CYC Secretariat in Hambantota

by Kurulu Kariyakarawana

The official consent for the proposal to establish the head office of the Secretariat of the recently formed Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) in Sri Lanka has been granted following discussions held between the relevant parties over the week.

As speculated last week in the Sunday Observer, the location of the Commonwealth Youth Council Secretariat has been selected in Hambantota, which is an important achievement for an Asian country in the history of the Commonwealth.

It is also for the first time that Sri Lanka is setting up such an office with international importance. The majority of offices related to the Commonwealth are based in London, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development said.

The nine-member Executive Committee of the CYC, of which four are from Sri Lanka, were to sit down for a special online meeting last evening to discuss and draft the structure of the CYC Secretariat to be set up in the near future.

One of the two Co-Chairpersons of the Youth Led Task Force (the steering committee of the Commonwealth Youth Forum held in Hambantota), Kusala Fernando told the Sunday Observer yesterday that the scheduled meeting will also look at designing the organisational hierarchy of the CYC Secretariat.

CYC Chairperson Ahmed Adamu from Nigeria and the Chief Executive Officer appointed for administration purposes will be stationed at an operational office to be set up in London parallel to the Secretariat to be set up in Hambantota which would house the other office-bearers.

Sri Lanka has already proposed two positions to the new Secretariat, for the roles of Director Programs and Director Finances and Human Resources and Administration. Other supporting positions were also to be decided at the meeting, he said.