Jeolikot Youth Team Meeting - 2011

 

Youth team meeting at Jeolikot, Uttarakhand in January 2011

Participants- Viral Mazumdar, Rajiv Agarwal, Madhav Tiwari, Sanjay Kumar, Saurabh Gadiya, Randhir Jachak & Navendu Shirali

We will be always grateful to the love, warmth and generosity of Shri Naveen Tiwari’s family for sharing their ancestral home and staff; for this remarkable get together of the Youth Team of IofC.

An idea that was conceived in Asia Plateau that Youth team must travel in the lower Himalayas to think deeper and bond beyond was achieved due to the execution of thoughts during Quiet time of several participants.

Participants travelled from Delhi to Jeolikot, Uttarakhand where Madhav had already reached and done all arrangements. During the journey, the participants discussed the preparatory discussion points. This helped in setting up the needed context for next few days.

• For the amalgamation of all youth work across the country and to create awareness and providing soft infrastructure for scalability it was decided to launch the Website on 1st June 2011.
  • There will be 2 domains, one as sub page under IofC India website and lmad.org both leading to same web page.
• Deep Sharing of Youth Facilitator Sanjay deeply moved everyone about his initiative in Jamshedpur and commitment to spear heard the Rural Outreach in Jamshedpur as well.
• Great work done in Indore was discussed; the outreach was extremely successful and provided a launch pad in Indore. The Youth team unanimously agreed to focus and activate Indore Chapter in 2011.
• For an effective core group, the Coordinators pledged to build bonds with each other, by deeper sharing and leading by example.
  • Building Bonds-With longer quiet time, the coordinators must spend more time sharing, building bonds, inspiring and giving constructive feedback
  • “Nipping in the bud” Initiative- Coordinators need to talk with each other much openly and close differences at the start. Disciplined brainstorming to restrict loose talk and bring professional commitment towards the cause.
  • Coordinators also discussed opportunities to assist other initiatives of IofC umbrella
• Documentation and video recording of “Stories of Change” contributed by participants and Coordinators.
• Starting YC-2011, parents of key Coordinators will be invited for Day 1 of Inauguration. This is needed to reciprocate sacrifices by families as well as inspire participants.
• Consensus that standardized memento for speakers and visitors, needs to be conceived and ordered starting YC 2011
• The grand experience of YC-2011- Day 1 Grand Inauguration with entrance of coordinators from the aisles with loud celebration music - Example: Zangoora (Kingdom of Dreams -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC2QHQ6juYg)
• Confirming interactive session by Ankita Sejpal
• June 5- Speaker to be shortlisted between
  • Army person
  • Change maker
  • young achiever
• Reconnect with Jaago Re- Jasmin Shah for co-partnership in YC-2011
• Concept of Shramdhaan was discussed and encouraged. Starting this YC 2011, the participants and coordinators would initiate the cleaning the plateau that has been used for several decades. Operational tasks such as Gloves need to be ordered.
• Success of last year’s June 7th Day as Balloon Day was discussed. Several feedbacks of participants were shared, who were greatly benefited by this session. It was decided to focus and strengthen June 7th as Balloon Day
• Musical Event to be decided-artist names and invitation to be discussed before the Conference
• Based on recent conference learning's it was decided that there must be better Process for Selection of Coordinators
  • Invitation Sent to prospective coordinators
  • They would be filling up form which has several questions example
    • What have been the various changes that you taken in your life, in your family, relatives, friends, and society to make a better world?
  • Based on the responses the panel consisting of Viral bhai, one elder from AP family, one elder from Coordinators group, if feasible one outside representative such as Center for Governance, Industrialist etc.
  • If required interview over phone can also be looked as an option

Corpus is needed for sustenance of large scale reach out of Youth Conference and initiatives under Youth Team of IofC.

• Consensus on creation of Corpus that would be used to fund the website, outreach to rural youth and building soft infrastructure to bond existing youth members.
• Micro funding through Coordinators- Each coordinator to contribute yearly Rs 1,200 towards corpus.
• 4 slide power point to be made by Navendu / Viral bhai to be positioned with corporate senior executive or CSR reps (Corporate Social responsibility depts)
  • Position this for sponsorship with Tata Tea, Idea Cellular since theme co-exist
• Cultural evening as fund raising by inviting old timers and participants. Creating a grand experience and sensitizing and encouraging contribution towards corpus creation.
• Identifying of good painter and invitation to prepare large canvas with AP content. Photo with this background sold to participants, this will go towards corpus.

