Yes I definitely do. And as a Sri Lankan youth I not only feel it, but face it every day. In Sri Lanka one quarter of the total population are youth. And if you take the ‘big picture’, there are 1.8 Billion young people around the world. So these ‘big numbers’ not only broadcast ‘big challenges’ but also ‘big possibilities’ for youth. And today it is indeed really tough to spot a mortal young being who does not claim to play a lead role in this ‘big drive’ of youth towards social change, constructing the future they want.
Undoubtedly. Especially if you take Sri Lanka’s role in recognizing youth as agents of social change via mechanisms like youth federation clubs, youth parliament, youth provincial councils and other youth networks, which are leading and feeding to the nation-shaping- strategies. Moreover by being the first country in the entire south Asia to have hosted the World Conference on Youth 2014 we have not only attracted global attention but respect towards the keen commitment on mainstreaming youth in the post-2015 development agenda.
Having studied at Musaeus College, I joined University of London to do my Bachelor of Law along with a Professional Qualification in Human Resource Management. And my biggest challenge was definitely ‘time management’. Because studies were certainly not the only thing I wanted to do. From day one, I wanted to do something for the society. Therefore, I actively undertook numerous social activities, along with my studies. I completed my undergraduate studies at the age of 19 and didn’t realize that I’m one of the youngest Bachelor of Law holders in Sri Lanka until my overall performance was recognized by the campus. Soon through a strenuous selection process, I was selected by the Government of Sri Lanka, as the youngest to be among the top 20 global leaders to organize the World Conference on Youth 2014.
Currently I’m pursuing my Attorney’s and intend to Master in Human Rights and International Legal Studies.
However, nothing I’ve done can be compared to what I am about to do. Currently I’m advocating for a legislative amendment to the Penal Code of Sri Lanka to unambiguously recognize the offence of sexual harassment in public transport and developing the first-ever provincial sensitive youth policies in the Island while imploring mechanisms to ensure gender equality in disaster risk reduction practices of Sri Lanka as-a-bring-back- home from the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, Sendai, Japan 2015.
It is the simple realization that in Sri Lanka, we have so much unfulfilled youth potential due to gaps either in the level of policy making or implementation. Therefore, as a social change entrepreneur at UNFPA, I believe I have now been given a key to unlock the youth potential of this country.
That responsibility itself as a social change agent keeps me on my toes every day to ensure that I do my best to bring a more collaborative effort of social change in the country by youth, for youth.
I believe that Sri Lanka should definitely set up a more comprehensive mechanism to recognize the amount of work that has been undertaken by various youth networks and provide them with adequate knowledge on sustainability and most importantly on ‘advocacy’. Because, due to the lack of financial constrictions and the inadequate awareness and dissemination of international practices, majority of the youth are confined to community level activism. Most therefore function under the misconception that advocacy and policy level activities are ‘none of their business’. While in reality it is a must, that youth are aware of the policy level decisions and changes on every single policy that affects youth. Therefore they should be empowered to be equal partners of policy level changes as a mechanism to bridge the massive generational gap by recognizing and investing in youth as accountable volunteers in the process of the implementation and monitoring of national policies and practices.
(This article was originally published in www.kiyanna.lk. That site is now changed to www.ivoice.lk owned by SDJF and supported by UNFPA)
iVoice Idea Competition
iVoice is an online platform that encourages youth to discuss social issues and to drive innovative solutions. The platform features stories relating to social issues in Sri Lanka, which are submitted by iVoice contributors and the general public.
The objective of the iVoice Idea Competition is to encourage youth to play a participatory role in solving social issues. After reading a story featured on iVoice, youth can submit their ‘idea’ to help to address the social issue that is highlighted in the story. The ten best ideas will receive seed capital of Rs. 100,000/- each, and mentoring, to support in implementing their ideas.
The majority of articles featured on iVoice relate to a social issue. These stories have a ‘Submit Your Idea’ button at the end of the article, inviting youth to share their innovative ideas on how to address these social issues.
Submitted ideas must be innovative and unique. The ideas must also be practical and implementable by 31 December 2017.
The deadline for submitting an idea is 3 September 2017.
To submit an idea, the following details must be provided through the online form:
Note: Participants can submit any number of ideas; however, only one idea per article is permitted.
Ideas will be evaluated through a competitive process.
03 Sept 2017: Closing of submissions at 23:59 on 3 September 2017
06 Sept 2017: Shortlisting of 20 ideas
13 Sept 2017: Shortlisted applicants to present their ideas in further detail to the judging panel
21 Sept 2017: The ten winning ideas will be announced at the Award Ceremony at which Rs. 100,000/- seed capital will be granted to each of the winning applicants
Evaluation criteria includes creativity of the proposed idea to address the given social issue, and feasibility of implementation within the stipulated budget and timeframe.
The number of votes received per idea will not be a deciding factor.
The judging panel’s decision will be final.
iVoice Idea Competition
iVoice is an online platform that encourages youth to discuss social issues and to drive innovative solutions. The platform features stories relating to social issues in Sri Lanka, which are submitted by iVoice contributors and the general public.
The objective of the iVoice Idea Competition is to encourage youth to play a participatory role in solving social issues. After reading a story featured on iVoice, youth can submit their ‘idea’ to help to address the social issue that is highlighted in the story. The ten best ideas will receive seed capital of Rs. 100,000/- each, and mentoring, to support in implementing their ideas.
The majority of articles featured on iVoice relate to a social issue. These stories have a ‘Submit Your Idea’ button at the end of the article, inviting youth to share their innovative ideas on how to address these social issues.
Submitted ideas must be innovative and unique. The ideas must also be practical and implementable by 31 December 2017.
The deadline for submitting an idea is 3 September 2017.
To submit an idea, the following details must be provided through the online form:
Note: Participants can submit any number of ideas; however, only one idea per article is permitted.
Ideas will be evaluated through a competitive process.
03 Sept 2017: Closing of submissions at 23:59 on 3 September 2017
06 Sept 2017: Shortlisting of 20 ideas
13 Sept 2017: Shortlisted applicants to present their ideas in further detail to the judging panel
21 Sept 2017: The ten winning ideas will be announced at the Award Ceremony at which Rs. 100,000/- seed capital will be granted to each of the winning applicants
Evaluation criteria includes creativity of the proposed idea to address the given social issue, and feasibility of implementation within the stipulated budget and timeframe.
The number of votes received per idea will not be a deciding factor.
The judging panel’s decision will be final.
I agree to the following:
- My story is my own work and does not contain plagiarized material or violate any copyright infringements
- My work is subjected to an editorial committee review that may add, remove, or amend my story, if necessary, to enhance its value
- The editorial committee has the right to decide whether or not my story is published
- My story can be shared or reposted on any other platform that iVoice has partnered or affiliated with at any given instance. However, my identity will be protected
- By agreeing to ‘Allow Ideas submission from iVoice community’, I allow anyone to submit an Idea or solution to my story
- Ideas submitted under my story belong solely to the individual submitting the idea and I will not be held accountable to its content.
- I have carefully read and understood the iVoice Guidelines