Damith Chandana is a 21 year old school leaver who lives in Uda Bowala village in Kandy. He studied in Kingswood College and now he is continuing his further education.
He is regularly engaged in community work with his peers in the area. Last August, he saw a Facebook post on the iVoice Idea Competition which called for innovative ideas from young people to address social issues in their community.
He participated in an awareness session conducted by iVoice in Kandy and submitted an idea. His idea was selected as one of the best 20 ideas and he was invited to a workshop to improve his concept to a feasible project through mentorship and guidance from experts.
Ultimately, his proposal was selected as one of the best 10 ideas and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Sri Lanka offered him Rs.100,000/= seed capital to implement it.
Damith lives near Kandy city. He has a younger sister who is studying for G.C.E. Advanced Level examinations. His father works in the Prisons Department and his mother is a housewife. The entire family uses public transport often even though they have a private car. He used to walk to school but uses public transport daily to attend tuition classes and community work.
"I have noticed harrassment taking place in public transport but the victims mostly remain silent. Most often they do not complain or ask for help. Had they complained openly, I think the issue could be brought to the surface. That might ultimately serve the purpose of changing attitudes and perspectives of the people in terms of harrassment in public transport," Damith argues.
Therefore, he submitted an idea related to this issue. He wanted to conduct an awareness session in his community on this issue and create a video based on the views of the participants.
With the support of the Kandy Youth Forum of American Embassy, Damith conducted a workshop for 44 persons on 26th November 2017. He used social media and posters to give publicity to this public seminar. The majority of the participants of the programme was girls aged between 14 and 25. Most of them were school students.
"As a young man, this is the first time I led the organizing of a programme like this. The experience I gained from is highly valuable for my future," Damith pointed out.
Dr. W. Jayathilaka of Perdeniya University was the key resource person in the workshop. He defined harrassment in public transport and guided the participants to propose ways to act against the menace. Kandy American Corner also helped Damith to deliver the programme. Amuthu Creations was helping him in video.
"During the practical session, the participants suggested conducting more similar workshops, using poster campaigns and producing videos to make aware people regarding the harrassment in public transport. Based on their views I am now producing a video to be used to take forward this dialogue. We must end this," Damith said.
Await Damith's video.
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