2025: Listening Deeply. 2026: Walking Forward—Together.

 

Young India Network for Good Health

2025: Listening Deeply. 2026: Walking Forward—Together.

As we close the pages of 2025 and lean into the promise of 2026, one truth stands steady: when young people are trusted, communities breathe easier.
This year belonged to youth voices—adolescents finding language for their feelings, students choosing courage over silence, and young leaders creating spaces where they belong.

To every young person who stayed, spoke up, stumbled, learned, and returned—thank you. You didn’t just join a program; you co-created safe, honest spaces for well-being.

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The Year Youth Led the Way 

2025 was dedicated to the journeys that don’t come with neat maps. We celebrated role models who walk with integrity and heart—Monica Menon, Nada Good Health Ambassador, for showing how sport, discipline, and mental strength can shape healthier lives; and Hiral, whose consistency, commitment, and confidence remind us that growth is rarely tidy—and that’s okay.

“If the world sees me as a stray now, let it.
I’d rather walk my messy, uncertain, heartbreak-laced journey…

Because strays don’t fall apart when the world changes.
They’ve already lived through storms.” — Hiral Krishnatray

That spirit defined our year.

Solace: Creating Open Spaces for Youth Well-being

At Solace, we believe every young person deserves a judgment-free space. In recent well-being sessions, students spoke openly—about exam stress, body image, mental and physical health, and the quiet pressure to be “enough.”

• Bhoomika Kamboj shared how exam pressure fuels anxiety. Together, we balanced emotional reassurance (self-worth beyond grades, breathing, sharing worries) with practical tools (micro-planning, time management, mock tests).

• Another student named the weight of beauty standards. We spoke of self-acceptance and media literacy, pairing compassion with realistic health goals and joyful movement.

By the end, many said they felt lighter—heard. Even a small circle can echo loudly when empathy leads.

“Who Is In-Charge?” Youth In-Charge.

At the Centurion University of Technology and Management, during the Students’ Forum at the 13th Indian Social Work Conference 2025, we closed with a line that stayed with the room:

“Who is In-charge? Youth In-charge!”

Once the You(th) is in—and charged—young professionals are ready to lead with trust, compassion, and dignity. Student life, after all, is the safest laboratory for brave experiments.

Culture, Courage & Conversations

On World Mental Health Day 2025, we renewed our commitment to conversations that heal. We also met Amol Parashar in Delhi, appreciating his choice of socially responsive roles—stories that humanize health, care, and community.

The CAT Way Forward: Trust Them. Train Them. Walk With Them.

In a country where half the population is under 25, youth aren’t just the future—they are the pulse of the present. At Nada India Foundation, the Community Action Team (CAT) model flips the script: youth as stakeholders, not targets.

As CAT member Aanvi Chauhan from Shimla shares, real engagement is not box-ticking—it’s trusting lived experience. Peer-to-peer health messages travel farther, land softer, and last longer.

Discovery on the Ground: Listening First

On International Youth Day 2025, local action took center stage. During a school visit in Udaipur district, Rajasthan, students showed us how identity, environment, and participation intertwine—from eco-clubs to creative groupings inspired by the elements. Listening revealed both promise and gaps—exactly where youth leadership matters most.

And as we marked World No Tobacco Day 2025, one message rang clear: Prevention is not only legal—it’s emotional. When youth understand industry tactics, they choose health with clarity and courage.

Looking Ahead to 2026 ✨

Next year, we go further—more Solace circles, stronger CAT networks, deeper school ecosystems, and bolder youth-led advocacy rooted in empathy. We will keep the door open, the chairs in a circle, and the listening active.

To every young person who showed up—thank you for choosing honesty over ease, curiosity over fear, and community over silence.

When youth lead, communities heal.

If 2025 taught us anything, it’s this: belonging is built—together.