Five thousand youths have voice, fighting for social justice and making difference in their own lives through social change. Forty eight Jubo Morcha has been formed at ward, Municipality and Upazila level. Human Rights and Good Governance Vigilance Teams (HRGGVT) have been functioning as a group to promote human rights and social justice. They are in action.
The project demonstrates how the organization itself emerges as a platform that brings about visible changes for the youths.
Youth empowerment paradigm traditionally advocates that youths have a greater responsibility in civil and human rights movements. Therefore, wide ranging issues have been incorporated in training session covering broad spectrum of human rights. To sum up, the issues included human rights, woman rights, child rights, fundamental rights, youth rights and good governance.
In this respect, inferences can be drawn from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was the first international mechanism to stipulate the systemic engagement of youth voice. Specific aims are stated in Articles 5 and 12 that clearly acknowledge the youth have a voice, that youth voice is constantly changing, and that all areas of our society are morally responsible for engaging youth voice.
Youth voice and empowerment of youth are intertwined. The actions of youth have resulted in creating awareness on deadly and lethal consequences of systematic exposure to drug. Indiscrimate selling of drugs has come to a halt ostensibly. The efforts of both the members of Jubo Morcha and Vigilance team appear to have been a catalytic factor to identify problem areas like dowary and child marriage and interventions draws on collective nornative and communicative actions.
The commitment of youth to enhancing social betterment is manifested in their continuous effort to help individuals, families and the community members in general to come out of the viscitudes of drugs, influences and help modifying the behaviors of others who remain silent spectatator of what is happening
The activities planned under the project wanted to rejuvenate the inherent capacity of youth and invigorate them to work for the community, which, in turn, have been a guiding factor in changing their own lives. The activities, carried within the mandate of the program and beyond, bears the imprint of idealism although the major practical contributions that the project places is the high premium on youth’s innate urge to do away with odds. The initiatives to round up the activities and taking an account of what has been done so far, within a broad strategy of influencing the public policies presupposes conditioning of the conceptual formulations around the normative standards of the project.
It is surprising that the changes within the organized youths have taken place so rapidly and radicalized them to identify the social problems, define strategy to draw up an action plan, broadening their social and political sphere.
Debunking the myth and stereotype idea that youths are engrossed with dubious tasks incongruent with normative standards, the project styled as Youth Animation for Justice has ended up officially. This report provides an overview of activities, a compilation of what have been achieved against stated objectives and general recollection of the tasks, tactics, strategies and outcomes. The report also depict the experience and learning, along with brief outcome of major concepts underpinning the central themes of the project-unleashing youth force, development of sustainable youth organization and movement, changing social milieu transcending youth as a catalytic force and change agent in the society.
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