The lessons learned

MS Nepal support international youth networking by sending two Nepali civil society activists to Summer University in Croatia.

24. August 2005

The conflict in Croatia during war time was very intense, worse than ours at this time. After this visit we have realised that the conflict in Nepal has not reached the level of devastation Croatia experienced.

Parshuram Yadab and Sheetal Shresta. Photo: Line Wolf Nielsen.

We still have space to act and to try to resolve the conflict. We need to find the root causes of conflict and mobilize youth at large. If you can't mobilize youth for a good cause, then you can't resolve the conflict in its true sense.

So let’s think seriously about how we address the problems of youth; their education, employment and career opportunities. If you have an environment and mechanisms to exert the energy and spirit of youth for creative and constructive work, whether it is during or after conflict, you are on the right track towards a just and peaceful society.

We will try to act with this attitude, spirit and motivation after returning to our organisations in Kapilvastu. Moreover, sharing and networking today is not only important but also essential - whether it is at local level or national level or international level.

Sheetal Shresta & Parshuram Yadab

About the initiative
In the end of July Parshuram Yadab and Sheetal Shresta left their homes in Kapilvastu and packed for two weeks in Europe. Parshuram Yadab and Sheetal Shresta had been chosen to attend the "Summer University 2005" in the city of Vukovar, Croatia.

The event was organized by South East European Youth Network and funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Travel and tuition fee were paid by MS Nepal.

Besides meeting other young people from Denmark, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique, Parshuram Yadab and Sheetal Shresta attended classes on topics like eco-activism, youth movement, youth unemployment and national intellectuals.

On top of the intellectual inspiration the two civil society activists from Taulihawa got a chance to visit a post-conflict country and learn more about the role played out by civil society and youth organisations in post-conflict rebuilding. Croatia was part of The Yugoslav Wars were a series of violent conflicts in the territory of the former Yugoslavia took place from 1991-2001.

Parshuram Yadab is 29-years-old and recently took up working as a secretary and program coordinator with Poverty Elevation Fund. Before that he was the treasurer of Sunshine Youth Club. Parshuram holds a BA in History and English. Currently he studies English literature for his Master degree.

Sheetal Shresta is the vice president of Saral Nepal – a partner NGO to MS Nepal partner KSSC in Taulihawa. She is 26 years old and has just finished her BA in commerce and plans to take up Master studies in Sociology.

Both have been selected on the basis of activities in their respective organisations as well as their potential involvement in future youth for peace activities in Kapilvastu. Furthermore they both have good English language skills - which are necessary for benefiting from the course.