World Conference on Youth 2014 :

Colombo Declaration includes all party proposals

The main component of the World Conference on Youth is the final report which will bring out the agenda for youth in Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) beyond 2015. The uniqueness in the 2014 Conference to be held in Sri Lanka, is that there will be one final document which will be called 'Colombo Declaration'. "Usually at every other Conferences on Youth held in the past there have been two documents prepared at the end. One from the youth and another from the officials and authorities who got involved.

Malkanthi Wickramasinghe

Lalith Piyum Perera

Yet we saw that this becomes a confusing factor when it comes to implementing policies. So this time the single document 'Colombo Declaration' will include proposals from all the parties," said Chairman of National Youth Council Lalith Piyum Perera.

Apart from this unique feature the Youth Council is making every effort to bring in the best for the youth. "This a rare occurrence for majority of the youth in Sri Lanka so to help them get the best experience out of this we are conducting several training programs." Perera said. In collaboration with the Foundation Institute several five day training programs are conducted for different batches continuously.

Apart from this the Youth Council has taken steps to train Volunteers and Observers for the World Conference on Youth.

Social integration and youth

In their effort to bring in youth to implement proper social integration of the marginalised groups in the community the National Languages and Social Integration Ministry are getting involved in the World Conference on Youth 2014.

"Our policy is that youth are changing agents. They can transform the society," said Secretary to the Ministry of National Languages and Social integration Malkanthi Wickramasinghe.

This event is an opportunity for the Ministry to create awareness among youth delegates about Sri Lanka's National Policy Framework on Social Integration and its correlation towards enhancing Youth participation in Sri Lanka.

"There is so much youth can build. The only thing is that we need to find out where they can best fit in," Wickramasinghe said. A Facilitation Forum is proposed with the participation of 50 voluntary sign up delegates, creatively engaging them on sharing their aspirations on their Social Integration priorities, their action and inaction and forward looking moments where youth will envision their ability to become Champions of Change for Social Integration.

The proposed facilitation forum will also contribute to the WCY outcomes by raising awareness on the NPFSI and adding value to Post 2015 Agenda by emphasising on the space that is ensured to youth through one of the key elements of the policy framework. Increased awareness about the policy framework will create a heightened consciousness among youth delegates about the space and avenues that are available to make 'Youth in the Agenda of Post 2015' a reality in Sri Lanka.

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Youth Parliamentarians on WCY 2014

If we consider the geopolitical situation in the world it is a place ruled by adults. It is slowly and surely changing. Yet there is very little done by the world to consult or engage youth at decision making levels.

I think it is the youth who have to make a voice and ensure their position.

I feel there was less consultation from the youth in making Millennium Development Goals for youth. As the time period MDGs end by 2015 it is time for the youth to put some pressure on the Governments to listen to youth and give them the chance to involve. Though the existing MDGs do list out facts that needed attention, it lacked focus on some more cruicial needs youth face in the world.

On the other hand youth seems to be more engaged in many activities specially in social reintegration, peace building activities specially in Sri Lanka - be it a Government initiative or other. It is a youth who knows what they exactly want and how they can contribute to the betterment of the world. So I think youth should take a much stronger position in making the MDGs beyond 2015.

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World Conference on Youth is a great platform for us to engage and interact with youth, governments, civil society, business and UN Organisations and come up with productive decisions on creating solutions for the problems faced by youth, with Sri Lanka being the centre for the discussions, in context of the post-15 development agenda.

What I strongly believe is, first, youth should be aware of why do we need social integration. For that, they need to be more exposed to the global environment. Once they reach that point, they will surely take part in social reintegration and that is exactly what we all are working for; to get them to actively participate in such an areas.

Social disparity exists in every society because people don't know what their responsibilities are towards each other.

It actually has a direct line to Human Rights. If one knows what his/her human rights are, they tend to find ways to protect them and receive what they are entitled to. Eventually others will be protected, because he/she is perfectly aware of it. In other words human rights 'education' plays a major role in taking off Social disparity from all level of societies.

As a youth parliamentarian I wish to implement what was being said above, given the important role of the Sri Lanka youth parliament in influencing the relevant political authorities of the country to take youth friendly decision.