Initiative to set youth's agenda for 2014 polls

New Delhi, July 27: With the political scene hotting up, an organisation of young professionals has launched an

to set the

for the 2014 general elections from the perspective of the

, that comprises over 50 percent of the population.

The initiative, called Manthan (or churning), aims to reach out and engage about 10 million students directly and about 90 million youth indirectly over the course of the next two months, a release from the Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG), said here.

Manthan encourages youth to participate in the national political discourse by deliberating on themes of critical national importance like realizing the growth potential of the Northeast, universalizing access to quality primary healthcare, ensuring safety and empowerment of women and increasing the employbility of youth.

The themes have been earmarked on the basis of online responses and expert inputs on various social media platforms.

The movement shall run in three phases. The first phase involves organizing regional conventions in various colleges and universities across the nation. These conventions will facilitate the interaction between youth and key opinion makers from social, political and business domains.

The second phase will be a nationwide competition to be held in more than 5500 colleges and universities. A panel of experts across various domains shall adjudicate the presentations.

The best submissions per theme will be presented in front of representatives of two principal national political parties at the culmination event as part of the third and last phase, the release elaborated.

IANS