If you’ve got a story that addresses a social issue in Sri Lanka – we want to hear from you! As a contributor for iVoice, you will inspire others in your community and bring awareness to issues relating to youth, women, the elderly, and the population at large. iVoice is always looking for new contributors to expand our community!
Strengthening and supporting the voice of children and youth is extremely vital in creating a vibrant society, where diversity is respected; acknowledged; celebrated and tolerated. It is also highly important to realize that the children and youth can propose extremely creative and sustainable remedies to transform complex social conflicts…
Sri Lanka Ministry of Education and the National Child Protection Authority have started seperate investigations against a school principal on an incident of sacking a girl from a school suspecting she was vommiting because of pregnancy. Newspapers reported that the teenage girl who had not eaten breakfast due to poverty had…
On 30 September 2017, the United Nations celebrated the International Translation Day for the first time paying tribute to the work of translators who play an important role in bringing nations together, facilitating dialogue, creating understanding and cooperation, contributing to development and strengthening world peace and security. On 24 May 2017, UN General…
In August 2017, iVoice made a public call to youth around the island to submit their innovative ideas that address a social issue in their community. Over 100 innovative ideas were submitted that ranged from solid waste management to improving reproductive health education in schools, to awareness sessions on gender-based violence.…
We are happy to announce the 20 shortlisted best ideas of the iVoice innovative idea competition selected by the independent panel of judges. The 20 shortlisted competitors will participate in the final round of the competition on 20 and 21 September in Colombo. With the assistance of iVoice team, Sri…
Ministry of Women and Child Affairs is in the process of submitting a comprehensive National Action Plan for Women Headed Households to the Cabinet for approval, prior to the initial hearings of the 2018 Budget. In Sri Lanka, one in four households are headed by women, of which…
According to Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey – 2015, only 38.5 percent of Sri Lankan women over 20 years of age are in the labour force. One major reason for women to be out of labour force is the obligations towards children. Childcare is mainly mother's duty in Sri Lankan social…
The way the movies get their names is interesting. I wrote about Iraj Weerarathna’s Cleopatra You Tube movie arguing that it was promoting rape and violence against women. I wrote that the name Cleopatra given to the main character of the video had no connection to the 1st century…
Is Social media creating the illusion of activism? An interesting question asked by a participant @thariqfuad at the question and answer session held after the panel discussion in the official launch of iVoice.lk (Await for video of the event) In the following video, some…
Rohan is an A/L student from Sabaragamuwa. He has volunteered and been part of several youth groups and United Nations youth programmed. Rohan believes that comprehensive reproductive education is lacking in Sri Lanka. Here’s an interview at the UNFPA Sabaragamuwa Youth Policy Stakeholder Consultation. (This article was originally published in…
Today the Daily Mirror reported that the national plan to make Sri Lanka self-sufficient by 2020 may not happen. Apparently, our cattle and buffalo population had decreased by 7.2% in 2013, and in 2014 that fell by a massive 21%. There’s more about it here in the Agriculture…
October 11 was the International Day of the Girl Child. This year’s theme was “Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress: A Global Data Movement” which means that what counts for girls is to be counted. United Nations General Assembly voted to pass the resolution 66/170 on December 19, 2011 adopting October 11, 2012…
“Thanks to free education and the vernacular education, we are doing well in education,” said Dr. Iresha M. Lakshman who authored Educating Sri Lankans for Development, a thematic report based on Census of Population and Housing 2012. She expressed these views participating in the Generation to Generation Dialogue organized by…
“As we get older, our rights do not change. As we get older, we are no less human and should not become invisible,” says Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. Tutu, now 83, is concerned that national statistics and development policies often ignore the needs and conditions of older people.…