Our first duty is that we must have faith in ourselves and then in God.

He who has no faith in himself can never have faith in God. Swami Vivekanand.

Youth empowerment is an attitudinal, structural, and cultural process whereby young people gain the ability, authority, and agency to make decisions and implement change in their own lives and the lives of other people, including youth and adults. Youth empowerment is often addressed as a gateway to intergenerational equity, civic engagement and democracy building. Many local, state, provincial, regional, national, and international government agencies and nonprofit community-based organizations provide programs centered on youth empowerment. Activities involved therein may focus on youth-led media, youth rights, youth councils, youth activism, youth involvement in community decisionmaking, and other methods.

The greatest wealth and strength of any nation is its youth. The future of a nation lies in the hands of its posterity. The quality of its youth determines the kind of future, the nation will have. Therefore, if we want to ensure a bright future for our country, we first need to strengthen and empower our youth. The youth of any nation and society are its potential energy. They are the powerhouse and storehouse of infinite energy. They are the ones who are the pride of the nation. It is the youth which brings laurels to their country. The power of youth can be sighted only by mentioning a few names of which every single Indian is proud of, such as Sachin Tendulkar, Vishwanathan Anand, Sania Mirza, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupati, Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai, P.T. Usha, Shiny Abraham, Anju B George, Rajiv Gandhi, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Jaspal Rana, Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Anil Kumble, Rahul Gandhi, Dilip Tirkey, Apama Popat, Malleshwari etc. The very mention of these names fills the heart of an average Indian with pride. These are only a few examples of all the sung and unsung heroes and heroines who have left their imprints on the sands of time and have led their country forward. In fact, we owe our present to the youth of the previous generation who forsook their everything, even their lives for the freedom of their motherland. Who can forget the great sacrifices of Rajguru, Sukhdev, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Bismilla Khan, Vijay Singh Pathik, Mangal Pandey etc who surrendered their everything for their country. Youth make up about 34% of the total population of the country. This 34% constitutes for the country's future. If we can harness this powerhouse of the nation in the right direction then the country can reach untold heights. All we need is to direct the energy of our youth in constructive channels that lead to development and progress. The creative potential of the younger generation

coupled with their zeal, enthusiasm, energy and versatility can work wonders for the country. We need to empower our youth so that they can make a better tomorrow. The best and the first and foremost way to strengthen our youth are to provide them education. Not just any kind of education, but the right kind of education which makes them scientific, logical, open-minded, self respecting, responsible, honest and patriotic. Without these virtues being developed, our youth cannot walk in the desired way and they will remain in a deep slumber of complacency. Unless harnessed and tapped in the right way, this very energy of the youth can tip over the other side and become destructive and dangerous for the society, crime is on high and violence is increasing in today's time. If we look at the data, we realize that our youth is losing touch with a sense of right and wrong or good and bad. This is because, as a nation, we have failed in our duty of capturing their energy and moulding it in the right direction. Due to increasing unemployment, we have been unable to keep our youth busy in constructive works. We fail to help them in realizing their dreams and hence they get lost and go in the wrong direction as the saying goes "An empty mind is the devil's workshop". We have failed poorly in this direction. The result is that nothing inspires our youth except shortcuts to making money, to achieve success and realizing their dreams. We have failed to give them the right kind of opportunities. Look at our own youth overseas - working I wonders. Why can't they do it here, in their own country? The answer lies in the lack of opportunities which they find in plenty in other countries. The loss is completely ours. A whole era of the nation will, hi a few years be empty of its posterity as a result of this increasing tendency to go abroad and get settled - called the Brain Drain of the country. It is high time we prevent our youth from leaving the country or giving into violence and terrorism by providing them better options, by strengthening them, by empowering them. Let us focus on constructively using the power of the youth for the betterment of the nation. Let us frame such policies which aim at empowering our youth so that we can be assured of a better future and a brighter tomorrow.

History of Youth Empowerment: The youth empowerment movement started in the 1960s, when students at universities across the united States began to get involved in politics and protests on campus. in time earlier than that, campuses and students had played a large role in the Civil Rights movement and in other political and tender movements, simply for the first time youth and students began to be seen as political and social actors. In response to the Vietnam War, student protests and organizations sprung up, and students demanded the right to be heard. Since those rebellious days, youth empowerment has calmed down significantly, but it continues to be an important part of childhood development and an subjective phase of the transition to adulthood. Typically taking place during heights School and college years, the transition is accompanied by increased involvement in student activities and a growing independence in making life choices and choosing a personal direction.