2018
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INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY 2018: Safe Spaces for Youths
Summer of 2018, NEIMUN celebrated International Youth Day in its own way on Saturday the 11th of August, 2018 in Shillong (Meghalaya) at ‘Little Chef Cafe’, and Kohima, (Nagaland) at ‘D’Cafe’ by creating safe spaces for young people to engage in dialogue. The events held simultaneously in these two locations carried the theme forward by inviting young speakers and performers from all walks of life: determined government servicemen, thriving entrepreneurs, intuitive scholars, steadfast beauty queens, and a list of performers representing all forms of Music and the Arts. The NEIMUN Secretariat organised the events with an intention to create a platform where young people can come together and feel safe enough to strike difficult conversations about issues that makes them anxious and fearful and those preventing them to freely achieve their full potential. It was also about celebrating the little steps we, as youths took, are taking and can take to ensure a community that is free from all bias and prejudice and respectful of each other's space to grow. The sessions clearly demonstrated how youths are not to be viewed as problems, but as solutions to the questions we are trying to raise. |
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“Good, better, best. Never let that rest. For if you let it rest, you will never be your best’. I learned this from my Mom and I want to pass it on to you, because the wisdom of our elders, and my father who is looking down at me now, is the reason why I am here today, now let’s do it for each other.”
-Mr. Mark Laitflang Stone, Founder and Director of ‘Avenues’, Shillong. “We need to say ‘enough is enough’. Young people need to buckle up! As the new generation, it is high time we say no to negative ideas propagated by the society, such as tribalism, clannism, and individualism…. When we talk about safe spaces, we also need to talk about the safety of youths in our borders. How safe are they? We also need to discuss the morality of backdoor appointments. It is constitutionally wrong. We need to address our work cultures as well and shifts in mentality and perspectives.” - Mr. Sentilong Ozukum, EAC, Author, Nagaland. --”During school, I had a teacher who created a safe space for us to talk about menstruation and sex education, and body through an open conversation. So, it was easier for me and my friends to talk about menstruation. Likewise, teachers should take the time to talk about menses, because most girls are reserved. Teachers should create safe spaces for girls where they can share their problems. Teachers should be more open about menses and talk to students about it to normalise the issue.” -Ms. Ruophuzhano Whiso, FBB Colours Femina Miss India Nagaland, 2018, Nagaland. |
#safespaces4youth
“Youth need spaces to express, engage, and encourage. A space that is positive, free of discrimination, absent of structural barriers, a space that is diverse and inclusive. Far too many youths across the world are often marginalized, oppressed and discriminated by a society which causes them to feel powerless, unimportant and insignificant. Therefore, there is a need of space for youths to accommodate their dignity, enable them to grow and thrive as leaders, overcome the challenges and tackle problems.
Creating a safe and positive space ensures meaningful dialogues and healthy discussions. By doing so, youths can comfortably express themselves without the fear of being discriminated or excluded from digital space to physical space. In this process, values such as diversity, inclusivity, and equality are promoted that allows youths of different sex, race, and gender to feel respected, dignified and empowered.”
-Dennis Lallienzuol, Secretary- General, NEIMUN 2017
“Youth need spaces to express, engage, and encourage. A space that is positive, free of discrimination, absent of structural barriers, a space that is diverse and inclusive. Far too many youths across the world are often marginalized, oppressed and discriminated by a society which causes them to feel powerless, unimportant and insignificant. Therefore, there is a need of space for youths to accommodate their dignity, enable them to grow and thrive as leaders, overcome the challenges and tackle problems.
Creating a safe and positive space ensures meaningful dialogues and healthy discussions. By doing so, youths can comfortably express themselves without the fear of being discriminated or excluded from digital space to physical space. In this process, values such as diversity, inclusivity, and equality are promoted that allows youths of different sex, race, and gender to feel respected, dignified and empowered.”
-Dennis Lallienzuol, Secretary- General, NEIMUN 2017
Sounding the utmost need to initiate social awareness and to promote ‘Safe Spaces for Youth’, NEIMUN joined the global campaign of #safespaces4youths. Thus, an online campaign was launched with the theme, “What does ‘Safe Space’ Mean to you?” It challenged young people to speak up and share about their safe spaces. The common thread that we saw in all the entries was inclusivity: where young people are accepted the way they are and not afraid to be themselves or to speak their own minds. Most participants identified with their home as their safe space, while for some, it was a form of public spaces like parks, religious institutions, and civic student bodies. The campaign was successful in that, we were able to bring in young people from different walks of life and create an open platform to share, discuss, and engage with each other in creating safe spaces in society.