It was a cold February Saturday in Kathmandu. Yet that didn't deter young people from crowding into the Public Information Centre of World Bank-Nepal. Mostly students aged between 16 and 25 years old, they gathered for the 351st weekly session of Smart Club.
Founded in 2005 by the pioneering organisation Youth Initiative, the club aims to enhance participants' leadership abilities and their understanding of political and economic issues facing Nepal. Every week, three people deliver speeches, which are then analyzed and examined critically by other participants.
Ayush Pandey, 20, is attending for the second time. "I learned a bit about how to speak in front of a crowd and how to present myself during speeches," the Kathmandu resident told Khabar South Asia, about his first visit.
"I am looking forward to delivering a speech in coming weeks," he said.
An affordable learning curve
Although groups like Toastmasters exist in the valley to enhance public speaking skills, their high costs deter young people from joining. By contrast, many youths flock to Smart Club due to its nominal fee.
Robin Sitoula, 35, of Jhapa, came up with the idea for the organisation and is happy to see its progress.
"The club was envisioned as a platform for young people to engage in public speaking and presentation skills-enhancing activities, along with developing their understanding of contemporary issues faced by Nepali society, so that a new generation of young leaders would be developed," he told Khabar.
Rup Sunar, 29, is a Smart Club alumnus and Kailali native who works as a programme manager for Professional Development and Research Center.
"I went to Smart Club for almost three years," he told Khabar. "I used to be a studious person since I was young. But my experience at Smart Club broadened the horizon of my readings and helped me acquire skills to express [myself] in a more organised way, which definitely helped me in my career."
"Smart Club was sort of an internship for me," he added.
A template for future leaders
Saurav Bhatta, an 18-year-old Kathmandu resident and convener of the club, says around 50-60 young people attend its programmes
"Participation is open to all and the cost of participating is nominal," he told Khabar. "The club is fully run by youth themselves."
According to Bhatta, Smart Club activities have influenced his own life decisions. "I am a student of science but after being here for about eight months, I am convinced that the development sector would be a better career choice for me," he said.
Its popularity has inspired similar efforts in different parts of Nepal, noted Santosh Acharya, president of Youth Initiative.
"Currently, Smart Clubs are being run in five districts including Kathmandu," he told Khabar. "The public speaking is conducted in local languages in clubs outside the valley. Smart Clubs have allowed Nepalese youth to spend their free time in meaningful dialogues and debate and be more informed about the issues faced by our society."
"We are trying to expand them in other districts as well." More than 6,000 youth nationwide already benefited through Smart Club and its replicas, Acharya said.
Rajendra Mulmi, who works for the international non-governmental organisation (NGO) Search for Common Ground, believes in the importance of such clubs.
"Young people learn to agree to disagree and sort out their differences through dialogues and discussions through such avenues," he told Khabar. "It helps to build role model leadership out of youth, which is important for a country like ours facing leadership crisis."
Founder Sitoula said, "To find the club running successfully for more than seven years with leadership succession makes me happy. Young people are learning principles of democratic practice."
(This news is written by Surath Giri and published in http://khabarsouthasia.com)
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