UNFPA Bridges Generation GAP
UNFPA held the first of a series of inter-generational dialogues under the theme “Is our young population a driving force to determine Sri Lanka’s middle income status?” on Wednesday at Cinnamon Grand. On the panel were Prof. Mohan Munasinghe, Founder Chairman of the Munasinghe Institute of Development, Shyama Salgado, Senior Programme Manager at the ILO, Aaranya Rajasingam, Executive Director- Programme at Viluthu-centre for Human Resource Development, Naushalya Rajapaksa, Official Youth Delegate of Sri Lanka, Samantha Liyanawaduge, Executive Director of Helpage Sri Lanka and Travis Gomez, Vice President of Frontier Research. The event was moderated by Sharon Mascerenhas who expertly steered the discussion between the numerous issues that were touched upon. Hirunika Premachandra also made an appearance to speak on the barriers facing women involved in Sri Lankan politics. Collectively, the individuals were representative of society as a whole and were well equipped to address a wide range of topics ranging from women’s issues to job creation and the cultural gap between the youth and the elderly. The audience members were encouraged to participate and did, resulting in a productive two way dialogue between the panelists and those in attendance. It is extremely evident that more spaces such as this are needed to confront issues faced by Sri Lankans today in order to form and implement
effective development policies.