      Youth-served:
We realize the difficulties that many young people endure. Hence, our activities are geared towards mitigating those challenges and realizing the dreams and hopes of young people globally. A youth-centered approach is flexible and versatile. It starts with young people’s own interests and ambitions and helps them to expand their horizons.

3.     Youth-inspired: the activities may not primarily target young people, but the initiatives were inspired by the passions and visions of young people. A youth-centered approach is about partnership, where young people are active partners in the decision-making process.

WHY ARE WE YOUTH-CENTERED?

Speaking at the inaugural function of the day-long district-level youth cultural festival at Maharani’s Arts College, Mayor Pushpalatha Jagannath said: “The youths are the powerhouse of this country and hence its future. The progress of the nation depends on youths. Hence, I request them to work for the progress of the nation by cultivating and practicing good habits. This is also the age where youths tend to take everything for granted and there are chances of getting deviated. Hence there are parents, teachers and friends to guide you and get back to you on the track.” 

It is therefore imperative that if we seek to improve a nation and make the world a better place, the youth would play a pivotal role to meet that end. We believe in the potential of young people. Young people have a lot of energy, and the energy, when not guided, will lead to destructive activities. By engaging young people in activities that focus their energies in meaningful activities, we reduce the chances of destruction, depression and negative influences. We also ensure that young people are actively engaged so they never have a dull mind.

Each person represents a generation, a nation, or a community. If one person lives a life of purpose, that person affects an entire lineage or generation. By helping one young person live a life of purpose, we have helped a generation live a life of purpose.

It is also crucial to highlight that being with young people is a delight; it allows us to discover new ideas on life. When you are young, you think that everything is possible, and this is the attitude required to improve our world and promote love and hope.

As we say, our joy is tied to seeing smiles on the faces of young people and seeing them live lives of choice and not chance.