Why Winter School for Social Transformation?

India’s population is among the youngest in an ageing world. By 2022, the median age in India will be 28 years; in comparison, it will be 37 in China and the United States, 45 in Western Europe, and 49 in Japan. But there is a dearth of capable leaders in India who can take initiatives and have the passion to work for a sustainable, just and peaceful world.

When it comes to the skilled workforce, India is extremely low, at 4.69% of the total workforce, compared to 24% in China, 52% in the US, 68% in the UK, 75% in Germany, 80% in Japan, and 96% in South Korea. Studies are suggesting that less than 50% of youth graduating from educational institutions are employable.

People talk about a lack of a skilled workforce, but do they talk about the crisis in Leadership?

We at @teamigniteindia have taken this leadership gap among our youth on a serious note.

"Our society faces challenges and threats that require collective efforts from the international community to solve the problems and to transform our world to make it a more just, peaceful, and sustainable place for all"

The role of youth in solving these challenges is huge and the government, international bodies, NGOs and other stakeholders should realize this to achieve the Global Goals. Unfortunately, young people have not been perceived as change makers and advocates of changes in all sectors. In a country like India where half of its population is under the age of 25,two-thirds are less than 35 and is likely to have the world’s largest workforce by 2027, with a billion people aged between 15 and 64 efforts should be taken to identify, train and equip these workforces.

“India wants to reap the benefits of its demographic dividend, empower its youth, provide jobs, but one of the youngest democracies in the world is still struggling to include young people in decision-making”

Even the modern education system has less scope of addressing these issues, mainly because of high competition and uneven balancing of curricular and extracurricular activities and lack of spaces for teachers to discuss these issues.

Many bright young people are either looking to settle in developed countries for a better lifestyle or have no time to invest in the well-being of the society they live in. Moreover, the success is measured in terms of what “I” achieved rather than what “WE” are up to.

"Are our educational institutions fostering social change leaders?"

It is in this context that 'Ignite India' is organizing ‘Winter School for Social Transformation’