Within days, protests in Nepal reshaped the country’s politics. A government social media ban was the spark, but years of frustration with systemic corruption drove thousands into the streets. People were killed, many more injured, curfews were imposed, leaders resigned, parliament was dissolved, and Nepal appointed its first female interim Prime Minister. Elections are now planned for March 2026, with a reformist cabinet promising change.

This interview was conducted with our Civic Charge fellow, Prince Shah Chaudhary, CEO of SpeakUp Nepal, about his vision for youth-driven accountability.

The events in Nepal over the past few days have been seismic. What do you make of them?

Prince: Morale is strong despite the pressure. We’ve moved some activities online and are prioritizing safety, documentation, and legal coordination. Community support remains steady, which gives us the strength to continue. Democracy is not abstract – it is lived and tested in moments like these. For us, the challenge is to keep building trust and ensuring citizen voices are not silenced.

Could you start by telling us a little about yourself and what first inspired you to work at the intersection of civic technology and accountability?

Prince:  I come from Lalbandi Municipality, Sarlahi District, Madhesh Province, a small town in the Madheshi community, an indigenous and underrepresented community that has long been underrepresented in Nepal. Growing up, I saw resilience in people, but silence in the system. My elders would often ask: “सरकारले हाम्रो कुरा सुन्छ?” (Does the government ever listen to us?). That feeling of invisibility stayed with me. When I moved to Kathmandu in 2016 for higher studies, I realised this wasn’t just a local issue; it was systemic. Citizens everywhere lacked structured ways to raise concerns. Outrage existed on social media and in protests, but there was no civic infrastructure to follow through. That’s when civic tech began to make sense to me, not as a buzzword, but as a way to redesign trust. Civic tech bridges the emotional and the institutional: converting frustration into public feedback mechanisms. For me, this wasn’t a career choice; it felt like a civic duty. As someone rooted in a rural district but working in the capital, I have always carried this question: how can we make democracy feel more real, and how can we make democracy a part of everyday life, even in the most forgotten corners of Nepal? This question still drives everything I do.

SpeakUp Nepal has become a well-recognised petition platform. What is its origin story, and what impact has it had so far?

Prince: SpeakUp Nepal began as a shared frustration. Our co-founder, Sojan Pratap Pathak, returned from work in Germany, determined to do something for his community. He came back not only with technical expertise but with a deep emotional urge to rebuild trust between citizens and the state. I joined as Program Coordinator and, six months later, became CEO. Today our team has four members. In two years, we’ve hosted 545 petitions, gathered 23,000+ signatures, sent six petitions to Parliament, and received 21 official government responses. We’ve engaged four ministries, multiple MPs, and the Prime Minister’s Office. Beyond numbers, the real impact lies in shifting civic action from shouting into a void to structured, trackable action. We are not just building a website. We are building a new muscle in democracy.

Can you share an example of a campaign or petition that made a real difference through SpeakUp Nepal?

Prince: The petition for Justice for Sumad Rani Tharu. She was a 23-year-old Indigenous woman who was murdered, and her case was neglected for months. Her mother staged a hunger strike but was ignored; even newspapers demanded payment to cover her story. Early in our journey, activist Rakshya Bam reached out and asked us to help. We met Sumad’s mother, who had just arrived in Kathmandu, and decided to act. We built a campaign using storytelling, poetry, and art that preserved Sumitra’s dignity while amplifying her case. The campaign gained traction, was raised in Parliament, and even caught the attention of the Home Minister’s team, who called us after seeing it on Instagram. Eventually, the suspect, who had fled to India, was arrested within two months of filing the petition. More importantly, her name didn’t disappear. Her mother told us: “छोरीलाई बिर्सिएका थिए, तर अब मानिसहरूले फेरि सम्झन थाले।” (They had forgotten my daughter, but now people remember her again.). That taught us that justice isn’t only legal, it is also about remembrance and dignity.

Another moment that captures citizens turning voice into impact?

Prince: Our air pollution campaign in Kathmandu. We asked people to photograph vehicles emitting black smoke and send them in. Overnight, hundreds of videos poured in via Instagram and WhatsApp, and even friends sent me clips directly. We compiled and forwarded them to government agencies, which took action. Citizens saw that their phones could trigger accountability. It shifted mindsets from complaint to documentation, isolation to coordination.

You’ve led across education, climate, and youth spaces. What leadership lessons have stuck with you?

