26 March, 2019
Amnesty International Nepal organised the thirteenth edition of the Youth Mela with active participation of over 90 youth participants from various Youth Networks across the country in Tansen, Palpa between 23 to 25 March. The Mela is an annual event held since 2007 with the aim to enable its youth constituencies in human rights campaigns and activism.
At the Mela, youth activists engaged in a number of activities that created awareness and activism on human rights issues in an in-depth and participatory manner.
The Mela was inaugurated by Daya Raj Basyal, Coordinator of Palpa District Coordination Committee on 23 March. Mayor of Tansen Municipality Ashok Kumar Shahi was also present at the event where he encouraged the youths to explore opportunities in leadership and contribute to positive change.
The Mela consisted a number of substantive sessions including human rights campaigns strategies and approaches, Amnesty International and its priority campaigns, and human rights education.
Two panel discussions were conducted during the Mela. The first one dwelt on the problems and prospects faced by the youths in Nepal. The members of this panel — Jhala BK, member of National Youth Council, Bipin Budhathoki, Deputy General Secretary of Amnesty Nepal, Natasha Shah, activist and artist, and K.P Khanal, youth activist— engaged in the dialogue around issues concerning importance of ‘youth as change makers’. The second panel consisting of former Chairs Charan Prasain and Pradip Pokharel, Vice Chair Parbata Acharya and former youth board member Pasang Sherpa dwelt on the leadership and human rights achievement as well as the future challenges of Amnesty Nepal.
Youth activist and founder of Blind Rocks Shristi KC was one of the main speakers at the Mela. She shared about the challenges of persons with disabilities in Nepal. She also motivated the audience by sharing how she achieved successes and challenged the stereotypical projection and treatment of persons with disabilities. KC, a visually impaired woman in Nepal, has been a shining example of how persons with disabilities can achieve extraordinary things in life. KC stressed on the need for a cultural and behavioural shift towards how we view and treat persons with disabilities in Nepal.
Similarly, Sabitri KC, whose father was killed during the armed conflict, shared the story of her struggle to stand up and fight for justice in Nepal. The story of Khadka is one of pain, loss and longing. She has been actively advocating for truth and accountability. Hers is one of the many true stories of the thousands of Nepal’s victims of armed conflict still in wait for truth, justice and reparations even after 12 years of the end of the armed conflict in Nepal.
The Mela sessions were held to enhance the practical knowledge of the young participants on aspects of human rights. A debate on abolishing the death penalty saw more active participation of the youths.
Actions engaging the public were an important part of the Youth Mela. The participants took out a rally to Tansen Bazaar calling for an end to all forms of violence against women. Representatives of Rampur Youth Network staged an awareness drama on online violence there. Several photo stunts were organised during an excursion trip to Rani Mahal demanding justice to Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian human rights activist. Nasrin has been sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes for speaking out for the rights of other people in Iran. The youths also mobilised around Tansen and collected signatures from the public in the petitions addressed to the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens demanding effective steps from the Ministry to remove the statute of limitation in cases of rape.
Around 1,500 youths have undergone training in the Youth Mela that Amnesty Nepal has been organising every year since 2007.