National Youth Summit kicks off on Friday

The National Youth Summit (NYS)-2018, organized by the Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum (SDJF) in partnership with the National Co-existence, Dialogue and Official Languages Ministry, is set to get underway at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo on Friday (20).

In a statement, the SDJF said the objective of the NYS2018 is to encourage and recognize youth initiatives towards sustainable peace and development. “The summit intends to foster pluralistic values, ethnic harmony and peace building among the multi-ethnic youth from across the country. It will provide a platform for the youth to raise their unheard voices, discuss their various challenges and to come up with innovative ways to become active contributors to the cause of sustainable peace building and development,” it said.

The summit begins on Friday (20) with the launching ceremony taking place in the Jasmine Hall at the BMICH from 2.30 – 6.30pm.

At the summit, the SDJF will launch two learning manuals; one on forum theatre and the other on youth and peace building. These manuals are designed in an easy to understand manner to enable children and youth to enjoy forum theatre and adapt pluralistic values.

The second day of the summit will be held at the Government Information Department the following day (21). The summit will showcase youth involvement in peace building and in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) through parallel sessions, workshops, presentations, and interactive activities.

Dr. Shahid Rasool, Director, Commonwealth Educational Media Center for Asia (CEMCA) – India, will address the gathering on the importance of improving the skills in our youth for inclusive development, both as a means to promote peace and overcome unemployment issues in Sri Lanka.

This talk will be delivered on Saturday (21).

At the conclusion of the summit, the SDJF will recognize the country’s young achievers, including the forum theatre performers for their efforts and contributions towards the peace building and reconciliation effort.