Policy Leadership Advocacy Action Network for Youth

Our Story

The Policy Leadership Advocacy Action Network for Youth (PLAN Y) initiative began as a crusade against deeply stigmatized societal issues of mental health and bullying. It gained steam post the pandemic when long periods of isolation spurred uncertainty, anxiety, and fatigue, along with significant increases in cyberbullying among children. The pandemic also exposed stark differences in resources available to public school and private school students.

Pained by her classmates’ concerns around mental wellbeing, Samaya Chauhan felt compelled to campaign for and act in favour of those impacted. Through independent surveys and counselling, she sought to understand the reasons behind bullying behaviours and how to manage them, addressing both sides of the victim and the bully.

In addition to schools, Samaya and her team partnered with Blind Relief Associations and Old Age homes, extending their support to vulnerable groups, listening to their stories, and offering comfort through change. She has since collaborated with organizations to give youth the tools, resources, and platform to actively engage in policymaking, advocacy, and transformative action, particularly in areas of mental health, girl child empowerment, senior citizen welfare, cybersafety, space technology, and climate change.

Today, PLAN Y has transformed into a youth network of 350+ student members.

Meet our Founder –
Samaya Chauhan

Driven by a vision to end the loss of lives due to bullying and trolling, Samaya founded the 'Anti-Bullying Police' (under the ambit of PLAN Y), which consists of Anti-Bullying Ambassadors in 500+ schools who identify bullies, educate them, and protect victims by providing them with tools and resources to navigate adversities.

She has created Anti-Bullying Toolkits that are useful resources for parents and educators and undertaken various campaigns and workshops on cyber safety and security standards, workplace wellness initiatives, and fundraisers for mental health associations and peer support groups.

Recognizing that her peers express themselves through different forms, she conceptualized Art Therapy workshops, through which children of all ages come forward and pour their hearts out through graffiti and beautiful paintings depicting their innermost feelings. The Art campaign began in schools and was extended to campuses, allowing college students to exchange ideas and portray the anguish caused by bullying.

Samaya strongly believes in advocating change and taking concrete action toward it. She has interacted with policymakers and discussed policies supporting mental health and bullying prevention in schools, workplaces, and public spaces to drive systemic changes. She has actively drafted white papers and presented them to think tanks, championing more efficient and stringent legislation regarding cyberbullying, mental health, and the inclusion of cyber safety in school curricula. Her initiatives have benefited 50,000 students in 7 states in India.

Beyond her work as an Anti-Bullying crusader, Samaya holds many leadership positions in school, such as President of the TEDx Club and Director of the Interact Club. She recently interned with Google and looks forward to learning from the best before pursuing higher education.