DDC Vice-Chairperson Mr Jasmine Shah delivered a special address at the Delhi Volunteering Summit organised by CII
Delhi Government launched the Desh Ke Mentor programme with an aim to to create a movement of youth volunteers: Jasmine Shah
Young volunteers will be able to meaningfully participate with the Delhi Government in local civic and environmental action: Jasmine Shah
There is a desire within the youth to volunteer, which can be channelized if the government creates opportunities and designs tools for engagement: Jasmine Shah
Delhi@2047 to host young volunteers to build Delhi of our dreams by 2047: Jasmine Shah
New Delhi
Young volunteers will be able to meaningfully participate with the Delhi Government in local civic and environmental action, announced Vice-Chairperson Dialogue and Development Commission, Shri Jasmine Shah on Tuesday. The DDC is the policy think-tank of the Delhi Government, which regularly engages with corporations, philanthropic organisations and civic bodies on several urban development issues. Addressing the Delhi Volunteering Summit organised by The Confederation of Indian Industry under its India@75 initiative, Shri Shah noted the significant role young volunteers have played through NGOs and community engagement.
Shri Jasmine Shah said, “Until now, the emphasis of civic duties and democratic engagement of citizens has been only on electoral participation. The governments across India have failed to create any formal platforms to engage volunteers on neighbourhood issues such as schools, hospitals, environment and civic amenities. With the aim to create a movement of youth volunteers, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the “Desh Ke Mentor” programme in October 2021. The young volunteers act as guides for over lakhs of students studying in Class IX to XII of Delhi government schools, many of whom are first generation learners. The “Desh Ke Mentor” programme has a well-designed process to assess volunteers who apply and go through a psychometric test and then they are trained on all aspects of mentoring children. In over two months, 45,000 young volunteers have formally registered over the mobile application and are mentoring approximately 1,75,000 students. Out of these 45,000 volunteers, nearly 500 are from IITs and IIMs each and 15,000 are from other well-recognized universities. This demonstrates that there is a desire within the youth to volunteer, which can be channelized if the government creates opportunities and designs tools for engagement.”
Shri Shah added, “The School Management Committees have played a crucial role in the transformation of the education system in Delhi. The Right to Education Act introduced SMCs in 2009, but these structures were defunct until 2015 in Delhi. In 2015-16, the Kejriwal Government revived the Committees through member elections and the participation of local volunteers. A lot of parents actually participated in the elections and there was no dearth of local volunteers. These Committees now act as a decentralised local level governance structure for Delhi government schools with financial and functional autonomy.”
Announcing the opportunity for young volunteers, Shri Shah said that “In August 2020, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the Delhi@2047 initiative to build Delhi into an equitable city with per capita income of Delhi being equal to Singapore, a modern city with world-class infrastructure and public services, and a sustainable and resilient city. Resilience and sustainability is not limited to physical infrastructure, an important facet is social infrastructure or the social capital that comes together to fight a crisis. Delhi@2047 initiative hosted by the DDC is dedicated to fostering long-term partnerships with individuals and organisations to build Delhi of our dreams by 2047. In its first phase, DDC has collaborated with private sector and philanthropic organisations on key projects such as the City of Lakes and School Health Clinics. In the next phase of the initiative, DDC will soon launch a platform with well-designed roles for young volunteers to participate in environmental and local civic issues. The Government will facilitate and support the young volunteers across several departments. The Delhi@2047 vision cannot be realised until youth is engaged and utilised meaningfully.”