Youth Want In

'Mera India Bridge Gap' is a contest held in India asking young adults, aged 18 to 35 to formulate ideas that would help their country reach its commitment of acheiving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The contest concluded with some innovataive and refreshing suggestions.

The main goal for this project is to increase participation among Indian youth in order for them to play a more active role in reaching out to the poor and aiding them in the use of governement programs and services. Katuri Kodanda Pani, 25, won the first prize with her idea of setting up and MDG-Youth Council at naitonal, state and district levels. Other ideas by award winners include forming college teams involved with rural upliftment work and tackling corruption by having a "No Bribes Day" that would gradually evolve into "No Bribes Month".

These ideas definitely reflect a positive future, with pro-active youth that want a bigger role in helping their country meet the targets of the MDG's.

- Sofia Nazalya

SOURCE: End Poverty 2015