Kezungulo-U Krome for YES Campaign
Taking forward the State Consultation of Youth Employment Summit held at Kohima on the 23rd and 24th of April, 2007 a 12 member team was brought together to conduct the District consultations all over Nagaland. The team comprising of member from YouthNet, YARD and YES Core team will be traveling to all the 11(eleven) districts of Nagaland to carry out the District Consultations. The members who traveled to the recently concluded consultation at Wokha and Zuhneboto are Dr. Bernice Dzuvichu, Hekani Jakhalu, Lydia Yeptho, Veronica, Kheto, Kekhrie, Yanchum, Kholi, Kevilelie, Tsiebu Eliakim, Ela Mary and Kezungulo-U Krome.
The ongoing campaign took birth after a 10 member team participated at the YES Kenya 2006 sponsored by the Government of Nagaland.
The objective of the YES Campaign is to dialogue with the youths of Nagaland from all districts by conducting interactive consultations to identify the district specific resources, needs and aspirations of the youths. In every district the Students Union are the local hosts, who will ensure an inclusive and participatory interaction and consultation by identifying 70 delegates covering all corners of the district. In every district, these 70 delegates will determine the outcome of the consultations which will culminate in the Kohima Declaration after the tour is over.
According to the tour calendar, if there are no hitches, the tour will come full circle at the end of September. During the campaign there will be collection of data and information, and surveys conducted which will come together in the ‘Bank of Ideas’ to be documented and presented to the Government of Nagaland. It is hoped that with enthusiasm from the youth and purpose-driven participation, the campaign will identify the gaps and challenges to address the grave issue of youth employment in pragmatic terms resulting in youth-led development in the State of Nagaland.
The YES Campaign in Nagaland has been supported by the Government of Nagaland promoting the theme “Back to the Land’ in conjunction with the ‘Year of the Farmer’. This is also the objective of the Vision 2020 of the State Human Development Report which purports to lay emphasis on the Agricultural sector at the core of the State’s economy.
WOKHA (10th & 11th July) – Trained, and it is hoped, sufficiently armed to take on the huge task of facilitating meaningful dialogues with young people, a mission-filled 13 member team hit the road on the 9th of July 2007 for its debut district consultation at Wokha.
The District Consultation at Wokha town was hosted by the Lotha Students Union (LSU) at Don Bosco Higher Secondary School. The two-hour inaugural function was attended by the Higher Secondary school students of Wokha town, apart from the official delegates. To give an overview About YES was Mr. Mhonlumo Kikon Core Member, YES Nagaland. He highlighted on how YES was first initiated by the then U.S. President Bill Clinton and First Lady of Egypt Susan Mubarak in the year 2002 to address the global concern for youth employment which later developed into a decade long campaign till 2012. He stressed on the need to demystify the concept of unemployment, to overcome Nagas’ obsession for government jobs as the only form of employment.
The Chairperson was Mikha Lomi Deputy Commissioner, Wokha District. The D.C. did not mince words in expressing his disdain for the Nagas way of life devoid of the dignity of labour. He said that Nagas, and especially the youths, must become more practical in their lifestyle.
To orient the audience on the purpose and relevance of the Youth Employment Summit(YES) Hekani Jakhalu Director, YouthNet; and State Coordinator for YES Nagaland exhorted the youths to take initiatives and chart their own path rather than having unrealistic expectations from others. She enlightened the audience about the YES campaign in local context, and how the success of YES in the district lies in the select delegation present.
To further address issues of youth employment from a realistic perspective was Oren, a member of the team sent by the Government of Nagaland to Israel for training, and was delegated by the State Government to the Wokha district consultation. He talked about the work culture of the Israelites as opposed to the laidback attitude of the Nagas. An interesting point to be noted was how the people of Israel turned the dry desert lands into cultivable lands by laying soil over the desert land for agrarian sustenance. This in sharp contrast to the rich and abundant resources available at our disposal and the needless level of unemployment grappling us. He aptly concluded his sharing by quoting a popular saying which asks whether one wants to work and shine or rest and rust.
After this, the audience was given time to field questions and interact with the Deputy Commissioner and YES Core Members. The campaign team facilitated the question hour in which many youngsters raised their concerns about corruption in the Government machinery related to problems of unemployment. This was an opportunity for the youths to ventilate their thoughts, frustrations and pleas to the government, especially for those who were not attending the technical sessions.
After outlining the three thematic areas relevant for the discussions, three groups were formed to deliberate on the given topics with special focus on youth employability. The first technical session on Day 1, was on the theme of Building an Entrepreneurial Culture. The one-hour session of the consultation resulted in the identification of entrepreneurial opportunities was concluded at around 5:30pm. One of the campaign objective is to encourage the minds of young people to be pro-active, action-oriented and to earnestly explore entrepreneurial opportunities. But, to think with action-oriented zest is a real challenge for our youths, especially in undertaking business enterprises, as the team has closely observed in this session.
