Amid strong criticisms against a political system incapable of effectively tackling the most daunting problems faced by Nepal, there is one area, to start with, that should be reformed with urgency and gravity. While politics is perennially tarnished by shenanigans and relentless political power plays and a major conversation should kick off on ways to make political parties more transparent and effective, attention must be given on fixing the domain of policy making.
Policy making is, at least in theory, the heart and the core of politics but in a system where the latter is seen dysfunctional, why not start re-imaging the way the former is designed and carried out? Few essential questions should drive this quest and they are all centered on the role young people should have in the country.
First, how can Nepal harness the power and leadership of its youths? Second, how can the nation move past tokenistic approaches and ensure that young people can be involved and engaged in meaningful, effective decision making? Around the world, there have been a lot of experiments around deliberative democracy that is seen as an antidote to the malaise faced by representative democracy based on elections.
The upcoming youths led gathering could open the door to creatively re-booting the ways policies are made and pave the way for drastic reforms in the national politics of Nepal.
Ideally while thinking how to fix its politics, Nepal should embrace the idea of introducing reasoned deliberations in the way the country is governed, allowing and enabling citizens to gather, form an opinion on some of the most pressing issues and then deliberate. I must admit that this is going to be a long process. Yet why not start with innovating and change the domain of policy making by enabling young people to have not only a say but propose concrete and detailed propositions?
While political parties must undertake major reforms, re-booting policy making from the inner core of politics could offer the best chances of changing Nepal for better while also influencing the former process. These are two key questions that the upcoming Balbalika tatha Yuva Sambaad, in short, BaYu Sambaad, should consider to address when it convenes on April 26 (Saturday).
BaYu Sambaad, Children and Youth Dialogue, is part of a wider process that would culminate with the Sagarmatha Sambaad that will be held from the 16 to 18 of May.
The simple fact that a youth centered event has been planned can be considered a success story.
Yet the young stakeholders who gather this coming Saturday should be ambitious in re-imaging their role. Their skill and general know-how is undoubtedly high level and I have no doubt that, given a chance, they could assume a leading role in a reshaped policy making landscape.
But we need to go beyond generic rhetoric and enable them to co-design a policy making process led by them. We need to start a process to think about the details of such a new system because details do matter a lot.
For example, in the area of climate action, the current draft of Nationally Determined Contribution 3.0 states that “marginalized and vulnerable groups, including youth, women, children, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, Dalits, diverse genders and other minority groups will be involved in climate initiatives”. But what does this statement mean in practice? How to translate it into action?
The BaYu Sambaad could be an opportunity to start a meaningful conversation about involving and engaging youths, including those from the most disadvantaged groups, on how policy making should be reframed. The intention of its organizers is to ensure that BaYu Sambaad turns into a platform dedicated to amplifying children and youth’s voices during the Sagarmatha Sambaad.
But this is not enough. Actually, if this is the only ambition of the initiative, then I would dare to say that is going to be a waste. BaYu Sambaad could constitute a turning point where key stakeholders could define a road map for the future of youths’ participation in the policy making.
For example, in a recent article published by climate activist Dikchhya Baral and this writer, we brainstormed on some possible ways through which young people could lead the process of policy making in the area of climate policies. We had imagined a permanent Youth Climate Advisory Board or Council fed by a galaxy of youth-led climate assemblies around the nation. Could a permanent youths-led mechanism be created to cover the whole spectrum of policy making?
Imagine how such a body could be composed by smaller thematic committees or forums, each dealing with a key policy area. The long-term goal would be to reach a point in which the deliberations from such bodies would be binding. Yet, to start with, at minimum, the recommendations coming from this mechanism should enable its representatives to directly address the Federal Parliament. At the same time, federal government would be morally compelled to officially provide a response to each of them. Basically, we are talking of a mechanism that would constitute a sort of new chamber even if its resolutions will not have immediate enforcement effect. These changes could be codified in a revised constitution but this would also be a daunting prospective.
Therefore the mechanism would act as an informal chamber that could also be replicated at Provincial levels with an “honor” pledge by the Federal Government to acknowledge its work. But it is essential that not only the mechanism but also the whole process that might lead to its establishment is as inclusive as possible. This is a real challenge but it can be overcome.
After all, the Youth Chamber could offer a way to envision the so-called Gender Inclusion, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) as a real tool for empowerment and participation of all youths. Youths from Dalit communities, youths from indigenous nationalities and communities must be equally involved and lead the process. Moreover, the whole process of brainstorming, designing the Youth Chamber must also be extremely cost- effective.
As Nepal is moving towards a graduation from LDC, it is important that any future drive to rethinking policy making from a youth’s perspective is rolled out in a no-frills fashion. I must admit that putting in place a mechanism resembling a Youth Chamber is not going to be easy. Yet imagination, like the potential of the nation’s youths, has no limits nor knows boundaries.
That’s why the upcoming BaYu Sambaad could open the door to creatively re-booting the ways policies are made and yes, ultimately pave the way for drastic reforms in the national politics. In a way the BaYu Sambaad could usher in a new renaissance era for youths’ meaningful decision making in Nepal. Change is possible and with this, I wish all the best to all participants of the BaYu Sambaad.
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