The US Consulate Kolkata, in collaboration with NGOs Prayasam and Amyaa, hosted a screening of Instagram reels created by participants of the Community Youth Hub — a project that brings together youth from marginalised communities of Kolkata and Itanagar to exercise their freedom of speech and champion democratic principles.
The youth from the two states were connected via the Kolkata-based NGO, Prayasam, and their partner NGO, Arunachal Pradesh-based Amyaa.
The Community Youth Hub addresses issues such as lack of awareness and understanding of freedom of speech and expression within economically disadvantaged communities, disinformation and biased journalism.
Elizabeth Lee, director of the American Center
“Freedom of speech is a very difficult issue and that is a challenge that we address with every generation, and every person throughout the world. It is important to understand that freedom of speech means that you can express your ideas freely and without the fear of repercussions. I think that a lot of that comes from an open conversation in the public and press without fear of reprisal from the community, outsiders, or government. This also doesn’t mean freedom from consequences or expecting that people will never criticise what you are saying. I think it is important to do your research so that what you are saying has a factual basis and a grounding in truth. Keep presenting your facts and often the truth comes out regardless of how much pressure there is on a person or a situation,” said Elizabeth Lee, director of the American Center, US consulate, before the presentations got underway on November 6.
Akash Pulu’s presentation dealt with the eventual fading away of ethnic cultures and languages of Arunachal Pradesh
From Arunachal Pradesh, L.P. Albert, Bethem Marai, Shera Minim, Prasanta Dewan, Millo Mangku, Januso Pul, Akash Pulu, and Pratab Chakma presented reels on issues plaguing the state such as lack of quality education, climate change, consumption of drugs, displacement caused by floods and the gradual death of the region’s ethnic and cultural heritage.
The participants from Prayasam, Amrita Chowdhury, Sangeeta Das, Ritika Patra, Joyshree Roy, Mitali Sardar, Manju Roy and Manish Chowdhury made Reels on issues such as dangers of fake news, climate change, increasing rate of crimes, misuse of social media and suicides among the youth.
Paul Chawang, founder and director of Amyaa
Paul Chawang, founder and director of Amyaa, said while the youth of the country have contributed to the economic development of the country, the issue of unemployment has led to poverty, substance abuse, rising increase in insurgent activities.
“If you look at the condition of the Northeast with the lack of quality education and job opportunities, you’ll find that every year thousands of youths from the Northeast move to the metro cities of India to take up low-paying jobs in the service sectors such as call centres, airports, and restaurants. The Community Youth Hub designed by Prayasam and supported by the American Center is apt for the Northeast scenario. The gifted and talented youth of the Northeast who face a lack of economic and educational opportunities will definitely find a way out with this Community Youth Hub. This collaboration between Prayasam and Amyaa is just the beginning of the golden era of stronger and bigger collaborations,” he said.
“The students were fantastic. All of them had great ideas on complicated issues that challenged not just people in the Northeast or India but people everywhere. This is the first excellent step in trying to bring some of those ideas that they have for a wider audience and I think this is a fantastic program,” concluded Lee.
