By Anshul Tewari, Founder of Youth Ki Awaaz
When I was finishing my 12th grade in 2008, the digital world was yet to be acquainted with the social media boom. Blogging was the ‘in’ thing, and it was then that Youth Ki Awaaz was conceived—a space dedicated to amplifying young voices. As we celebrate our 16th anniversary, we’re no longer a solitary platform but part of an entire industry around youth expression.
What started at a time when staying silent was the norm has now reached a point where speaking up is the new norm. Young people today are starting their own YKA-like platforms, becoming creators and podcasters, and reclaiming spaces that were once very top-down. Have we reached a point where sufficient spaces exist? Maybe. Have we reached a point where young people’s voices have begun to matter? No. And that is why, Youth Ki Awaaz is taking a big decision for its future, and we’re taking a pivotal decision.
We’re saying goodbye to the thing that we have championed for the last 16 years – our open writing platform and the way we’ve run it. We’re excited to be launching a more dynamic, inclusive model of engagement through “Polls” and “Notes“, something more immediate, inclusive, and impactful: a dedicated public polling platform. This isn’t a goodbye to our roots but an evolution to better serve our mission and your voice.
If you joined YKA with the intention of publishing instantly, and you did, you know how monumental and platform-altering our decision is. To be honest, I was extremely scared to make this decision.
However, over the last year, we have realized time and again that the tactic we launched to achieve our mission is now mainstream enough for us to focus on the next chapter. More writing platforms exist now, and more and more people will solve this problem as well—mostly by building better platforms. We want to encourage and support them and do work that complements this evolution.
It also struck us as odd that while more platforms do exist, it’s become harder to find the more authentic voices and make sense of them—of the world around us. Expression is still important—and YKA can do and be more than just a writing platform to enable that.
And hence, we’re transforming ourselves from a pioneering writing platform to India’s first citizen-generated, civic data platform that uses polls and surveys to derive and shape youth insights. This evolution is about reimagining our dialogue with young India—how we listen, understand, and mobilise the collective voice for tangible impact.
What helped us reach this conclusion? Over the last year alone, YKA has conducted some of the largest youth surveys on topics such as climate change, menstrual hygiene, public infrastructure and the Internet. We’ve published top reports that have also led to submissions to various private and government institutions.
Polls and surveys will now give you a unique way to express yourself MUCH faster and also ensure anonymity while you do that. They will allow us to capture and help you understand real-time insights into what matters most to young India – from climate change to mental health – and transform these insights into actionable advocacy.
And this is not all. The new YKA platform will allow you to create and run your own polls. So next time you’re curious about something and want to hear what others from all over the country think about it – just launch a poll on YKA and get answers.
To add to this, we’re also announcing Notes. Notes are a succinct, structured way to articulate your thoughts, complementing our rich library of narratives. By answering just 5 fixed questions, you can now express yourself in ways that make it easier for people to consume, share and make your story matter. This format streamlines expression, making it easier to engage with critical insights on the go. So while the older format of writing will eventually retire, Notes will take its place to allow faster expression and consumption as well.
What’s more is that we’re also building in rewards for you. The more polls and surveys you take, the more Notes you publish on YKA, and the more points you earn. The points you earn will help you get exciting rewards for participating on the YKA platform. I’ve added some more information in the FAQs below.
All of this content will feed into the insights and analysis that YKA produces, and all of your Notes also help you earn more rewards on the platform.
So, as we usher in a new era of youth expression for a new generation, I really hope you will all support this move, and we’re here to answer any questions you may have.
The team at YKA have compiled answers to some questions you may have about these changes. You can find them below.
— FAQs—
- When will these changes take effect?
The new citizen-generated civic data platform will be released in the second half of April, and we’ll continue to release new features, such as rewards, in the upcoming weeks.
- What happens to my existing content? How long will it remain accessible on the platform?
Your existing content will remain as is. You can continue to view and share the links to your profile and stories. Every new poll you make, or note you publish will get added to your existing profile of content. Even after our transition, from time to time, we will enable long-form writing for specific campaigns where we can make your voice matter more.
- Does this mean I can never write on YKA ever again?
Absolutely not! It just means writing on YKA has a new format. We’re excited to introduce Notes, a new, 5-question structured format that helps you publish faster – and is easier to consume. This content will feed into the insights and analysis YKA produces, and your notes will also help you earn more rewards on the platform.
- What are the rewards, and how can I earn them?
