Youth are considered to be a nation’s greatest treasure and a catalyst of change for a better tomorrow. To bring forward the ideas of the new generation, the WYP gathers youth around the world to frame ‘Magna Carta of Values for a New Civilisation’. These values are submitted to the highest authorities such as the United Nations and the participating youth are given the responsibility to be the ambassadors of this Magna Carta back in their own countries.
“The Magna Carta was prepared at the previous session in 2009 in Rome. The draft was studied by youth from all over the world and various amendments were proposed. The main purpose of this meeting was to amend the previous draft and to include new ideas,” informs St Agnes College student Yulia D’Souza speaking to City Herald.
The human person open to transcendence, Family, Interpersonal relations, Society, Politics, Work, Economic relations, Educational relations, Communication networks and Environment were the different topics discussed and new principles were formed under these categories, she explains.
“I had chosen ‘Family’ as my topic and all in my group were very interested in the Indian family set up and views. They felt very hard to believe that gender inequality existed in India,” says participant Munita Veigas, a student of St Agnes.
Munita was allowed to propose a new principle for the Magna Carta that stated “All the members of the family should be treated equally and should have the same opportunities, especially concerning education, decision making, freedom and justice, respecting their individualities and needs.”
“I was one among the few Asians from a developing economy and the problems posed by us were more intense than the problems of other representatives belonging from developed countries,” says Yulia D’Souza who had taken up Economic Relations as her topic.
Amulya Rodrigues, a student of Roshni Nilaya who had taken up Intercultural Relations as her topic says she had a lot of explanation to do as the representatives of the other countries could not figure out how different cultures in India could live together. “We thought we would be targets of racial discrimination in the WYP but such inbuilt prejudices vanished when we got a chance to interact with the youth of the other nations who have a great regard for Indians,” says Amulya.
On August 13, the youth were taken to the UN Headquarters in New York to submit the final draft of Magna Carta values for new civilisation. “I was proud to be a part of a movement so colossal. Seeing our nation’s flag fluttering in the UN with the other flags a spirit of patriotism engulfed me. The 3 days spent at St. John’s University as a part of WYP has been an exhilarating and enriching experience broadening my perspective and altering the course of my thinking,” opines Munita.
The girls are planning to spread the principles of the Magna Carta with the other youth by visiting colleges, holding presentations. Social Networking sites have been a great help to spread the message and also remain in touch with the other WYP delegates, they claim.
What is WYP?
The World Youth Parliament (WYP) is a permanent dialogue forum created by Fernando Rielo Pardal (1923-2004) in the year 1981. Pardal was the founder of the Idente Missionaries and Idente Youth. The WYP was inspired from a lecture by Pardal who believed that the voice of young people, free from prejudices and interests, could be heard around the world and make a decisive contribution on fundamental questions of social and spiritual life. The theoretical foundation of the WYP is based on the charter drafted by Pardal in 1991. The entire Magna Carta can be found on www.wyparliament.org
