Issue 3 : Process of Leadership Renewal
Issue 3 : Process of Leadership Renewal
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Pre-Panel Discussion
1 . What is relationship between Youths and Tamil community leaders ?
• There is a generation gap between the leaders and youths . Many of us are not aware of our Tamil community leaders .
• We can see the outcome due to the efforts of organisations , but the hard work and effort put in by the leaders are not visible enough .
• Youths should be part of the planning . When youth and important people work together , the generation gap is bridged . Without leadership renewal , there will be a lack of new ideas . Leaders will stick to the old way of doing things , leading to stagnation and lack of innovation .
• Our community tends to look at someone differently when they are in power . There is too much hierarchy in our community .
• All the interactions are too formal . There is a lack of trust and only politically correct content is discussed during interaction . This results in youths not opening up .
• Opportunities are there . It ’ s the matter of whether we want to take it up or not .
2 . Do you think youths are ready to be leaders ?
• They are not ready to represent the community at the moment . There was more community involvement by youths in the past . Now , they are more self-centred and have a different mindset . They look at organizations as something not very beneficial in joining .
• The current cabinet is receptive of feedback and hence the youths do not see the urge to step up to become community leaders .
• There are not many leadership opportunities in Tamil organizations . Since Tamil organizations in schools are limited , e . g . Indian Cultural Societies and Tamil Language Societies , opportunities to serve as a leader in these organizations are also limited . Hence , some of the students move on to be part of the exco in other non-Indian organizations .
• Some youths feel that it works both ways , i . e . both the organization and the youth have to reach out . Organizations have to reach out to youth to spread more awareness about their programs and leadership opportunities . Similarly , students also have to actively participate in community activities and seek opportunities for themselves .
• There are unequal opportunities . Some Tamil and Indian societies are smaller and have fewer resources as compared to others . Therefore , students in these societies have even fewer opportunities as compared to those in well-connected societies .
• Students also face commitment issues . Tamil youths prioritize academic work and social life more than community work . Hence , even if Indian organizations reach out to youths , one cannot guarantee that they will make full use the opportunities given to them .