A storm of ideas
In my last blog, I spoke about MAD LTD and the exciting ‘mad’ness of our youth leaders. Just last month, 15 of these ‘MAD’ leaders came together at a Grand Finale of the initiative, selected out of over 500 ‘MAD’ ideas for the exceptional leadership and commitment they displayed.
What emerged was a veritable brainstorm of ideas! A volcano of youth energy that erupted with ideas for change flying fast and furious, challenging status quo through ground-breaking solutions.
There was Siddhant Satija’s Project Agya to spread awareness and inspire youth to fill the shortfall of officers in the Indian Armed Forces; Pupul Pachauri’s PAW Hi5 to build a caring community for stray animals; Anand Chitravanshi’s Wikiradio to provide a platform for local artistes; Shyamli Rathore’s KAP (Kids-Adults-Plants) making a circle of life, which incidentally also won her the title of MAD LTD CEO for 2011. There were free-flowing ideas for innovation in electricity distribution, transmission, wastage - and endless new suggestions on broad based development. It would be impossible to encapsulate them here. You can check them out at http://madltd.com/.
But much more than the individual thoughts, what really blew my mind was the fact that this was no idle day-dreaming group. These were young men and women - youth leaders in waiting - who were willing to go the distance to translate these dreams into reality.
Their passion pushed the frontiers of their vision of change – big dreams matched by an even bigger determination.
Analysts often wonder whether India will be able to transform its youth power into a “demographic dividend.” What we witnessed pronounced a loud and clear affirmative, which makes it even more imperative that we actively encourage, nurture and channelize this amazing energy.
The potential of our young blood is particularly potent in the new age where technology has broken through all barriers to create a level playing field. Where they are lacking in experience, they more than make up in passion. Where they fall short in age, they cover the gap with comfort and knowledge of new age technologies. Today, the world is their playground. A large enough vision and the courage to chase it is all it takes to be the CEO or the master architect of realising the dream.
The most powerful quality of youth leaders today is their fearlessness. They do not fear change. In fact, they welcome it. And with their passion, conviction and energy, they are ready to harness change to make the world a better place.
In the land that won freedom with the power of ‘non-violence’ – we are all living proof of the fact that, just as a single matchstick can start a fire, an idea can ignite a revolution.
And what we witnessed suggests that we are standing on the edge of a bottomless reservoir or ideas. Our youth that is waiting to take the reins of leadership with their ‘MAD’ courage to ‘Make a Difference’. Let’s spread this ‘MAD’ness and enjoy the winds of change that it brings along.