Prince: My journey has been like a classroom. While pitching digital learning in rural schools, I saw budgets spent on computers without power backups, content, or trained teachers. Innovation without context fails. At Future Feed Nepal (a WWF and Save the Children initiative), I learned to craft emotionally resonant campaigns, like our Hunger Walk. We planned for 300 people; over 600 showed up, from cyclists to university deans. It drew national coverage and was even featured by Rotary International, the first time a Nepali project made it that far. That taught me about momentum and accountability. At the U.S. Embassy Youth Council, I spent three years learning what professional civic engagement looks like. It humbled me: talent exists everywhere, but opportunity is centralised. Finally, interning at my hometown municipality showed me how policies are made, and sometimes are lost in translation. It gave me empathy for bureaucracy and reinforced that reform requires bridge-building, not blame-shifting.

How have these experiences shaped your vision of youth leadership in Nepal?

Prince: Youth leadership doesn’t suffer from lack of energy, but from lack of systems. Thousands of young people are doing powerful things, but often in isolation. My vision is to normalise youth participation in governance, not as tokenism, but as structural involvement. Youth leadership should be thoughtful and grounded: able to sit with policymakers while still carrying voices from outside the room.

You’re part of Accountability Lab’s Civic Charge. How has the program influenced your thinking or work?

Prince: Civic Charge came at a crucial time. I was balancing scale with integrity, speed with sustainability. The fellowship gave me space to pause and reflect with global peers. Mentors helped me see accountability as designable systems, not just reactive campaigns. With peer check-ins, workshops, and one-on-one mentorship, I gained clarity and language: SpeakUp Nepal is not just a petition site, it’s a civic trust-building mechanism. I’ve also built relationships with fellows from Bangladesh, Kenya, and Zimbabwe; we continue to share feedback and strategies.

You also participated in HackCorruption (a regional programme that brings together civic leaders and technologists to design digital tools against corruption). What makes it unique for changemakers in Nepal and beyond?

Prince: HackCorruption in 2022 changed me. It gathered innovators from across South Asia. Accountability Lab built an ecosystem of trust, courage, and creativity. Before, my idea for a petition platform lacked structure. Through mentorship, I refined features like petition cycle mapping, user verification, and outcome tracking. More than the tech, the big shift was philosophical: fighting corruption isn’t only about exposing bad actors, it’s about building better systems and mindsets. Digital activism must be legible to power, not just loud.

From your perspective, what are the biggest challenges young people in Nepal face when addressing corruption and strengthening accountability?

Prince: Four stand out: fear, fatigue, fragmentation, and lack of role models. Fear comes from political and social consequences; many are told to stay silent. Fatigue comes from slow or absent results; campaigns can take years, and many burn out. Fragmentation means incredible youth initiatives work in silos, duplicating efforts. And role models are scarce; few public leaders are widely seen as clean. That absence creates cynicism, telling young people they must play by corrupt rules to survive. Without integrity-centered spaces and stories, we risk losing the next generation to apathy.

How do you see technology shaping transparency and civic participation in the coming years?

Prince: My vision is a Nepal where youth participation is structural, not ceremonial. Transparency shouldn’t just be donor language; it should be built into schools, municipalities, Parliament, and public discourse. Civic tech like SpeakUp Nepal should become standard infrastructure for citizen engagement, making petitions, responses, and accountability routine and safe. My vision is a youth-driven democracy, one rooted in honesty, public service, and strategic thinking.

How do you personally stay motivated when the system feels immovable?

Prince: I had opportunities to leave Nepal, but I chose to stay. Some days, I run between ministries with documents, and no one meets me. It’s exhausting. But I remind myself of our users: 25,000+ citizens. If we stop, their hope disappears. I think of mothers like Sumitra’s. I also think of my team, most of whom are students balancing studies and activism. And I remember my mentor’s words: “तिमी आराम गर्न सक्छौ, तर भाग्न सक्दैनौ।” (You can rest, but you cannot run away.). I’ve seen too many “impossible” things become possible to give up.

What’s next for you and SpeakUp Nepal?

Prince: I want to scale across rural municipalities and classrooms. We’re already in talks to replicate the model in Sri Lanka. Beyond tech, I want to shape a new culture of leadership in Nepal: rooted in ethics, empathy, and systems thinking. My journey isn’t about arriving; it’s about staying committed to the slow, necessary work of building trust between people and power, and ensuring that democracy is lived every day, in every corner of the country.

Naseera Noor-Mahomed