Want to Make a Change? Let Young People Tell Their Stories | Anshul Tewari | TED

Summary

In 2008, a 17-year-old felt invisible and disconnected from the world around her, leading her to start a blog focused on underrepresented issues. Over time, her platform, Youth Ki Awaaz, grew into India's largest citizen media platform, empowering young voices to address critical societal issues like gender, climate change, and human rights. The platform has helped spark real-world change, from infrastructure development in rural villages to awareness campaigns on menstrual hygiene. The platform now embraces AI to engage youth in critical thinking and social change, aiming to create a global movement for young voices in policy-making.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker felt invisible and powerless as a young person in 2008, struggling to relate to the media and feeling like their voice was not heard.
• 😀 Despite frustration, the speaker began writing and started a blog, focusing on issues that were important to them, such as climate change.
• 😀 The blog, initially small, grew into Youth Ki Awaaz, India's largest citizen media platform, empowering over 200,000 young people to share their stories every month.
• 😀 The Youth Ki Awaaz platform gave young people a space to tell stories that were ignored by mainstream media, such as Ashwini's work on improving a village's infrastructure.
• 😀 Ashwini's story about Rajghat led to significant change, with NGOs and decision-makers taking action, resulting in improved access to education, electricity, and infrastructure.
• 😀 Stories from Youth Ki Awaaz had a real-world impact, such as Jolly's viral story that led to accessible toilets being built at her workplace.
• 😀 The platform helped spark important social movements, such as Rayees' campaign for menstrual hygiene awareness in Kashmir, and Pranay's story which helped rescue thousands of stranded Indians.
• 😀 As the platform grew, it tackled increasingly complex issues, including climate change, with many young people sharing their concerns but unsure how to address them.
• 😀 In 2023, the ZeroSeHero campaign was launched to help young people understand and take action on climate change, particularly the concept of net zero, through storytelling and engagement.
• 😀 The speaker emphasized the importance of using AI and innovative tools, such as WhatsApp bots, to foster critical thinking and engage young people in social change, while highlighting the limitations of traditional social media platforms.

Q & A

What inspired the speaker to start writing and launch a blog?

The speaker felt invisible and powerless in 2008, as the issues covered in the media didn't reflect their experiences or concerns. Despite being in a family deeply invested in global affairs, the speaker found there was no platform to express their opinions, especially on social issues. Writing became a way to share their thoughts, leading to the creation of a blog.

Why did the speaker feel disappointed when their friend commented a smiling emoji on their first story about climate change?

The speaker wanted more meaningful engagement and feedback on the story, but the comment from their friend—a simple smiling emoji—felt dismissive and lacked depth, reflecting the challenges young people face when expressing serious concerns in a culture that discourages critical thinking.

What was the outcome of the speaker's writer's training program?

The writer's training program, which was initially expected to attract around 30 participants, received only two applicants. Despite the low turnout, the speaker worked closely with these two participants, teaching them to write about tough issues like gender, discrimination, and climate change, which empowered them to question societal norms and take action.

What is Youth Ki Awaaz, and what role did it play in the speaker's journey?

Youth Ki Awaaz (Voice of the Youth) is India's largest citizen media platform, created by the speaker to provide a platform for young people to voice their opinions on underrepresented issues. It started as a personal blog and grew into a community of over 200,000 young writers, becoming a significant space for storytelling and social change.

Can you describe one example of how a story published on Youth Ki Awaaz led to real-world change?

One example is Ashwini's story about a village called Rajghat, where he found severe lack of infrastructure and basic services. His story brought attention to the village's plight, leading to support from NGOs and decision-makers, and ultimately, improvements such as electricity, a school, and the first wedding in 22 years.

What role did the speaker's platform play in raising awareness about menstrual hygiene in Kashmir?

Rayees, a writer on Youth Ki Awaaz, shared a story about the lack of menstrual hygiene awareness in Kashmir. This story went viral and sparked one of the largest menstrual hygiene campaigns in the region, creating awareness and encouraging change in the community.

How did Youth Ki Awaaz contribute to the rescue of Pranay's father during the Arab Spring?

Pranay wrote a story about his father being stranded in Libya during the Arab Spring. This story garnered widespread attention, which ultimately helped rescue his father, as well as 18,000 other Indians who were repatriated to India as a result of the story's impact.

What challenges did the speaker and their community face when addressing climate change through Youth Ki Awaaz?

Climate change proved to be a complex and overwhelming issue for the speaker and their community. Despite many young people writing about it, there was a sense of talking at the problem without understanding how to address it meaningfully. This difficulty led to the launch of the 'ZeroSeHero' campaign to bring together young voices and build a collective approach to climate action.

What was the purpose of the 'ZeroSeHero' campaign, and how did it engage young people?

The 'ZeroSeHero' campaign aimed to educate and mobilize young people around the concept of net zero and climate action. It brought together stories, surveys, and polls to make the issue of climate change more accessible and actionable for young people, ultimately sparking a national conversation about climate solutions.

How is the speaker's platform using AI to engage the younger generation in critical thinking?

In 2023, the speaker's platform started using AI to send daily questions to young people via WhatsApp, encouraging them to engage in critical thinking about key social and political issues. This initiative not only promotes critical thinking but also gathers valuable data about young people's perspectives, which can inform policy-making and social change efforts.