YouthLead Ambassadors Paola and Shriya will discuss the current state of access to quality education in their countries and what can be done to improve.

About this event

As we continue to strive for a world where all youth around the globe have access to a quality education, we must advocate for equitable access as a basic human right as well as address societal inhibitors to universal education. Join two YouthLead Ambassadors from India and Venezuela on Friday, June 25, 2021 to discuss the current state of access to quality education in their countries and what can be done to improve upon them.


With one of the largest populations in the world, India is experiencing a growing inequity gap that is leaving many youths who cannot afford a private education underserved. Shirya Shankar will describe the unique challenges faced by India that began in 2009 with the introduction of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) that is driving a gap between children being educated at public schools and those whose families can afford to send them to private schools. Shirya Shankar will explore how several nonprofits are working to address this issue—including her own, the Project Sitara Foundation, which provides inclusive and accessible education to children from underserved communities in Karnataka, India.


In Venezuela, three out of 10 school-aged people are excluded from the education system, and those students who are enrolled face a dearth of reliable transportation, study areas, and scholarships—all of which are contributing to a high rate of student desertion. At the same time, teacher dropout is high, reflecting working conditions that are among the worst in Latin America. Paola Martínez Landrán will explore how the decline of Venezuela’s educational system has been affected by larger systematic pitfalls and their driving factors, and propose specific policy recommendations for these issues.

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