The problem
Youth engagement in urban climate governance in India has historically been short-term and performative. Young people would be invited to events, consulted on paper, then excluded from actual decision-making. There was no structured, sustained mechanism for youth to co-design climate solutions with urban local governments.
What YKA did
In 2023, YKA signed an MoU with NIUA — established under MoHUA — to co-create a citizen engagement framework that enables young people to participate in climate policy-making across Indian cities.
The framework structure
Three axes
Intervention areas: Energy reduction, green cover, water security, circular economy, sustainable mobility, resilient communities.
Levels: Urban policy and planning, urban development, local support.
Engagement types: Learn, engage, act.
Development process
The framework was developed with inputs from two pilot cities — Kochi and Visakhapatnam — along with contributions from numerous experts and youth participants, ensuring it reflected the actual conditions of Indian cities, not an abstract ideal.
Launch
On August 12, 2024 — International Youth Day — NIUA and YKA formally launched the Youth ACT Framework. It is now publicly available for city planners, civil society organisations, and youth groups across India.
What changed
For the first time, Indian urban local governments have a structured framework for engaging youth in climate governance — not as token participants, but as co-designers.
The framework is now being piloted in Indore — 50 adolescent fellows across 85 wards, a ward-level household survey, and direct policy consultations with the Indore Municipal Corporation.
A national conference is planned to scale the model to other Indian cities.
This framework is live
The ACT Indore pilot is currently in progress — 1,080 households surveyed, 10 youth-led community projects underway. Read the ACT Indore case study →
