Mission: The YP Foundation is a youth led and run non-profit in India that develops young people’s leadership skills to take action on issues that young people are passionate about.
The organization supports young people between the ages of 13 and 28 to conceptualize and implement community based projects that challenge stereotypes, forge sustainable partnerships and promote the uninhibited expression of young people.
In the last 6 years, TYPF has reached out to over 5000 young people and has worked with more than 800 young people as part of its working core team on the following issues:
Life Skills Based Education
Understanding Substance Abuse and Addiction
Empowering Street and Slum Children (Healthcare and Education)
Understanding Gender and Sexuality
Disaster Relief and Rehabilitation
Health and HIV/AIDS: Awareness, Prevention, Rights, Care & Support
Encouraging the Performing and Visual Arts
Human Rights and Peace Building Processes
Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights Awareness for Young People
The Young Citizen’s Right to Information, Governance & Legal System of India
Climate Change and The Environment
We find ourselves when we attempt to understand what is around us. The concept of TYPF is to provide young people the opportunity to take time out to do just this. For who knows, your voice could change things.
Results: # TYPF has trained over 5,000 young people to set up over 200 projects on issues that young people are passionate about, reaching out to youth led groups in India, South and South East Asia as well as Internationally.
# Our programmes have reached out to over 3,00,000 youth in Delhi and to numerous youth across the country. Pilot projects have run from Mumbai, Pune and Chhattisgarh.
# We were invited to feature our work by Ex president Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2008.
# TYPF has worked with over 30 schools in Delhi and Haryana, conducting workshops on understanding Life Skills, Mental Health and Child Rights with over 6,000 adolescents.
# We have made a focussed effort at developing youth led voices in cities, encouraging young people to be pro active citizens and dialogue with the government.
# In 2009, our Founder Ishita Chaudhry was invited to address a US Congressional Briefing at Capitol Hill on the need for investing in young people’s sexual reproductive health and rights in South and South East India.
# The Government of Nagaland in India invited The YP Foundation’s staff to train their civil officers on how to integrate a youth friendly government response to youth interventions on HIV & AIDS.
# UNICEF and UNDP worked with The YP Foundation as part its internal staff training programme ‘Changing Gears’, where young staff conducted training sessions with UN officials on developing youth friendly communication.
# Last year, in 2008, we helped over 4,000 young people in India register to vote in the General Elections. This year, we are taking that forward by helping young people understand the Right to Information Act in India, giving them tools by which they can understand the system and help work with it, to develop accountability.
YP works on so many issues.. its extra-ordinary! Their outreach is exceptional- and this is probably due to the fact that its run and managed entirely by college kids/graduates! I'm proud to see this generation of people actually taking a stand on issues that matter, rather than just pointing fingers at authorities.
I attended a workshop done by VOICES in my school. We were practically forced to sit through it by teachers. But once it started, we had so much fun! We were given a space to talk about very relevant but not often talked about issues- peer pressure, bullying, substance abuse. And it wasnt the preachy kind of stuff most sessions on these topics are like. We were free to say what we felt, without feeling inhibited! It really changed me perspective on these issues. I hope to attend more such sessions!
I had always heard about The YP Foundation from my daughter's friend when it was called "Youth Parliament" . Back then i never knew what they really did. It was when my son started working them that I realized the socially useful productive work they are doing. In a country like India, where many problems still exist, it is young people who have to take an onus to change it, and I found TYPF to be one of the very few organizations completely run by young people (and run professionally at that), for young people by directly empowering them to change. Whether its encouraging young students to vote and teaching them the importance of democracy, talking about SRHR in country where such topics are never spoken about, welcoming International students and bridging the divide in terms of cultures, using different media like film and music to advocate change, teaching life skills to slum children or saving the environment and the girl child, the YP is able to provide a space for young people to work on issue that feel passionate about by providing them with all the resources. It is pleasurable to be associated with the YP.
Working in The YP Foundation has been an amazing learning and eye opening experience. It equipped me with all the skills that not only enabled me to be competent but also be a good citizen of this world. Besides making friends and having fun, it brings you to a level of awareness as never before. I came into the YP able but have managed to become differently enabled!