On Day 2, session 1, Natural Resources and Livelihood was the focus to realize the rich resources lying in wait(and not to be wasted) in the forest-rich, water-rich, soil-rich and mineral-rich district of Wokha. Concern for conservation was also raised, but sadly for our young people grappling with livelihood, this is a sidelined matter. Doyang was a talking point in the discussion, but more direction and technical assistance was felt by the participants. A stark observation is the existing business enterprises pursued by non-locals, who consider the feasibility of market linkages in distant places, while our youths see little beyond the physical reach.
This became more pronounced in the next session of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as we have still not realized the immense potential of information tools and mediums in seeking and generating livelihood. The participants rather than getting into the potentials of ICT were more bogged down by lack of awareness. This is a concern to give serious thought requiring action as infrastructural support is wanting. The most pressing challenges pressed upon in the consultation was the poor road conditions and poor electricity.
While realizing that immense potential can be tapped in the district, the youths also expressed helplessness due to lack of skill, knowledge and proper orientation. Acknowledging that initiative is wanting on the part of youth, they also expressed dissatisfaction with the government for failing to assist those who can produce results by practicing nepotism and favoritism. Therefore the suggestion that came up was to re-adapt guidelines and policies on loans like PMRY and CMCF, at the same time train and monitor the beneficiaries.
ZUNHEBOTO (13th & 14th July) - On the 13th of July, the Consultation got underway with the All Sumi Student’s Union (SKK) as the District host. Hekani Jakhalu Director YouthNet and State Coordinator for YES briefed the audience about the Global YES Campaign and its local focus of the Nagaland Chapter of addressing unemployment issues from the grass root and local context.
Daniel Longchar Deputy Commissioner, Zunheboto District. Longchar in his address expressed his hope that the YES Campaign would eventually lessen the wide gap between the Government and Naga youths of today. He lamented the pitiable condition in all sectors of the government where departments are overstaffed but in reality the work culture is wanting. He stressed that the
Government is overburdened with excessive employment and therefore youths of today must not simply follow trends but equip themselves with training and technical skills suitable for their own sustenance.
Soon after the Chair’s Address, in the question hour a lively interaction took place for about 45 minutes. Many questions were directed at the D.C. mainly on his administrative challenges in Zunheboto, and his vision for the people. The Sumi Hoho President S. Rotoka was also present at the function and he also answered queries from the crowd. There were also questions directed and answered by the SKK President and YES Coordinator Lima Meren Joint Director Dept. of Soil and Water Conservation had also been delegated by the State Government to attend the Inaugural function and he also summarized his views on the various queries raised by the audience.
The technical session started about 02:00pm as the participants gathered for the plenary. The sitting MLA from Zunheboto, Hukavi Zhimomi attended the technical session and interacted with the participants. Briefed about the thematic areas under discussion, and divided into three groups, the group started its consultation on Natural Resources and Livelihood. A wide range of resources were identified in Zunheboto District including forest resources, presence of exotic wild life like Black Tragopan and variety of Rhododendron flourishing in some range having potential of developing tourist destinations by tapping the aesthetic beauty. The consultation also generated startling information of the presence of gold in the region. The discussion of Soya Bean production was a special interest, and considering its potential, the participants felt the need to encourage production on a commercial scale.
Having vibrant participation with local concern, participation was also able to identify realistic potentials for youth employment in maintaining and further developing the Bird Sanctuary at Ghosu-home to variety of birds, including migratory birds. Due to the windy condition at Zunheboto, and especially in hilltop villages like Xuivi, wind resource can be the answer to generate energy.
The discussion on Entrepreneurship emphasized on how the resources available can bring about sustenance with entrepreneurial skill. The consultation also dwelt on issues of market monopoly by Union which hampers entrepreneurship. Hospitality industry was felt as a potential for employment and development for the district too. Prospects for youth employment in Information Communication Technology dwelt on accessing more information through Community Information Centers (CIC), possibility of community radio in local dialect was also discussed as a youth initiative program to benefit everyone. Hevikhe, District Soil and Water Conservation Officer represented the District Agriculture and Allied Departments to interact and discuss with young people.
Though District specific resources and needs were mapped, existence of common problems and concerns were also noted. The youths expressed their difficulty and reservation in realizing their potentials due to factors like illegal taxation, and market linkages hindered by poor road connectivity. In general, corruption and lack of infrastructural support was a major issue causing drawbacks, and a source of discouragement from the point of view of young people.
The Consultation is being conducted with language flexibility as facilitation can be done not only in English but Nagamese and local dialect too. So in the remaining districts to be covered the YES Campaign team hopes to have more wide-ranging interaction with youth from all walks of life as the consultation aims to be inclusive of young people in the widest sense of the word.