Rewards are a gesture of our appreciation for your vital contributions to YKA. Every action you take on the platform – creating or taking a poll and writing via ‘Notes’- will make you earn an associated number of points. Those points will be redeemable upon crossing important thresholds. We’re in the process of building out the system, and it will be rolled out soon.
- What if I want to write a long-form on YKA?
The option to write long-form content will exist till the time we launch ‘Notes’. However, after the launch, given our transition to a more structured form of writing, i.e., ‘Notes’, writing long-form content will not be an option. Having said that, for certain campaigns, YKA may enable the long-form writing.
- How can I access ‘Polls’ and ‘Notes’?
We are launching ‘Polls’ and ‘Notes’ in the second half of April. We’ll email you about it, so be sure to watch out.
- How can I become a part of YKA’s future?
When we launch our new polling platform, you will be able to curate your own feed based on where you’re from and the topics you are passionate about. The new YKA platform will also allow you to create and run your own polls. So next time you’re curious, just launch a poll on YKA and get answers. Every member of the YKA community will also be given the opportunity to become a part of a sub-community of data champions. But more on that later.
- Will you continue to edit and review our stories?
We won’t be reviewing any stories until the launch of our new platform – however, you can still continue publishing your stories. If you have an important and time-sensitive story, please write to us at info@youthkiawaaz.com with the subject ‘Important Story’. We’ll resume our regular review process after April 15.
- Can I see the results of the polls and surveys I participate in?
Yes, absolutely. You can do that by going to your profile, clicking on ‘Polls’ and seeing the total number of votes. We will also create mechanisms to notify you when you cross certain vote thresholds.
- How will the anonymity of my responses be ensured in polls and surveys?
The poll results will not contain any personal or identifiable data. They will only map the information you volunteer to share with us, including your gender, location, state, and year of birth.
- What kind of rewards can I earn through participation?
We are building a rewards system for you. While we’re a few weeks away from launching it, be assured that every poll you take today onwards will be counted. For now, whenever we write to you, we will share the rewards that you will be receiving for taking a survey or poll on YKA. When the rewards system is live, the points will begin reflecting on your profile.
- Will there be a limit on the number of polls I can create or participate in?
No, nope, nada.
- What happens if I disagree with the way a poll is phrased? Can I report it?
We are building a report feature, but in the meantime, you can either write to us via the contact form or comment on the post and share your thoughts with the creator of the poll.
- How will you ensure the quality and accuracy of data collected through polls and surveys?
We trust you and believe that most people are willing to contribute as much meaningfully to society as possible! However, we do have a team of researchers who use data analysis tools and techniques to identify and filter out reporting errors before analysing the data. We also have a feature that disables more than one vote from an account, thereby removing the possibility of a single person answering a poll multiple times.
- Will there be a way to filter polls by demographics or interests?
Yes, there will be. We’re announcing the new platform in April itself, and once it’s live, you’ll be able to filter polls demographically and by issues/topics as well.
- Can “Notes” be longer than the answer to the five questions?
There are only five questions that you can answer. You will have over 800 characters to answer each question and over 4000 characters in total to share your entire story.
- Can I edit or delete my “Notes” after they are submitted?
Yes, you can edit ‘Notes’ after they’re submitted, but before the YKA content team has reviewed them. To modify content after the review process, write to us at info@youthkiawaaz.com, and we’ll help you out. However, due to the volume of submissions, expect delays in responses, and we advise you to revise and be thorough with your content before hitting the publish button.
- Will there be an option to download my existing content?
No, unfortunately, we don’t have that option right now.
- How will the platform handle potential misuse of polls and surveys, like spreading misinformation?
While polls and notes will be published instantly, much like our earlier writing format, we’ll have a moderation system and a content review team to check for misleading content before it gets listed for larger public consumption. We’ll also use data analysis techniques to identify suspicious patterns and flag potential misuse. Finally, we’ll promote responsible polling and educate users on creating clear and unbiased polls to ensure data quality. This is an ongoing process, and we’re excited to build this with you. If you have thoughts and feedback, don’t hesitate to write to us via the Contact Us form.
- How can I provide feedback on the new platform and features?
To request a new feature, please go to your profile, click on Edit Profile, and scroll down to find the ‘Request a new Feature’ option. For any other general feedback, please use the Contact Us form.
- Can I delete my content and profile from YKA?
Yes, of course. You can write to us at info@youthkiawaaz.com with a request to delete your content. Due to the volume of emails, we might not be able to reply immediately, but we will surely respond within a week. We’ll be sad to see you go, though. If you’re confused about your content and want to chat about these changes, just drop us an email; we’d love to help you and ease this process for you.