Agaaz-e-Baatcheet: “a call to initiate a conversation” on interfaith, was first launched in 2017 with the hope to create a platform to begin conversations on Interfaith. Since then, Agaaz-e-Baatcheet programme has become a flagship programme on Interfaith in India which is supported by the British Deputy High Commission. It is an arena for young people to introspect and interpret the underlying message of different faiths and religions and embrace the commonalities among them.
The programme is a unique opportunity to engage with these youth and facilitate their transformation into Youth Champions. These Youth Champions, representing diverse partner institutions and backgrounds, will go through a leadership journey where they will learn about themselves and engage with social issues, to lead change initiatives within their communities. by working with conflict and resolution. The program hopes to establish good practices for interfaith work and collectivise these efforts into advocacy in India. Additionally, we also celebrate Interfaith Week, in solidarity with the Inter Faith Network UK, a first of its kind Initiatives in India.
The programme “Empowering Young Global Citizens” is inspired by the already existing programme ‘Young, Muslim, and Citizen’ run by the UK Race and Resource Network (UKREN).
It is supported by the British Deputy High Commission which aims to empower youth from minority communities to make informed choices and take responsible decisions while also developing essential skills to influence positive change.
The programme focuses on empowering youth by building their capacities on the thematic of Faith and Harmony. It usually starts with a three-day orientation workshop, followed by Social Action Projects (SAPs) designed and run by the participants and lastly, in this manner coming together with all their learnings, perspectives and understandings at a final conference titled ‘Navigating through Identities Positively: The Role of Muslim Youth as Global Citizens’.
Globalisation and interconnectedness has become an integral part of our being. The pandemic has only made it visible how systematically connected we all are and the need to reflect on the same.
There is a need to create spaces and opportunities wherein we can have dialogues about self, our values, the identities we hold and the society we live in. There is an urgent need to talk about ‘Integration’ - the ability to adapt, coexist harmoniously and collaborate, that helps to maintain an ecosystem which works towards building a safe, secure and inclusive society.
Hence Rubaroo along with the British High Commission has come together to facilitate the Interfaith Youth Leadership Programme (IYLP) : Empowering Young Global Citizens.
The programme aims to empower youth leaders to make informed choices and take responsible decisions while also developing essential skills to influence positive change. The focus of the programme is to empower youth by building their capacities on the thematic Interfaith and Sustainable Development Goal framed by the United Nations.
Rubaroo hosted this event in 2022 with 17 leaders who implemented several Social Action Projects to promote social inclusion, interfaith harmony and celebrating diversity. We had 12 panelists both from the UK and India for this programme and it was a huge success.