‘More youths in politics will ensure better governance’

Politics and government are treated as words with negative connotations in the Indian society. Interestingly, the same is not true for many countries in other parts of the world. In a first of its kind initiative, the Research Foundation for Governance in India (RFGI) has taken up the task of educating the young minds of Ahmedabad about how the political systems across the world work.

Curtis Riep, a graduate in international relations from University of Calgary, Canada; Ramiro Gomes Monteiro, political sciences and history student at Utrecht University, Netherlands; Catherine See, student of international relations at the National University of Malaysia; Katie Farrer, bachelor of law and political science at University of Otago, New Zealand; Joshua Stark, student of international development from McGill University, Canada; along with Swar Shah, Apoorv Shah and Kanan Dhru of the RFGI team have been visiting different schools and colleges in the city.

They interact with youths about their political systems and are encourage them to participate more actively in politics and governance for a better-governed society. This is being done as part of the ‘My Government’ project of RFGI, whereby education is imparted to children so that they positively consider themselves as components of vibrant and participative democracy.

Some of the topics discussed during such interactions are international comparison of fundamental rights and duties, corruption, youth participation in politics in other parts of the world and role of political parties and their ideologies.  

Inaugurated at the Mahatma Gandhi International School in the city, the pilot study has covered Sheth Chimandas Nagindas, CN School as well as one other school run by the municipal corporation. The sessions cover topics like introduction to court structure and basics of the constitution; understanding the role of political parties & their ideologies; basics of fundamental rights & duties; how political systems function in other countries; idea of individual needs and common good; introduction to how laws are made, how they are implemented and what are some of the crucial laws of the country and importance of voting in any democracy.

The classes are conducted by way of interactive sessions, using teaching tools such as debates, case-studies, presentations and role-plays.

The team will also be conducting research on issues such as legal systems, inner-party politics, making documentaries on governance-related topics as well as creating educational material on citizenship and democracy.