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400 Student leaders, 23 districts:
Sri Lanka unites
  Last Wednesday saw the second
annual Future Leaders’ Conference (FLC) of the Sri Lanka Unites (SLU)
youth movement. The venue being the MAS Institute of Management and
Technology in Thulhiriya, this year’s conference brought together 400
young leaders from 80 schools around the country.
The conference was the flagship event of SLU in an attempt to
mobilise young leaders from every ethnicity, religion, class and caste
in a movement that hopes to demonstrate the powerful potential of youth
to devise constructive solutions for a sustainable future.
As the first day of the conference got under way, the organisers were
standing for students to arrive from around the country. The first
students started trickling at 12 p.m. By 3 p.m., more than 300 students
had arrived.
Registration and team allocation got under way thereafter. The mood
was fairly apprehensive as the staff began assigning students into mixed
teams. For some, it will be the first time they’re having the
opportunity to interact with students from different communities.
 A Tamil-speaking student from Mullaitivu was assigned to a group with
a Sinhala-speaking student from Galle who expressed that she is “not
sure what to expect as she has never been at a conference of this
nature.”
The chief guest at the opening ceremony was Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, the
executive director of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, the “largest
people’s organisation in Sri Lanka.” Following Dr. Ariyaratne’s address,
students from the countrywide SLU network were honoured at an awards
ceremony.
These students were recognised for their achievements
conducted under the SLU follow-up program. Some of the awards included
prizes for the club making the highest contribution in relief and
rebuilding, the club with the best student exchange program and the club
with the most creative reconciliation art project.
Students were then introduced to the concept of “reconciliation
through responsible leadership,” using various forms of media and
speeches that were conducted in all three languages. As they were taken
through the themes that will dominate FLC, a student from Jaffna said he
was “excited to enhance leadership skills by working with others from
different backgrounds.” He added that “FLC presents us with a unique
opportunity to meet new people.”
The organisation’s head of the Board of Trustees and former U.N.
Under Secretary General for Disarmament Affairs, Ambassador Jayantha
Dhanapala spoke to the youth leaders with other dignitaries contributing
too. The conference was the key annual event of SLU and is instrumental
in giving the youth of Sri Lanka a unique opportunity to unpack the
concept of reconciliation.
(Text and pix courtesy srilankaunites.blogspot.com)
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