Giving Compass' Take:

• Amrut Bang at India Development Review discusses lessons from an education program called NIRMAN, which nurtures young Indians in leadership for social change. 

• How can donors help fund programs like NIRMAN? What are the biggest areas of social change that need the most support? 

• Learn about assessing Indian philanthropy and how to improve it. 

India is home to one of the youngest populations in the world, with close to 140 million people falling in the 18–23 age bracket. India has more than 50 percent of its population below the age of 25 years and in 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 as compared to 48 for Japan. In the last decade or so, psychological research has coined this phase in young people’s lives – emerging adulthood. It is neither adolescence nor young adulthood, but empirically distinct. “Emerging adulthood is a time of life when many different directions remain possible, when little about the future has been decided for certain, when the scope of independent exploration of life’s possibilities is greater for most people than it will be at any other period of the life course.”

“Conventional higher education gives a lot of information, and occasionally imparts skills; but one thing that is almost never accomplished is giving students a sense of purpose.”

In India, these emerging adults make up our promised demographic dividend. However, we know from research that most of them struggle to transition successfully into adulthood – few complete high school, the quality of education is often poor, and many lack livelihood skills and employment opportunities.

Read the full article about teaching India's youth on social change by Amrut Bang at India Development Review.