YPF’s governance apprenticeship programme connects political leaders to young researchers

Youth Policy Forum (YPF) is a platform that creates constructive policy discourse between young students, professionals, and nation-builders. With a community of over 8600 members, the forum regularly organises policy dialogues by inviting experts, forming policy networks to conduct research in a variety of fields. Through a pool of young intellectuals, they intend to establish a support system connecting the government, non-government, global and state level policy makers to formulate and adopt more inclusive policies.

YPF recently introduced a governance apprenticeship programme by inviting Members of Parliament, ministers, politicians and business leaders to discuss the importance of engaging the youth in policy making. "Since our policymakers play multiple roles, it is difficult for them to engage into research. This program intends to help them amalgamate knowledge, as well as allow researchers to understand the practicalities of the administration and governance structure," said Chowdhury Albab Kadir. The event was moderated by Dr. Akhtar Mahmood, former lead economist, World Bank and Chief Advisor, YPF. The session was graced by the presence of Muhammad Abdul Mannan, Minister of Planning, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, MP, Ahasanul Islam Titu, MP, Waseqa Ayesha Khan, MP, Nahim Razzaq, MP, Shameem Haider Patwary, MP, Tabith Awal, BNP Mayoral Candidate, DNCC, Ishraque Hossain, BNP Mayoral Candidate, DSCC, Mokkabir Khan MP, Gono Forum and Zonayed Saki, Chief Coordinator, Gonoshonghoti Andolon.

The programme is designed to generate a platform for symbiotic exchange of knowledge between young participants and policymakers. "Youth opinions matter as they present fresh ideas to bring about impactful changes. The youth among our diaspora has also picked up on knowledge from universities across the world, which can act as an important tool to develop policies which are inclusive, innovative, and effective," shared Syed Tanzil Ahmed. A team of young researchers from YPF would be appointed as apprentices for a politician, member of parliament, civil servant, or bureaucrat. Each member would be selected on the grounds of the agenda of their respective politician, and would be specialising in that field of study.

The idea for such a platform was conceived to bridge the gap between youth and politicians across all political parties. "Many young minds are interested in policy making, but do not have a platform to learn about our system and its functions. Through this program, a team of youth apprentices are assigned to a mentor so they can understand the functioning of our parliament", added Tanzil. There is also an absence of a neutral platform to utilise the knowledge and ideas of younger generations. Thus through primary, secondary and tertiary research assignments, policy briefs and brainstorming sessions, the policies created by our leaders would include new perspectives and resonate with the ideas of the youth. Currently the apprentices are being selected from YPF's network but the forum invites applications from youth aspirants willing to participate in the program. YPF has also launched a free Public Policy Course series, which acts as a prerequisite for joining the governance apprenticeship.

"The opportunities created by this programme are practically endless. The idea is to provide the platform with sufficient flexibility so that each mentor can utilise our resources in an optimal manner, be it through our work for the parliament or their constituency," concluded Kadir.