The Youth’s Lens commemorated the completion of its first year on July 6th, 2019 by hosting a festival, ‘Jeunesse’. The fest began at 10:00 in the morning with a stunning performance of ‘The A Team’ by Ed Sheeran, sung by our very own Ishika Midha. The festivities included workshops, interviews and stalls set up by various NGOs. ‘Indian Nationalism and Media’ by Nooran Alhuwalia was a workshop wherein participants discussed internationalism. They explored how the concept of internationalism has increased in popularity due to the creation of external enemies that have been sponsored by governments and briefly discussed the Pulwama Attack. They also spoke about how governments create internal enemies – such as ‘Hindutva’ – because of which nationalism is being altered to a limited sector to our society; this included ideas like what and whom we can trust. Shortly thereafter, a group discussion was conducted regarding media outlets and how they are influenced by the government. The workshop also touched upon a relevant topic for our youth demographic,the nature of social media – weighing out its advantages and disadvantages . Concluding this a few reporters went around the fascinating Khoj studios to interview the panellists, the first being ‘Project Nishta’ – an organisation that reuses floral waste from temples and religious ceremonies by turning it into compost for afforestation and to spur garden growth surrounding temples. The next interviewee was The Readers Collective, an Instagram page that reviews books and conducts reading competitions. They held a book exchange to raise money to help increase literacy rates. They also raised money for an NGO called Barefoot college, selling posters and friendship bands Dobhri House is a social service initiative that empowers low income communities and rehabilitates jail inmates by teaching them the skills required to make leather products. They believe in giving inmates a second chanceThe leather products sold at the fete had been made and manufactured by inmates and the revenue received from these sales was given to the inmates Reuse Orbis is a social enterprise that works on electronic waste management and sustainable business advocacy. Spectaverse is a platform where specially abled people can get stable and secure jobs.  Nayi Disha is an NGO based Gurgaon which gives basic primary education to children so they can get into a mainstream school. They provide young children with counselling and have reduced the number of school dropouts while increasing child security; money that is raised by them goes towards building safe spaces. They have made a huge impact by educating the parents of the children they take under their wing along with society as a whole on the importance of education. The Goela School of Finance gave a lecture about the stock market around noon. They shared a rather interesting insight on the mindset behind how to save money; they explored the psychology behind stock market research by mental health organisations. They opened upunique topics for discussions such as materialism and the correlation between money and happiness. They presented a fresh perspective the irrationality of spending money on items that we’re being sold without any knowledge of it such as social media and YouTube advertisements. They presented this concept with the use of a beautiful extended metaphor in which they compared life to a tree; we enjoy it’s fruits which represent money and success and the roots of the tree that we can’t see represent our thoughts that lead into actions and consequences as represented by the tree trunk. Between all the ruckus of moving benches to seat all the newly arriving people, Navita Gupta gave an outstanding performance of Samjhawan by Arijit Singh, Nachdi Phira by Meghna Mishra and Perfect by Ed Sheeran. At 13:20PM, there was another marvellous performance by Kamakshi and her band where she sang  Sunflower which was then followed by another musical performance of one of Queen’s deepest songs of all time – I want to break free – by Kriti at 13:30PM. At 13:40 there was a workshop held discussing the dark side of Indian Politics and the use of TRP(television rating point) by news channels. The discussion eventually touched upon ‘Fake News’, it’s hazardous effects, and how to overcome it. following that, Ermeena Shah talked more in depth about reliability of sources and the misinformation that we – the general public – face and how difficult it is for us to find the truth. She shared simple tips on how to spot the reliability of a source. after which , Kyra Kumar recited a striking and meaningful poem about mental health issues and depression called 3:28AM. The poem revolves around the last few minutes of someone’s life before suicide. It zooms in on their thoughts and feelings. In a personification of feelings, Kyra makes it seem as if their inner demons were awakening as the time ticks towards 3:28AM. Kyra is an aspiring writer who wrote this poem to shine light on mental health issues and eating disorders. She was inspired by the alarming increase in suicide rates in the youth and wanted to promote awareness for this issue. She emphasized the gravity of these issues and criticised the silence that surrounds these societal issues.  Our reporters were lucky enough to talk to a few up-and-coming startups One of these was Udaan, a public forum for teenagers in Haryana. “In the avaas” is another such youth foundation that teaches art in underprivileged schools. They teach diverse forms of art ranging from conventional painting and pottery to theatre and debating. They interacted with the audience by asking them to read extracts from books using strong emotion. Our very own Chandan Samal, delivered a speech from the famous Harry Potter series.  At 15:00PM, we had another wonderful performance by Ojaswin of ‘idontwannabeyouanymore’ by Billie Eilish, ‘O Re Pia’ by Rafat Fateh Ali Khan and ‘All I Want’ by Kodaline.These were followed by Yami Malhotra’s mesmerising rendition of Adele’s ‘Skyfall’ and a stunning performance by Mayank of ‘Come Out and Play’ by Billie Eilish. Following which  Arshveen Hora gave an eye-opening lecture about privilege, making the audience understand how lucky they were. He also discussed philanthropic practices. Dhruv Bindra and Saranya Bhatt  from Foundation for Young Innovators talked about entrepreneurship in high school students. They were successful in changing the perception in listeners that entrepreneurship is a quality only adults have We took an interview with the President of The Youth’s Lens – Chandan Samal. He explained that he started The Youth’s Lens as a forum where younger generations discuss their perspectives and admitted that he never expected it to grow so rapidly.. He told us about his story and his experience, sharing with us the immense amount of stress he had in relation to money, embarrassment and panic that he had to face but how in the end, it somehow all came together and there was a lot of contentment and joy. Chandan was happy with the turnout at the Jeunesse event and wished that it could have been more formal and organised but is proud that we pulled it off! Just like the rest of us he doesn’t know what the future holds, but he knows that now, in this moment we are all a family and he will make sure that this family makes a difference. Following these touching words, we asked him as a joke how many articles he had written for tyl- his answer being “ no one knows this but I have only ever written one article”.   As the clock struck 4, Anureet watta took the stage to perform her heartwarming poems about gay pride and the queer community called”gay but not quiet “ and  “Kissing girls” following this we watched a presentation by Sudhanshu Kaushik who is the founder of the Young India Foundation. Here he spoke about youths involvement in Indian politics and how it needs to increase because after all we are the future.  After that, around 16:50PM, Yami and Mayank sang a jaw-dropping duet performance of Lovely by Khalid and Billie Eilish. Following this was a lecture by Anish Gawande about Gay Rights and the LGBTQ+ Community. We learned exactly what homosexuality I’d and what it means to be queer. He shone a light on organised homophobia and organised bullying which still takes place. He also Mentioned how society is still not openly accepting the LGBTQ community even after Section 377 was lifted and explined that Shashi Tharoor was the only major politician who had spoken about queer rights. He introduced “pinklist” which is a foundation for politicians who support the LGBTQ community and rights. their Instagram, @pinklistindia is growing more famous by the day.  He talked about how pink is being demonized due to being associated with femininity and wants to reclaim the rights to pink hence the pink list  In its essence, the youths lens fest 2019 was a huge success. As an attendee I can say with much confidence that it was a day that I will never forget. 