Amidst the deep sharing and quiet time, the team also experienced wonderful hikes and boating in the mountains of lower Himalayas. After spending several days together and reinforcing the common bond, the participants headed via Delhi to their respective cities with firm action plan.

Special thanks to Amarnath Bhaiyya (caretaker), all the porters, Vijendar (chauffeur) for a safe and comfortable stay in Jeolikot. The aura of this place was deeply experienced by all participants, who felt lot of positive energy and vibrancy.

Open Letter-by Viral bhai

“The Rani Mahal is so fresh and the imprints created on the mind refuses to go, all I wish we could have been together for a bit longer period, but all good things have to come to an end, then only new things will come by our way, so we will wait for the next round of happiness. The Rani Mahal was only possible because of Alka bhabhi and Naveen bhai, their generosity was lofty and one can only imagine but they showed us in reality what unconditional love is all about. Their fragrance was present all over Rani Mahal and every bit of minor care was taken to finesse. Madhav carried forward the good work with humility and selfless service, an example of servant leader. Felt enriched and thanked God for sending such people in our life.

The core competence of our work has been deeper bond which has been built over a period of years and one needs to constantly nurture relations, there has to be a deep longing within to love, to serve and to care for the fellow human, once this quality is deeply inculcated, love for human beings will grow. In the years to come the team of close bonded people needs to grow, and the vision should be that by the year 2015 we have at least hundred young people in all age bracket committed to the idea and cause and have decided to live their life based on moral values whose roots are deeply embedded in quite time and regularly there is a craving within to have extended time of silence to search the real voice of guidance. [Need to refer to the points that emerged out of the 2008 workshop, qualities which the core coordinators need to have] once the bond is in place most of the goals and vision will start falling in its place. The select coordinators have to earn their place in the core group and once they stand up the task and prove themselves to be different from the lot they will be selected for an intense training at AP workshop and even at Jeolikot workshop were all there expense will be taken care. The challenge is to live a life which has single face and not to wear mask which suits different situations.

Website is one of the most important tools for the growth of our work and at the earliest it should become functional and need to incorporate the design and lay out suggested by Qhase, the website will have a moderator the task force has decided to inaugurate the site on 1st June 2011 along with the inauguration of Let's Make A Difference. In the years to come Let's Make A Difference has to be projected as a brand and its presence and out reach has to spread to those areas where people have not heard and in the past they have not participated from those regions, the presence has to become all over India, and youth from all walks of life can rely on Let's Make A Difference for their answers.

Living the vision that Let's Make A Difference will decide whether you can come for the YC and not the participant. In my opinion it is a lofty idea and one needs to work in that direction to take the programme to those heights, where we command and they respect.

The growth of every work is connected to funds and same is the case with us, till now we are enjoying the subsidy offered by the trust but the time has come to be self independent and take care of others who have supported us in all these years. We need corpus to a tune of one crore atleast, for this we need to have a powerful visual power point to put across our idea. At the same time we also decided to contribute Rs: one thousand two hundred every year and this contribution will come from all those who have been coordinators in the past and every past and present coordinator will send their contribution during or before the annual YC. Lot has been thought in organizing NRI conference but before we move ahead we need to think and prepare a solid subject which will attract NRI for this conference, this conference will also help us with our corpus. All possible ways and means need to be thought and implemented in micro and macro way for the growth of the corpus.

Documentation and archiving is very important, this will automatically create substantial material for the generation next. We need to have professional movie camera and many in our team should know how to shoot and use the equipment, some amount has already been collected, efforts need to be put in that direction to have the gadget ASAP, and recording should happen in the coming YC.

Regional chapters need to strengthen on the lines of Let's Make A Difference and regularly programmes need to happen, the local group needs to rise above politics and focus should be the idea and its growth. The core team needs to put their thrust on the regional strength and help them in organizing big programmes.

I of C is all about sharing and deep bonding and that was visible in our short stay, Sanjay’s deep sharing about his struggle and how our own people who supported him let him down when the moment came to help and stand by him, his faith in the ideology has been shaken but such gathering and listening gives strength. Long silence and prayers shows the path and heals the heart and that is what happened when we were together.

The whole experience is worth re-living and I am sure God will create such opportunities again.”