Peace Networks/SAARC             


 
 
 
 
 

Voluntary Youth Associations of Asia (VYASA)
Consultation held on 29th July 2001 at IACIS, Hyderabad, AP, India

Following the workshop on the Use of Information and Communication Technologies by Youth Leaders for Development and Poverty Alleviation organized by IFHD under the UNESCO-INJEP-INFOYOUTH Programme for Youth in South Asia, the members representing the youth organizations from South Asia present at the workshop held a consultation for future action and networking. This was in continuation of what was proposed by the “Voluntary Youth Associations of South Asia (VYASA)“, an informal group of regional NGOs, set up in 1998 during a meeting in Macao arranged by the INFOYOUTH programme of UNESCO.

The members present were:

  1. Mr. Prakash Paudel, President. New International Friendship club (NIFC), Nepal
  2. Mr. Takahiro Usuda, Japanese Co-ordinator, NIFC-Nepal, Japan
  3. Mr. Salim Ahmed, General Secretary. Bangladesh Work Camps Association
    (BWCA), Bangladesh
  4. Mr. Victor Marambage, Representative, Samasevaya, Srilanka
  5. Mr. Wimalsen Fernando, Chairman, Hurkingham Foundation, Srilanka
  6. Mr. Vasisht Bhargava ,Secretary, Bahai’I Council, India
  7. Dr. Rao V.B.J. Chelikani, President, IFHD, India
  8. Mr. Salman Ahmad, Director-Programmes,IFHD, India
  9. Dr. D. Chandrasekhar, Advisor, IFHD

The following is a brief of the outcome of the consultation:

It was noticed from the experiences of the delegates that youth volunteerism across the South Asian region faced the same issues irrespective of the particular country. These were the difficulties in motivating youth volunteers, the lack of awareness amongst the youth as to the benefits of volunteerism for their own career prospects. The resource crunch, and a basic lack of focus in voluntary activities connected to the very core issues of the “why” and “how” of volunteerism. This reinforced the view that it is high time that a formal federation or networking of at least some active Youth NGOs of the South Asian region be formed to give a semblance of order and a system to the voluntary service moment in South Asia and to promote the spirit of volunteerism in the region. Particularly, the year 2001 since it is being observed as the International Year of Volunteering, could serve as stimulation.

One proposal, which was accepted by all, was to formalize the existing informal network of VYASA into a consortium of youth organizations of the South Asian region under the UNSECO-INFOYOUTH network. This would introduce a system in the networking and information as well as volunteer exchange between the member organizations. The proposed federation would function as the “South Asian Hub” of the UNESCO-INFOYOUTH programme but with the activities that would go beyond mere information exchange and networking in tune with the unique nature of the region. This matter may be referred to Mr. Boyan RADOYKOV who is in charge of INFOYOUTH programme in the UNESCO-PARIS.

However, it was felt that there is a need for another consultation with more representation of youth organizations (especially the representation of more women) from, the region to deliberate upon the modalities of establishing such a federation.

Certain suggestions were also put forward as to the agenda for such a possible consultation in the future. These were:

  1. Launching a VYASA website which would contain information about the federation, the member organizations and their activities as well as links to other useful websites pertaining to youth. The website could be supplemented with a newsletter. This itself would be a major project, as the site would require not only a launch but regular inputs and updating.
  2. Organizations of joint work campus, joint developmental projects in the area of cultural preservation, AIDS and health awareness, joint campaigns or rallies for peace and integration in the region, especially in the light of unstable relations between some of the member states of the region.
  3. Establishing closer links and networking with the UNESCO field offices in the region (e.g., with UNESCO-Nepal which has been working actively in the area of cultural preservation) as well as with the South Asian Association for Regional C0-operation (SAARC). In this context the recent trip of IFHD to Nepal (Nov-Dec 2000) could be of utility as it facilitated quite a few potentially promising contacts both in the UNESCO field office in Nepal as well as in SAARC.
  4. Organising workshops on the ethical issues of Values and Moral/Responsible Leadership in voluntary action. It was also felt that perhaps the next consultation should be held in Nepal instead of the IFHD proposal to hold it in the Maldives since we have had no response from the NGOs in the Maldives and we already have an established relationship with NIFC-Nepal as well as the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu.

    (Presented by Mr. Salman Ahmad, IFHD, India)