Local Governance is not anything — it is YOU!

This is first of the several posts I am going to write from my experience in attending bootcamp on good governance.

In the last week of Feb, I had the opportunity to participate in a two-days tech boot camp on good governance. It is an online bootcamp conducted by Kathmandu Living Labs in association with US consulate.

The online bootcamp is happening separately in 5 different countries and in India about 70 people were selected to participate.

Objectives:

1. To share the fundamental concepts and understanding about governance
2. The role of youth in improving good governance in south asia
3. Role of technology to improve local governance

Fundamentals of governance:

The session started with the “Why of government” — most points made are related to Anarchy. Primary responsibilities include,

1. Resolve conflicts peacefully
2. Make and enforce laws and
3. Protecting individual rights

Governance:

Until my recent involvement with Reap Benefit I always thought government and governance are one and the same. I got solid understanding through the work I do with Reap Benefit in building the “Civic Muscle” in young people.

My understanding got validated and much better through the session on governance.

It refers to general process of governing and also applicable to anything and everything.

To excercise democracy good governance plays an important role.

From what I understood and experiencing in real being a person from social sector.

Democracy right now act as a system of government instead of being a way of living. Democracy cannot be imposed it should be achieved.

At the bootcamp, I got to know about Hull House theory which states on the ideology of “Making entire social organism democratic — extend it beyond political and voting expression”.

This is 100% percent reality. We tend to feel the democracy only as a right for us to vote — which happens only once in 5 years (in India). What happens after that? I believe the person whom I voted for will look after everything? Or I don’t bother about it!

How many times we have voted for the candidate running in the elections? Majority of NIL. Yes, you may wonder. Think are you voting for the right candidate or the party/leader?

Democracy will exist if there is bottom-up approach to select nations leader. But, what’s the reality ask yourself.

Why do people aspiring to protect democracy and active citizenship rights believe things will change when youth gets involved?

“Don’t speak truth to power. Speak truth to young people, they are the creators”. Yes, the change will begin from youth but only when every individual decides to be more responsible of their very own actions, their home, their street, their locality, etc., it is a chain of process.

At the bootcamp, the speaker had shared five questions as a food for thought to think, analyse, reflect and answer them.

Here are the statements for you, tell me in the comments how will you able to contribute as an individual to solve these problems — I am looking for answer at a personal level.

1. How can government address climate disruption?

2. How can we manage income inequality?

3. How can we have local association and face global problems?

4. How do new technologies alter governance?

5. How can we maintain democracy in the face of authoritarianism?

Looking forward to read your answers.