Come on Youth Stand Up

— Anil Prd. Udaya

We are an open community of civilian-activists (especially youths) that believe in democracy and social justice. We believe that only by responsible action from every member of society shall we achieve a prosperous, progressive and peaceful society and nation. We originally came together to ensure the completion of the ongoing peace process and constitution-drafting as promised to the populace at a time when unaccountability and incompetence of the politicians had been well-established. We are a youth movement for instituting a culture of responsible actions directed towards the healthy survival and progress of society.

Our GOALS

1. Accountable and effective governance: A Nepal where the government and the politicians are accountable towards the people satisfying their duties with optimum efficiency.

2. A responsible citizen: A Nepal where all of us, citizens, act responsibly and fulfill their duties to the society. Each one of us needs to take responsibility for our actions in a democracy. Each one of us should actively voice for a proper progression of the society and therefore of the nation in its entirety.

3. A prosperous, progressive and just society: A Nepal where every citizen has right to decide for the regime to live under, where every citizen gets an opportunity to work for his/her survival and pursuit of happiness, where every citizen shall be treated equal in the eyes of law and not a single citizen shall be denied or delayed justice.

Our VALUES

This movement voices the frustration of common people, diagnoses the immediate and long-term problems of the nation, searches for their remedies and acts for getting them solved by pressing the responsible organ of society to act on it. We believe that the ultimate change has to come to the person in the mirror. Therefore, we also move to change our own behaviour while also motivating the same in others. We do not believe in perfection but in continuous progressive evolution. This movement is completely independent of political affiliation and donor funding. We raise our funds from the voluntary contributions of individual Nepalis.

Current CAMPAIGN

The ongoing campaign tends to demand timely deliverance of the democratic constitution by the CA and conclusion of the peace process by integration of the combatants in the society and provision of post-war justice. The campaign is also intended for pressing the political leadership to deal with the current issues of energy crisis, corruption and passive economy in a responsible fashion.

Responding to questions posed by Verse, Anil, truly utilising the medium of social media, posted the questions to members of the Come on Youth Stand Up (CYSU), Facebook page. Here is what the core group and active members had to say:

In what context did Come on Youth Stand Up emerge?

Diwash Pradhan: It was emerged as a frustration of the youth with the current scenario, a inner voice calling ‘It’s too much now, we can’t just sit down, we need to do something’. Our Slogan  – ‘अहिले नगरे कहिले? हामीले नगरे कसले?’ says it all. We joined hands initially to raise our voices for timely constitution.

What are the main aims of CYSU?

Udeep Shakya: The aim is to make youths and people to stand up and feel responsibility towards the state and start acting for it. There were about 2000 participants in the ground movement but about 10,000 supported the movement in Facebook. It was sure that they all wanted change but may be most of them don’t know how can they fulfill their responsibility to bring change. Then CYSU became a platform where people share ideas, read the information or comments and try to learn more. There are doers, who makes new friends of common interest and have started small campaigns like Cloth Bank, donating books to libraries and building audio books. These things can be done alone too. There is no need of CYSU. But I believe that this platform has given a slight push to those who came up with these initiatives.

How do you utilise social media?

Diwash Pradhan: Social media is utilised for the purpose to find people with similar views and share ideas and information. We share views, inform about upcoming events, debate and discuss. Different groups with different causes have come up, and we are always there to support them and encourage them.

Why do you choose to communicate in this medium?

Nischhal Pradhan: Social media has been an integral part of life for today’s youths. They pour down all their frustrations and share their happiness via social media. They can express their views regarding any matter because it is often easier for people to write their feelings rather than talking one on one. There are people from all over the country in this media and it has helped us create a sense of awareness and unity across the nation.

Would you consider social media integral to your success and overall campaign strategy?

Diwash Pradhan: Well it’s just the beginning, but a better Nepal is of course a better future for us all, and taking part in these types of campaigns is being responsible. With the popularity of the group we now have to act more accountable. We have hopes.

What do you consider the benefits of social media activism?

Pramod Pandey: social media have a free access, are transparent and most of all we can be in touch with large no of people in short period of time.

What do you consider the limitations of social media activism?

Umesh Ghimire: Social media is limited to only a segment of Nepali society. For a country like Nepal which lacks sufficient infrastructures social media is limited to only a portion of the population. As such activism in rural communities can be deprived of the valuable information being shared in networks of social media. One other limitation of social media activism is the collision of minds of people with varying thoughts. It is always challenging to bring everyone into a specific boundary of thoughts as you never know what kind of people are engaged in the movement.

Do you believe CYSU can really create long term change or just initiate short term protest?

Anil Pratap Adhikari:  We intend this movement to last decades. We’re here for a stable change that not only alters the superficial system but also the mindset of every individual. The rest depends on how successful we become.

What does CYSU hope to achieve?

Udeep Shakya: When all Nepalese people start thinking like a real Nepali, then it will be an achievement for CYSU. ‘Jaba Nepali harule mero pani yo desh tira kartabya chha bhanne kura bujhcha’ tyo huncha CYSU ko main achievement. Making a corrupt leader fall down is not an achievement if there is not another leader (who feels the responsibility towards nation) to take that position.