The induction session of the first School Changemakers Program began with the introduction of the Youth Action Hub motto: “Think Globally, Act Locally”, to the fellows of the program. The presentation then continued with the genesis of the YAH initiative, as an initiative of the UNCTAD Youth Network which aimed at creating awareness among the youth about the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and working towards actualizing them.
The fellows were then introduced to the programs that have been started by YAH- India in schools such as the School Writers’ Program, the School Changemakers Program, and the forthcoming SDG School Champions Program. A myriad of virtual engagement programs, such as writing workshops, webinars, and podcasts, as well as many of the upcoming projects of the organization, were also described.
The proceedings continued with an interactive icebreaker activity, where the fellows were given a chance to introduce themselves, with a quirky twist. This was then followed by a teambuilding activity. A hypothetical situation was presented to the fellows, wherein they were stranded on a deserted island. They were given a set of fifteen items and had to rank them in the order of importance to their survival, which they were then asked to score themselves according to the correct order, which determined if they would be rescued in time, if at all.
A brief introduction of the program was then given to the fellows, and they were informed of what the upcoming month would entail. The partnership concept of ‘Blog Bunnies’ was also introduced, who would essentially be partners in the program to drive peer-learning and constructive criticism, in order to generate the best quality of work possible in this program.
They were introduced to their YAH mentors, who would guide them in their efforts to drive change. The fellows were also informed of the various nuances and rules of the program, in order to help them prepare for their upcoming projects. The session then concluded on an insightful note, with an interactive question and answer session, which answered a range of questions the fellows had.