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A New Beginning: Young Jains of America
The idea of forming an umbrella youth organization was spearheaded in 1989 at the 5th JAINA convention in Toronto, Canada. Dr. Urmila Talsania of Chicago, Illinois, began the efforts with Young Jains of America (YJA). Two years later at the 6th JAINA Convention in Stanford California, many youth became involved in Dr. Talsania's efforts and they established a network of youth across the continent with youth contacts in each region. Much momentum was generated at the convention for the organization.
Finally at the 7th JAINA Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, an impromptu YJA meeting was held which approximately 50 youth attended. Among these youth were many from the Stanford Convention and also many new faces. A majority of the youth felt that the JAINA Convention due to its format, was not conducive to hold youth meetings and produce a viable result.
Therefore, it was decided to hold a YJA Youth Leadership Conference in Chicago on August 7-8, 1993. The delegation consisted of Dr. Urmila Talsania, (the JAINA Youth Coordinator), ten youth from around the country, and five youth from Metropolitan Chicago. The main purpose of this delegation was to formalize YJA and to provide clear goals and a purpose for the organization in order to formulate a solid action plan.
The two days of the conference were indeed very productive and many solid decisions were made. Young Jains of America will aspire to impart the Jaina heritage to the next generation. Its main function shall be to raise awareness of Jain ideals and principles amongst the youth. This will be accomplished through various activities which encompass the spiritual, religious, cultural and social aspects of the Jain heritage. YJA will incorporate existing local youth organizations under its umbrella, and also help form new local youth groups and foster them.
The delegation selected an Executive Board which will serve as the decision-making body until July 1995. This Transition Executive Board set modest goals for itself for the 1993-1994 year. One of the goals will be to draft a formal document and have it ratified by the end of 1994. The Transition Executive Board will also be involved in establishing sound communication channels with all the various youth groups across the continent.
The fall of 1993 served as a period for the continent to become familiar with this new organization, Young Jains of America. This was done with a variety of publications reaching many people across North America. This was a brochure produced by the public relations Committee relating the basic goals, objectives, and agenda of YJA. Youth and adults received this with a surprise as a sign that YJA was serious about continuing the Jain heritage. Also, YJA published its own magazine, Young Minds, in November as a triannual publication containing Jain articles and Jain youth news. The Jain Digest also served as a key tool to introduce YJA to all Jains in North America. All these publications served to produce quite a strong reputation for YJA showing the dedication of youth across the continent to the survival of Jainism.
To reassess the work of the fall of 1993 and focus on the agenda for the spring and summer of 1994, the Transition Executive Board met in Houston, Texas during January 7-9, 1994. ten
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