Engaging with policy as a young person: how to get started?
Next up in the Cambridge Global Shapers Hub blog series is Akhila Jayaram, a PhD researcher at the University of Cambridge keen to solve healthcare challenges through a fundamental understanding of protein-membrane interactions. Akhila’s past experience includes undergraduate research in India, UK and Canada, and a year in industry as a Materials Scientist at GSK. She is also passionate about education, gender equality, youth leadership and women empowerment through her involvement with various international non-profit organisations. Outside her studies, she is the Executive Director of Polygeia, a global-health think tank based across UK, US, Hong Kong, Sweden and Nigeria. She is also the Co-Director of Innovation and International Relations Research at Shaping Horizons, an initiative championing the use of science diplomacy to bridge international relations.
Growing up in India, the world’s largest democracy, policymaking and politics was an integral part of my life. Most of the adults who I looked up to, however, seemed to engage in critical discussions with a resigning acceptance that a few individuals cannot bring about any change. Personally, I accepted this to be the status quo until I moved to the UK.
Policy can often seem like a loaded yet vague term. My first impression was that it all happens behind closed doors and, as a member of the public, one only gets to experience the final implementation. Indeed, this is what often happens - which often results in people, and more particularly youth, feeling disempowered. So how did I go about changing that?
Given my academic bent of mind, my primary avenue was to gain knowledge. However, as a physical scientist by background, the world of macroeconomics and social policy didn’t come as naturally to me. That’s when I looked for online courses that could help me break it down further. If you’re new to public policy, I would highly recommend looking up the Eightfold path to policy analysis by Eugene Bardach. For the scientists and engineers who thrive on logical thinking, it offers a step-by-step framework to proposing a policy solution without being too prescriptive. Rather, it is so flexible that one can even apply it to solving conundrums related to science and more broadly to life.
Moving on, there are plenty of certificate courses cropping up all around the world. While a Master in Public Policy is often aimed at mid-career professionals, the short courses are generally accessible to those from any background. Given my upbringing, I chose one focused on the Indian public policy scene and benefited greatly from it. Throughout the course, I understood how policy goes beyond party political lines and how the State is constantly balancing multiple priorities through push-pull mechanisms. Suddenly, I seemed to gain more appreciation for our lawmakers and civil servants, for it is not an easy job to run a country.
Having now read about all the theoretical aspects, you must be wondering — “So what if I know all this? How can I use it to effect change and reach policymakers?” Well, there are multiple avenues to pursue here as well — the simplest of which is to create a blog and regularly start sharing your thoughts around policy matters. For those of you who want to take it up a notch, you could even try submitting a byline to a newspaper and getting an op-ed accepted. It does take a while to get accepted, but getting your voice out there as a young person can be very rewarding.
However, if you do not want to go it alone, there are youth-led organisations you can get involved in too! The UK has a realm of student-led think-tanks (disclaimer: I currently run one myself) where you get to work with other young people on often under-researched topics and present your opinions to senior stakeholders, who you might not encounter otherwise. There are also organisations such as the UN Major Group for Children and Youth who are more focused on advocacy if you prefer a more active role in influencing policy, in comparison to more traditional desk research. One other piece of advice I would give to someone trying to navigate the world of policy is to also build your network — the Global Shapers community is one great example of this!
In a world that’s growing increasingly polarised, we are in the need for rational and diverse perspectives from young people more than ever. The future is bright and is ours — so let’s shape it together!
