CHOGM
Commonwealth Youth Council set up
 Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana reporting from the CommonwealthYouth
Forum in Hambantota
The newly laid tarmac motorways built to international standards
gives an electrifying feeling to any visitor who has been to the area a
couple of years ago and seeing the difference now.
It’s not once or twice a first time traveller would lose the way in
this maze of sophisticated highways and flyovers circling Magam
Ruhunupura which could be seen only in ultra -developed countries.
Colourful flags flutter to the surge of the warm but abundantly blowing
breeze of the Dry Zone generating a blissful and exciting thought that
the grand structure stands tall in the clear blue sky harbouring the
blazing sun.
The atmosphere was transformed and dull, hot Hambantota turned into a
small oasis embracing the exuberant youth spirit arriving from all parts
of the world. The With no exaggeration the Magam Ruhunupura
International Conference Centre is truly an eye catching icon.
The five-day- long Youth Forum of the Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting concluded in grand style on Thursday in Hambantota,
not only as another significant international event but as a turning
point that paved the way for future world youth activities by setting up
the Commonwealth Youth Council.
The forum was attended by 119 participants from 42 Commonwealth
countries worldwide of which 97 were foreign youth delegates while
several thousand youth took part in the event locally. This was a
significant number compared to previous Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF)
held in Perth in Western Australia in 2011.
The forum was inaugurated by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and
Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma at the Magam Ruhunupura
International Conference Centre (MRICC) in Hambantota. President
Rajapaksa pledged his fullest support and cooperation to the vibrant
youth community while reminiscing his career in becoming the leader of
the country from being the youngest member of Parliament.
The Government expressed its desire that if the CYC head office was
permanently located in Hambantota it would bear the entire expenses of
the Council for the next two years.
The nine member Commonwealth Youth Council which would be equal to
the Commonwealth Youth Program was formed on Wednesday having passed the
constitution for the CYC which was drafted in Papua New Guinea last
year. Youth representatives of 35 Commonwealth countries who were at the
forum individually signed and passed the constitution which was
unanimously adopted by its members.
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Youth delegates
arriving at the conference |
An election was held to appoint the candidates for Vice Chairperson
and Regional Representatives of the Youth Council, said Mohamed Husni,
one of the candidates. for the post of Vice Chairperson.
Online voting
An online voting system was in place for six hours for participating
and non-participating countries of the Commonwealth to appoint members
to eight council posts including three Vice Chairperson posts, four
Regional Representatives and a single vacancy for a Representative for
Special Interest Groups. The post of Chairperson was uncontested from
the African/EU region according to an understanding of the members of
the Commonwealth Youth Caucus.
The Youth Caucus is a body of youth representatives that support the
Commonwealth Youth Programme and meets at national, regional and
pan-commonwealth levels.
The Youth Caucus is represented in the Commonwealth Youth Ministers
Meeting and helps to organise the Commonwealth Youth Forum which meets
prior to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
The event has been organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Skills Development, Sri Lanka Youth Services Council,Commonwealth Youth
Program (CYP) and the Youth Affairs Division and Youth Exchange Council
of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
The Youth Led Task Force (YLTF) acted as the steering committee for
the Commonwealth Youth Forum. The CYP is based in London as its head
office and four regional centre in Africa (Lusaka, Zambia), in Asia
(Chandigarh, India), in Caribbean (Georgetown, Guyana) and in Pacific
(Honiara, Solomon Islands). Currently there are Four Regional Directors
and 16 program officers plus support staff work for the CYS.
Commonwealth Youth Council
Executive Committee
Chairperson - Ahmed Adamu – Nigeria
Vice Chairperson - Sadham Zarjahan - Sri Lanka (Partnership and
Resources)
Vice Chairperson - Mohamed Husni - Sri Lanka (Inclusion and Engagement)
Vice Chairperson - Sudharshana Laxmi - India (Policy and Advocacy)
Regional Representative - Tharika Dileepani - Sri Lanka (Asia)
Regional Representative - Kiziah Philbert - Kenya (Africa/EU)
Regional Representative - Harry James - Solomon Islands (Pacific)
Regional Representative - Royden Beharry - Grenada (Caribbean)
Representative for Special Interest Group – Wathsala Samarakoon - Sri
Lanka |
Director of the Youth Affairs of the Commonwealth Secretariat,
Katherine Ellis said the Youth Forum in Sri Lanka will be a turning
point for the development of youth affairs. Setting up an independent
Youth Council would enable youth to address their issues and find
solutions and urge Commonwealth Heads of Government to implement the
recommendations adopted in future youth forums.
