Young People's Action Group

For every child, opportunity

Project Information

The Young People's Action Group (YPAG) focuses on addressing the critical issue of climate change and its impacts on healthcare, essential services, and community well-being.

Climate change and natural disasters pose significant threats by damaging healthcare infrastructure, disrupting access to essential services, and undermining the physical and mental well-being of community members.

By engaging young people in this effort, the initiative aims to foster innovative solutions and build resilience in the face of these challenges.

Young people's engagement is crucial for driving effective climate action, particularly in areas that directly affect their lives, such as healthcare and essential services.

This programme is funded by UNICEF India and has support from the Government of Meghalaya.

Progress of YPAG

YPAG Workshops

A series of intensive, two-day district-level workshops were conducted across the state in May and June 2025. These workshops were organised in Jowai, Tura, Nongpoh, and Shillong in order to ensure broad representation of participants from across Meghalaya.

Participants were selected to reflect a cross-section of Meghalaya's youth, representing different districts, educational institutions, professions, community organisations, indigenous communities, persons with disabilities, artists, entrepreneurs, and young leaders. The selection process sought to ensure that the voices represented within YPAG reflected the diversity of experiences, aspirations, and challenges faced by young people across the State.

The district workshop series formed the first stage in establishing YPAG, providing participants with an opportunity to build a common understanding of climate change, exchange lived experiences, collaboratively identify solutions, and shape the future direction of the platform.

YPAG's Inaugural Cohort

The candidates for the YPAG have been shortlisted from the district-level workshops based on the following criteria:

⁠Creativity: Demonstrated capacity to propose innovative solutions to climate change and disaster-related challenges, drawing upon traditional knowledge, community-based practices, and technology-enabled approaches.
Collaboration: Ability to engage constructively within diverse teams, working effectively across rural and urban contexts and with peers from varied social, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds.
⁠Diversity: Commitment to ensuring broad representation across Meghalaya’s districts, ethnic and regional identities, gender, and persons with disabilities, thereby reflecting the state’s pluralism.
Growth through participation: Recognition of candidates who, despite limited initial engagement, demonstrated resilience and significant progress in confidence and performance through sustained participation in group exercises with facilitator support.

Shortlisted candidates will be formally notified by telephone and e‑mail. Given the high volume of workshop participants, the YPAG's Secretariat regrets that it will not be possible to provide individual feedback to applicants who are not selected.