Training the youth to make them better leaders tomorrow is an important aspect of social development and change. Thus, Change the Game Academy and KidsRights have joined forces to create ‘Change the Game Youth’.  Smile Foundation is the official partner for CtGA in India.

 

The partnership aims to support grassroots projects and young changemakers through projects, research, and advocacy. The second batch of CtGA Youth Chapter Leaders graduated on 1 October in a virtual ceremony. These young people are independently developing and implementing projects and networking actions on the ground with the help of CtGA Youth.

 

About CtGA Youth

 

This initiative seeks to create digital tools to support youth ambassadors ‘on the ground’. The youth ambassadors are selected by KidsRights. All these youth are eager to bring change in their respective communities. They are being trained by the CtGA coaches for the same.

 

CtGA started coaching the first batch of chapter leaders in 2020 as a pilot project. The successful project coached five chapter leaders in India, along with similar implementation in Kenya and Brazil as well.

 

The 2nd batch of CtGA Youth Program is being facilitated by Wilde Ganzen Foundation of the Netherlands. They have collaborated with CtGA National Partners and KidsRights Foundation, the Netherlands. India had two chapter leaders in the second batch of this program–Iqra Khan from Panchkula, Haryana, and Aaina Lohia from Ludhiana, Punjab. Coaching has been done on modules of LFR, MS and Social & Leadership Skills for all chapter leaders. Youth leaders from countries such as Indonesia and Pakistan were also part of the training modules.

 

CtGA Youth Chapter Leaders from India

 

Iqra is a student of Claa 12 at Satluj Public School in Panchkula. She has experience of working as an intern at Rising Youth Model United Nations (RYMUN). She is skilled at creative writing, problem solving, team work, and collaboration.

 

Aaina is studying to become a computer engineer in Ludhiana. She is also a volunteer at Missing Link Trust. She is also a part of the marketing team of FM 90.8 MHZ Community Radio. Aaina brings a lot to the plate with her wide range of skills. She is well-versed with a wide range of design and communication tools. She works great independently as well as in a team.

 

Iqra and Aaina have both been actively involved in learning and implementation of the skills they have learned from the CtGA Youth modules. Since their training began, they have organized different activities around Sustainable Development Goals. Iqra has worked on a tree plantation activity. Aaina has been working on LGBTQI+ issues, inequality in education opportunities, and raising awareness about mental health.

 

 

Second Batch Graduates

 

During the graduation ceremony, the youth chapter leaders and the mentors all shared insights about their work.

 

Nienke Nuijens from Wilde Ganzen Foundation was happy to share her thoughts. ‘CtGA was developed for leaders like you, to give you the tools you need.’

 

‘This was my first time as a leader, so I was very nervous. Although the activities we were conducting were successful, I was still feeling under-confident,’ Aaina shared. She further told her peers and mentors how she used the learnings from the CtGA modules, such as elevator pitch, to implement on-ground activities.

 

Iqra also shared her experiences of the CtGA training. ‘Before joining CtGA, I didn’t even know that I needed this! Working with the CtGA team, sharing thoughts and ideas, coming up with solutions—it has all been amazing. I especially found the module on mobilizing support very helpful.’

 

Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder and Executive Trustee of Smile Foundation also attended the graduation ceremony. “This is a reality that we are in the middle of a convergence of the physical world and the virtual world. At the same time, there exists a great disparity and inequality in the society. I believe that we must find a balance between both the extremes. At such a young age, you already know that this is what you want to do. You also have a vision of bringing real change, and you are committed to it. I think this is wonderful.”