Youth Led Task Force
The Youth Led Task Force is a collaboration of five selected
international youth representatives and five local youth representatives
headed by two co-chairs. Kusala Kumara Jayendra Fernando of Sri Lanka,
an experienced youth development worker and Ellie Seckold of Australia .
Aruthra Rajasingham, Sihan Dammika Jayasinghe, Tharika Dileepani and
Nooranie Muthaliph represent the Sri Lankan side of YLTF while John
Loughton, Karl Konadu, Esther Eshiet, Jean Paul and Shireene McMillan
represent the international side.
On a special request from the Sri Lanka Youth Services Council a
delegation of 25 local youth and 20 local observers were included to
take part in the forum. This group consisted of representatives from
various fields including students, an ex-combatant, an indigenous person
as well as a differently-abled youth.
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Director of the Youth Affairs
of the Commonwealth
Secretariat, Katherine Ellis |
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Cameroon Youth
delegate,
Ngen Yves Riyuh |
They were selected after interviews were held. Apart from this 100
British UK volunteers also took part.
According to Chairman Sri Lanka Youth Services Council Lalith Piyum
Perera a group of 750 youth were spectators at the inauguration and 1,
500 attended the special cultural show organised at the latter part of
the four- day forum, a batch of 1, 000 youth attended closing ceremony
and around 3, 000 youths participated the tree planting session at the
Dry Zone Botanical Gardens of Mirijjawila as a part of the fifth day’s
program attended by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
All these youth had been selected from Youth Clubs spread across the
country in district wise affiliated to the Sri Lanka Youth Services
Council.
Chairman Sri Lanka Youth Services Council – Lalith Piyum Perera told
the Sunday Observer that the preparations for the Commonwealth Youth
Forum was held to educate the youth community in the country about the
mega international event.
These awareness programs were held countrywide through youth clubs .
He said that the benefits reaped out of this forum will be conveyed to
the Sri Lankan youth in countrywide through youth clubs for the uplift
of their lifestyles and standards.
The theme of the 2013 Commonwealth Youth Forum is “Inclusive
Development: Stronger Together”. The forum was packed with a number of
interactive sessions, panel discussions, concurrent policy working group
sessions, concurrent capacity building sessions and parallel side events
on a wide range of popular and contemporary topics like gender equity,
generating quality youth employment, reconciliation and social cohesion,
well-being and economic growth, youth education, sexual and reproductive
health and rights as well as on Youth in Post 2015 Development Agenda.
The forum was also attended by local and foreign experts in economy
and trade, medical and family planning, leading entrepreneurs as well as
business tycoons, eminent scholars and academics who enlighten youth
with various issues and drafting resolutions.
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Chairman Sri Lanka Youth
Services Council, Lalith
Piyum Perera |
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Vice Chairperson of CYC
(Inclusion and Engagement),
Mohamed Husni |
Youth Led Task Force Co-Chair Kusala Kumara Jayendra Fernando said
that the recommendations and resolutions adopted in the working group
sessions were later briefed to Commonwealth Foreign Ministers at the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which was subsequently
presented to the Commonwealth heads at the main session. The Youth
Council representatives also officially submitted the new constitution
of the Commonwealth Youth Council to the heads at the youth dialogue
held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall
following the CHOGM opening ceremony.
“The collective youth vision for the Commonwealth will be shared and
agreed on how the youth group can work with governments to achieve
Commonwealth goals and objectives during the coming two years,” said
Fernando.
In the youth dialogue the heads were requested to encourage youth
communities of their countries to take part in the World Youth
Conference that will be held in Sri Lanka next year.
The World Youth Conference is yet another mega event focused on the
youth community that will be organised by the government of Sri Lanka
with the support of the United Nations.
Expert in youth affairs Ravi Karkara attached to UN-Habitat, United
Nations Millennium Campaign, who delivered the keynote speech on “Youth
in the Post 2015 Development Agenda” will be the advisor to World Youth
Conference.
He said that a proposal to establish the head office of the new
Commonwealth Youth Council Secretariat in Hambantota, Sri Lanka has also
been presented to the Commonwealth heads while the final decision on
this will be discussed and passed by the executive committee of the CYC.
Several meetings were held by CYC executive committee in this regard
yesterday morning where proposals has been made by the non-Sri Lankan
members of the committee has proposed to have a head office in London at
the same time having an office in Hambantota.
Cameroon Youth Delegate – Ngen Yves Riyuh said that it was a great
opportunity to take part in this international event discussing youth-
related issues where many points can be taken into consideration to be
implemented in his own country. “We’re taking ideas and examples and so
much else from this forum that would be ideal in addressing
youth-related issues in Cameroon.
He was excited to see the local youth participation and praised the
organising skills and hospitality of the Sri Lankan government to hold
such a mega event.
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