National Youth Day
2021
“Brave, frank, clean-hearted, courageous, and aspiring youth are the only foundation on which a future nation can be built."
~~ Swami Vivekananda
Hindu philosopher and social reformer
On the occasion of National Youth Day commemorating the 158th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda on Tuesday, 12 January 2021, the Youth for Good Governance Foundation (YfGG) organized an all-day event comprising online as well as offline activities to celebrate the spirit of active citizenship and participatory democracy, the tenets of which were preached by Swami Vivekananda.
For the very first time since its inception, YfGG organized a grassroots program as part of the event. The grassroots program included a plantation drive that was held in Gopasandra, Muthanallur Village Panchayat, Bengaluru Urban district. YfGG team members viz. Vinay N Bhushan, Abhinav Verma, and Nisha Harish, along with the local residents and the gram panchayat leaders carried out the plantation drive.
The online activities included a yoga session in the morning and a virtual meet in the evening with youth volunteers who were actively engaged in COVID-19 relief work. The online yoga session was hosted from 8:30 AM to 9:15 AM by Mr. Sameer Ghuge to kickstart the celebration of National Youth Day.
In the evening, a virtual panel discussion was held from 6 PM to 7 PM where different volunteers who worked tirelessly during the COVID-19 relief work spoke of their experiences and the motivation to carry on with their work. The panelists included Mr. Vijaya Kumar Setappa, Co-convenor of Karnataka Janaarogya Chaluvali; Ms Akhila Vasan, Founder, Karnataka Janaarogya Chaluvali; Mr. Abhinav Verma, Core Team Member, YfGG; and Mr. Nikhil Pai, eminent social worker.
These volunteers risked their health and the safety of their near and dear ones to work selflessly for the betterment of the people. They helped highlight how important it is for the youth to take charge of situations when needed and collectively work towards the betterment of the people without focusing on one's own vested interests.
They are truly the inspiring examples that Swami Vivekananda had envisaged for our youth.