ROING, 12 Mar: Fifteen youth leaders from Roing in Lower Dibang Valley district, along with 15 youth leaders from Kolkata (WB) participated in a ‘community youth hub’ workshop in Kolkata, sponsored by the US Consulate there, in partnership with non-profit organisations Prayasam and Amyaa, on Tuesday.
“The participants learned photography, video creation, and editing skills, which they used to create social media videos on issues that are important to today’s youths. They also prepared action plans to become mentors, role models, and coaches to future cohorts of the community youth hub,” according to a release.
The release further stated that “the project was designed to empower youth leaders from Kolkata and Roing in terms of encouraging freedom of expression and voicing their opinions for their marginalised communities.”
“The project focused on creating awareness regarding citizens’ rights, roles and responsibilities, and empowering the youths to advocate at the grassroots level for their individual opinions and community rights,” the release said.??
“The 30 youth leaders participated in the programme in person as well as virtually,” it said, adding that they participated in “a series of workshops, during which they discussed topics such as civic and democratic issues, rights, planned activity-based capacity-building workshops on freedom of expression, and learned how to identify and counter misinformation.”?
They were given training in leadership skills, personality development, filmmaking, social media content development, editing videos on mobile phones, and generating mass awareness, the release stated.
“The United States’ commitment to freedom of expression is unwavering, and it’s unwavering because it’s the bedrock of a healthy democracy. We’re determined to do everything we can to uphold these core ideals and help others understand the value of these ideals. Programmes like the community youth hub help empower youth leaders and encourage peaceful expression of thoughts and opinions,” said Kolkata-based American Centre Director Elizabeth Lee.
