Young Social Innovators Conclave

Second edition of Young Social Innovators Conclave to give exclusive platform to youth 

for showcasing ideas, 

solutions on urban development 

Eight-city survey on state of urban youth to be released during meet 

Mumbai, 2 nd October: The second edition of the Young Social Innovators Conclave, a joint initiative of the Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation and UN-Habitat will be held on October 5 at The Prince of Wales Museum, Fort, between 9.30 am to 6.00 pm. The conclave, which was successfully held for the first time in October last year, is one of India’s largest innovation exchange programmes that provides an excellent opportunity to the youth of the country to showcase and discuss cutting-edge initiatives, solutions, experiences and challenges in urban development through interactive workshops and presentations. This year, the event will comprise of two key components -- a live jury where the new cohort of India Youth Fund awardees will be selected followed by a discussion on the findings of a vital survey attached to the State of Urban Youth report. The eight-city report, which includes Mumbai, is titled The State of the Urban Youth India 2015: Employment, Livelihoods, Skills and brings together crucial research findings, data and literature to suggest the need for a paradigm shift in addressing the issue of the urban youth. 

The report is anchored by IRIS Knowledge Foundation and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and is supported by Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation and UN-Habitat. It addresses the current status of youth in urban India through a focus on health, politics, governance, law, jobs, education, gender, migration, labour and other areas of opportunities in urban contexts. It features academic writings as well as the analysis of an exhaustive, multi-city survey aimed at identifying and highlighting important lifestyle trends that affect urban youth in the country. The 2015 report follows the first report launched in 2013. The Conclave is a natural extension to the India Youth Fund, a unique youth-oriented programme co-founded by Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation and UN-Habitat in 2012. By offering channels of financial and pastoral support, the India Youth Fund aims to catalyse youth-led urban innovation in a variety of thematic areas such as health, governance, education and livelihoods. 

The cornerstone of the programme is a funding window that offers grants up to Rs 8 lakh to an annually revised selection of youth-led projects in Indian cities along with an access to international-standard training and capacity building avenues such as UN-led workshops and learning programmes. Press Release Projects are selected annually through a rigorous and competitive screening process which culminates in the selection of a handful of grantees. Seven such projects were selected in 2013, followed by 4 in 2014, representing a wide range of organisation types, project themes and geographies. Leni Chaudhuri, Programme Head, Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation said, “Young Social Innovators Conclave is a platform where the youth share great ideas, learn from experts and build alliances with industry leaders. It aims to give young innovators an opportunity to interact with experts on enhancing the sustainability and scalability of their models and provide them with an opportunity to network with funders, field trendsetters and develop multi-sectoral linkages. Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation is proud to be the catalyst for this conclave of ideas.” This year, the projects that are in the fray for the grant include: 

 a student-led initiative that targets reduced levels of tobacco usage among youth 

 a project that aims to develop low-cost and high-quality menstrual hygiene products

  an initiative to empower and impart education to disadvantaged women 

 a project that aims to sensitize slum-dwelling youth towards sound and informed citizenship 

 a children-led initiative that focuses on enhancing children’s roles as agents of change within their communities 

 a federation of street and working children that focuses on safeguarding and enhancing the rights of disadvantaged children 

 an initiatiave that looks at improving livelihoods of the poor, particularly those embedded in the informal economy 

 a venture to empower women from tribal communities 

 a project that works with children to develop indigenous technological solutions for waste, water and sanitation

 an initiative that anchors advocacy and information dissemination regarding climate change and environmental deterioration. 

Speaking about the Conclave, Douglas Ragan, Chief - Youth and Livelihoods, UNHabitat said, “We hope that through this conclave, participants will gain insights on successful youthled development models through the interactive workshops, presentations, films and installations that we have planned. We believe that young women and men must be at the centre of developing, implementing and monitoring development intiatives from local to global levels, for programmes and policies to be truly inclusive and youth- led.” Press Release About Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation Established in the year 2002, the Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation is a non-profit initiative created to support enterprising individuals and innovative organisations. The Foundation believes in building the skills and capabilities of people and communities, to deliver a sustainable and lasting impact on society. To this end, the Foundation partners with charitable and philanthropic initiatives and developmental enterprises, by funding and mentoring programmes that enable better access to healthcare, governance, education, livelihood and art and culture. About UN-Habitat 

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the United Nations agency that promotes socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. UN-Habitat's programmes are designed to help policymakers and local communities get to grips with human settlements and urban issues and find workable, lasting solutions. India Youth Fund The India Youth Fund is a partnership between UN-Habitat and the Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation. The Fund aims to assist youth-led organisations in designing and implementing projects that will contribute to sustainable urbanisation in India. Furthermore, it seeks to gain insight from successful grassroots youth projects and create greater awareness of the need for youth mainstreaming in development policies and strategies. The overarching objective of the Fund is to increase the opportunities of urban young people in India to improve the living conditions for themselves and their communities.