Karthika Pillai is a Youth Forum 2021 participant from India. She is a young professional combating the world drug problem, working as a state coordinator in the Program Monitoring Unit of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment of India. She is also pursuing her Master's degree in Sociology.
Could you briefly talk about your experience in Youth Forum 2021?
Youth Forum 2021 was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. I am extremely grateful to have shared the platform with so many young talented individuals from across the globe. It helped me articulate my thoughts properly and present myself in front of an international audience; it was empowering that my words could actually be impactful.
How do you see your experience from the Youth Forum affecting your professional work in the future?
The Forum helped me increase my competency in substance abuse, especially about evidence-based prevention strategies. Before, I didn’t really know what evidence-based prevention strategies were. Through the Youth Forum, I realized how important it is to have scientific evidence because we’re talking about people’s lives. It’s astonishing how much we relied on what we thought worked instead of applying strategies backed up by scientific research. Also, prevention activities need to be evaluated and monitored. All this was new for me, so I do value my experience. It will definitely help in my professional work.
Has it influenced any preconceptions that you may have had previously?
Apart from enriching my knowledge, the Forum also helped me in unlearning concepts. I used to believe that the same plan could work for different populations. I learned that there are various developmental stages and each respective stage need to be considered differently. Every person is unique as they go through different development stages based on psycho-socio-economic variations, so we cannot develop a generalized strategy. We need to assess and identify protective factors and amplify preventive measures as much as we can. Learning this in the Youth Forum was very enlightening to me.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the implementation and execution of prevention strategies in your community?
The pandemic has definitely affected the implementation and execution of prevention strategies. It has become difficult to get policymakers, individuals, and community members to become vested in prevention activities. And while we do have online prevention programs, they’re not reaching many target groups. Some people don’t have an internet connection or the basic facilities available to use the online materials.
The lockdowns and social distancing are making many people more vulnerable. While these strategies help prevent coronavirus transmissions and the pandemic outbreak itself, they have been associated with negative emotions, such as irritability, anxiety, fear, and sadness. These conditions are known to trigger a relapse, even in those long-term abstainers, or intensify drug consumption. Withdrawal symptoms elicited during lockdowns could also jeopardize steps made ahead with preventive strategies.
Do you recognize the science being portrayed through the ‘Listen First’ videos?
The major objective that I caught from all 10 videos was “Care”. I think it’s crucial for children and youth to feel like they’re heard. Even with my experience in the Youth Forum, I felt like my voice was empowering, and I could be heard. So why not all children and youths from around the world?
The videos portray science beautifully in a simple manner that can be comprehended easily. Primary caregivers, health workers, policymakers have a massive impact on the emotional and social development of a child. Positive familial bonding is also essential in forming a foundation from a very early age. Children are very malleable, so these materials can help children shape emotionally but also help improve parenting skills and family structures.
Why is an evidence-based practice much more important than instinctual gut-feelings of what is effective and what isn’t?
I was previously doing work based on an instinct, and I wasn’t even aware of that. Through the Forum and the International Standards, I learned that instinctual gut-feelings can be based on biases and what we think is best. We need to understand that when we are not at the receiving end of an intervention, we can become neutralized to the effect of a strategy, and we don’t really know how it is perceived by the target group. It could even be detrimental for them. But if we implement evidence-based strategies, we can test their effectiveness and identify factors or areas that require improvement.
Do you see the ‘Listen First’ materials being helpful in your community’s prevention activities?
‘Listen First’ is an amazing tool as part of prevention activities because of its applicability with a wide range of groups such as parents, family, health workers, teachers, and policymakers.
In communities, programs can be established to help children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds who are deprived of familial bonds to become part of groups where they can feel safe and heard. Youth clubs at colleges and self-help groups can be used as well to employ the materials and amplify the objectives of ‘Listen First’. At the end of the day, when you heal a person from the inside, they wouldn’t go through such detrimental stages to hurt themselves.
Based on your experience, which of the 10 key messages do you think should be applied with more urgency in your local settings to support people during these challenging times?
COVID-19 has made it exceptionally difficult to continue prevention activities because of the shift of concern towards battling the coronavirus.
Families should focus on children who have been deprived of human contact with friends, teachers and extra care should be given to them by creating fun routines for them, coming up with innovative ideas to keep them busy, and check up on them by actively listening to them. I believe we all are good at communication but are we really good at comprehending and reading between the lines? Children might not be very good at vocalizing their needs, so caregivers should behave patiently and affectionately towards them. People who are away from home or living alone should also be given support through care; neighbors can act as pseudo-family members. Communities need to come together and act as a big protective factor.
How would you motivate young people to participate in the Youth Forum?
I believe that we are not the future anymore; we are the present. We need to carry out activities so that we’re helping people in the future and in the present.
So for anyone interested in prevention work, we need to realize that there still is time. No matter what your age is, what your major or background is. You don’t have to be from a social science background, you just need that zeal of helping people. If you believe in the concept of prevention, and you have those values, I think you can change the world.
Made possible with the generous support of France.