A national forum for youth, organised by Helvetas under its Crossing Boundaries Youth (CBY) project was held in Colombo recently with the participation of 30 youth representing the districts of Jaffna, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Anuradhapura, Kilinochchi and Matara.
Helvetas is an international development organisation which has been actively contributing to humanitarian and development actions in Sri Lanka since 1978.
The forum promoted values of democracy, good governance, reconciliation, intergenerational/inter-ethnic understanding, civic activism and participatory community development.
The objective of conducting the forum was to foster collaboration among local and national level development stakeholders in pursuing local level development through advocacy.
During the event, youth from the districts presented their findings and recommendations on locally identified issues including Youth Unemployment, Substance Abuse and Dependence, Underage Marriages and Early Pregnancies in Sri Lanka.
Making the keynote address on “The Role of Youth and Responsibility of State in Ensuring Youth Participation in Local and National Level Policy Process” Senior Development Consultant Dr. Dayani Panagoda noted several matters of importance on priority areas that were identified by youth in their respective districts.
