On Saturday (17th April 2021), the Youth Engagement Group (YEG) members from Brazil and India met together for the first time through Zoom. Despite it being their first meeting, the two-hour session was buzzing with energy throughout. The youth prepared engaging presentations to introduce themselves and their own city. The YEG group from India gave a detailed history of Mumbai and how it began from a centre of mills, to the Bollywood city of India. Meanwhile, the group from Brazil prepared a short catchy video on Volta Redonda, and how political participation of local communities arose from a strike by steel workers during the 1990s.

Apart from that, the YEG group in India talked about the issue of high youth unemployment in the informal sector, and the negative impact which COVID-19 has had on livelihoods. Upon hearing that, some of the youth in Brazil commented that although they were speaking about different places, there seemed to be many similar realities.

The group did not hesitate to jump in and ask each other questions throughout the presentations. They were particularly curious about the institutional spaces for youth to participate, and their motivations for joining the Youth Futures project. Near the end, they asked each other about how COVID-19 was affecting their own communities. Currently, both countries are undergoing another very severe wave, and the youth commented that many people are living on the streets and suffering from hunger.

Not everyone spoke English in the session, but because of the buzzing enthusiasm from the young people, language difference did not seem to be a barrier! Throughout, adult facilitators from CIESPI and YUVA would help to translate Portuguese and Hindi into English, and vice versa. However, near the end, the youth also took an active role in translating for their peers too.

The meeting concluded with a “waterfall exercise”. A question would be asked, and everyone would have a few minutes to type their answers. After a count of “1,2,3!”, everyone submitted their answers into the chat box, which would lead to a cascade – or waterfall – of responses. Most of the participants found the session informative and exciting, while commenting on the similarities of their situation. They also wanted more time to learn about each other, that we will aim to accommodate in the next meeting.

Two hours was definitely not enough! The youth are planning to set up a WhatsApp group to stay in touch, and look forward to a similar meeting soon in a few months’ time.