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| Sunday, 9 October 2005 |
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Youth
conference dispels false notions
by Thava Sajitharan Uva's capital Badulla, surrounded by compact mountains and perennial streams hosted the National Youth Convention 2005 from Sept. 29 to October 2 on the theme 'Youth, your energy is to build and grow'. The National Youth Convention is annually organised by 'Caritas Sri Lanka' also known as Social and Economic Development Centre (SEDEC), an organisation functioning under 'Catholic Bishop's Conference of Sri Lanka'. Around 1,000 young participants representing all communities and religions from various parts of the country including North and East took part in this year's events. The convention emphasised on the need to have lasting peace and solidarity among communities. Programs scheduled for the first day commenced with the 'Peace March' that concluded at the Vincent Dias Stadium where the rest of the programs were to be held. Religious rites pertaining to all four religions were observed following the hoisting of National, Uva Province, Wellassa flags and flags of Caritas (Sri Lanka) and Caritas (Badulla). Religious leaders at the venue performed the rites. Delivering the inaugural speech Rev. Dr. Raymond Fernando who is the Chairman of Justice, Peace and Human Development Commission of Catholic Bishop's Conference said that 'Youth are the backbone of the country' and insisted peace should be brought to the island for them to lead a harmonious life. Although the convention was to reflect on commonalities of all religions and communities, songs occasionally sung in praise of Jesus Christ during the programs and the dominant presence of Christian priests tacitly denoted the significance rendered to Christianity The Executive Director of SEDEC Rev. Damien Fernando in his speech noted that the convention was a part of their agenda to promote peace, unity and national reconciliation among all citizens of Sri Lanka. The second day of the convention was to reinforce human rights. 'Human rights program, as it was called was preceded by usual religious observances. All the participants were made to line up in a straight line in the centre of the Stadium and asked whether they could figure anything contrary to the fact that they were all human beings. Hence they were told that everyone was entitled to equal rights. Rev. Fernando who was conducting the program told the youth that "in order to do peace activities, you need to be sensitive to other's feelings. When Sunday Observer sought the opinion of the participants as well as others who viewed the program about the convention many of them expressed what they saw on the positive side. Nimal Bandara (19), a participant from Badulla said that all the misled preconceptions he had towards other communities, especially the Tamil people from the North and East were thoroughly evaporated after participating in the convention as he had an opportunity to interact with those who had come from there. Orla Fagar, a journalist reporting on tsunami recovery for Caritas (Ireland website) said that such programs should be encouraged as it would help bring peace. Vimaleshwaran (22) who came from Jaffna also shared his happiness that he was exposed to things that he had never thought of and believed the experience he had gained from the convention would help him in many ways. On the third day, participants were divided into several groups and were taken to surrounding villages and estates of Badulla where they did 'Shramadana' work, repairing damaged roads and playgrounds. Meanwhile a press conference was held on the second day to brief the
regional journalists about the convention. Speaking on the occasion SEDEC
officials elaborated on the tsunami relief work that is being carried out by
the organisation and also reiterated that the objective of the convention
was to "instil peace in the minds of the youth". |
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