We are told to switch off the lights   But I look up   And the lights are on. We are told to turn off the fans But I can hear Their blades cutting the air Like trees raped so ruthlessly. I am told they produce paper and fuel But at what cost? We have plans for the economy. Who is stupid enough to take care of the ecology? It doesn't even turn a profit. What's the incentive? There is no Gross Environmental Product. When will we start to care for Nature? After she stops caring for us?

People live and People die. Some make thousands, some earn a dime. Be it yours, be it mine The only thing constant is Time But is Time constant? Can it stop. And resume Like A Heartbeat. Can it speed up like a car Moving too fast, too far? Can it slow down like a mind Unaware, yet to find? Is it moving backward Soon to reach Zero? Is Time constant? Yes or no? One thing I know is I'll never know.

Historically, the human race aims to establish superiority. Each and every human has radically different beliefs, and many feel the need to enforce them. The fundamental reason why arguments occur is this need. More extreme manifestations of this very enforcement recur throughout history, from concentration camps in Nazi Germany to the recent White-Nationalist attacks in New Zealand. All of us, in some way or another, feel an urge to prove that our beliefs and actions are better than others’. But how does this influence internationalism? Many argue that internationalism is not contradictory to nationalism and to having a nationalist identity. Globalists question why an international and national identity cannot coexist. It’s quite rational to understand that one can wear American clothes while following Indian traditions. I beg to differ. It is imperative to understand that this coexistence is not so simple. If a foreign culture penetrates a country that has its own culture, the final outcome will be the establishment of cultural superiority. This was seen in the Imperialist era. Take the example of British colonialism, wherein British culture percolated down to the core of Indian society. Language is a major aspect of culture. When English was spread, numerous indigenous Indian languages became endangered or extinct. Indian traditions that defined our culture were wiped out by ‘modern’ British culture. All this was due to a British belief that their culture was superior and more civilised. As a result, internationalism and nationalism cannot coexist due to friction between cultures. In the instant that international culture supersedes national culture, the national culture will be eroded. The spread of internationalism will result in the gradual loss of national culture and identity to the extent of everyone identifying as ‘human’ with a single, international culture. This erosion of culture actually contradicts the internationalist spirit which aims to preserve and embrace people of various ethnicities. Theoretically, internationalism is a developed idea that ensures world peace and achievement through international cooperation, but in practice, the idea gets warped and becomes an oppressive mechanism that enforces a single belief. To conclude, ideal globalist statements about how cultures are not mutually exclusive can only actualise in a Utopia wherein there is no need to establish superiority, wherein everyone can ‘live, and let live’. In that Utopia, internationalism may be practical. If any readers disagree with the opinions expressed in this article, please feel free to leave comments or post questions below.

In the distance, I see a House. Dying in this barren minefield, Eyeing those ideals, And wondering why I am here- Lying comfortably in this field of ugliness. Inside, I want to be there, but I do not Strive to reach there; Mourning my Inability to Move. Walk down the Path. Obstructed by mines that wall me in, I'm a Sucker, Setting goals I will not even try to achieve Because I'm comfortable in this white minefield, Lazy to Enter the House of Ideals.