Association for Democratic Reforms and Live Foundation, Jharkhand organized a State level consultation on ‘Youth and Democracy’ on Saturday at Ranchi Press Club. The event saw participation of at least 120 students from four noted universities.

The consultation was organised to disseminate the message that electoral reform is the need of the hour and candidates with criminal background shouldn't be allowed to file nomination.

Addressing the gathering, senior Journalist Madhukar stressed the importance of voting and said that voting is perhaps the most important thing a citizen can do to support a democratic form of government. “A democracy is a system in which the people have a voice in the decisions taken for their community and countrymen. Voting has long been the method used to determine the will of the citizenry. Without the power to vote, a citizen is essentially voiceless,” he added.

“Voting is a basic process that keeps a nation’s government machinery functional. It enables the citizens to choose their own government. It also allows the people to choose their representatives in the Government. The purpose of every government is to develop and implement various policies for the benefit of its citizens. Every adult is given the right to vote, irrespective of sex, class, occupation and so forth,” said Madhukar.

A Social Media Specialist Sunny Sarad said that as the popularity of social media has risen over the last few years, marketing campaigns have seen a shift as well. “Traditional print or media advertisements have made way for videos on social media, aimed toward consumers of content and the shift makes sense as videos encourage engagement through click. Many users find videos helpful when finding causes to support or places to volunteer. People are more likely to choose video over the text, and 95 percent of viewers remember a video clip rather than a blog or text,” he added.