Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Learning to lead
The youth are the most promising sector of a nation in terms of its future direction. Shaping them to be responsible and strong leaders is thus important, and SLYP 2005 provided the impetus. Tharangani Perera was at the event
“Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it,” were Marian Anderson’s views on leadership.

Generally in accordance with this opinion was the debut conference of the Sri Lankan Youth Parliament, which gave the youth of the nation a taste of what it is like to be a leader in today’s world. Funded by USAID, Youth Parliament is a youth-run, youth-led initiative, which is the first programme of its kind to be organised in Sri Lanka, with its long-term vision to create a cohesive Sri Lanka.

How it all began
The inspiration for the Sri Lankan Youth Parliament originated from the delegates of the second sitting of the Oxfam International Youth Parliament held in Sydney, in July 2004. These delegates were inspired by the experience that the forum provided.

The Oxfam International Youth Parliament was a gathering, where the main focus and objective was for the delegates to develop their action plans with the input and insight of their fellow delegates, and through the various programmes arranged for the forum. Both strategic and financial support were provided to the action partners during the subsequent two years to the event, so as to enable them to carry out their action plans.

These ideas and the evidentiary proof in their successful implementation at the Oxfam International Youth Parliament, inspired the Sri Lankan delegates to visualise a similar forum for their country, which they thought was important to instigate a developed social involvement of youth in the decision-making process of the country. Thus was born the Sri Lankan Youth Parliament.
What is SLYP?

SLYP (Sri Lankan Youth Parliament) uses the symbolic meaning of the word ‘Parliament’ to reflect the importance of young people as decision-makers in the nation today. Around the world, parliaments are spaces in which agendas are set, strategies are developed and action is planned for. Traditionally, young people have been excluded from such spaces and the SLYP represents a reclaiming of that space by young people.

SLYP does not operate like a formal parliament. There are no elections, ministers, or parliamentarians. Nor does SLYP employ an adversarial, majority rules or consensus modus operandi. Rather, SLYP encourages critical analysis of issues by young people, bringing about a peaceful, equitable and sustainable Sri Lanka.

SLYP 2005 created the perfect environment for young activists and social workers to represent and reflect on their issues. While creating a parliamentary atmosphere, the youth leaders will get a chance to serve their motherland and experience the spirit of decision-making, whilst adapting to crisis situations at the top-most level by developing a presence of mind.

Organising the event
The Organising Committee of the first ever sitting of the Sri Lankan Youth Parliament comprised ten young people. Chinthaka Perera, George Cooke, Kumaravadievel Guruparan, Lihini Fernando, Chinthana Samarasinghe, Achintha Bandara, Hashintha Jayasinghe, Isuru Perera, Surendran Thevaraj and Ishkey Irshard. These youngsters were further assisted by 12 volunteers who joined them at the latter part, and facilitated the execution of the event. The tireless efforts, dedication and commitment of this young group were rewarded when the event developed into a massive success.

The Sri Lankan Youth Parliament 2005
Bearing in mind their vision ‘Creating a Cohesive Sri Lanka,’ these youngsters aim to bring about positive social change through a network of youth and action plans. Two hundred and twenty five youngsters from all parts of the country, including Jaffna, Mulativu, Trinco-malee, Hambantota, Dandarawella, Putt-lam, Galle, Colombo and Kandy represented their respective districts as delegates of the youth parliament. Furthermore, it should be stated that gender balance and ethnicity balance were maintained in selecting the delegates, who were chosen on the basis of Action Plans, which they submitted. These action plans will be carried out and implemented in the future by the delegates.

Action areas, joint sittings and regional caucus of the SLYP
Over the six-day programme, the delegates spent much of their time in Action Area Groups, working with other delegates who are addressing the same issues. Each group consisted of 15-25 delegates with two facilitators.
The facilitators at this event played a vital role in bringing out the very best in the delegates. They helped out in discussions that supported the group process, document outcomes, and in providing the delegates with any resources they needed. Among the facilitators were Ms. Sunila Abeysekera, Mr. Indu Dharmasena and Professor Kamal Karunanayake, who expressed their ideas directing the delegates to build better action plans.

The Action Area Groups were places for dialogue, caucus and for sharing experiences, perspectives and knowledge of each delegate on different issues. It was also a place for further developing analysis, decision-making and action planning skills. In the action areas the delegates worked on further developing their individual action plans with input, ideas and support from the other delegates and the operations team.

The official language for SLYP 2005 was English, but translations were provided from Sinhalese and Tamil. The delegates came together for joint sittings three times during the programme, during which a range of speakers challenged them to think more deeply about issues that affect Sri Lankan policy and society. These topics were related to the cross cutting themes and action area topics at SLYP 2005.

Topics for the Joint Sitting were ‘Finding a political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka’, ‘The Sri Lanakan economy and facing the challenge posed by globalisation’ and ‘The future is ours – youth participation in social change process’.

At the Regional Caucus, the delegates were given the chance to meet other delegates from their respective regions. At these meetings they discussed specific regional issues, and explored opportunities for collective action planning or collaboration of their individual action plans.

The future
The central objective of the SLYP 2005 programme (2005-2007) is to support the delegates who will be known as SLYP action partners in their efforts to create a sustainable future for themselves and their communities, thereby creating a cohesive Sri Lanka.

SLYP will work to support its action partners to make their action plans a reality and bring about positive and lasting social change regionally and nationally. To be successful in achieving this goal, they will need to develop a wide range of partners and supporters. SLYP will be one of those partners, and through the action plan support programme, it will provide both strategic and financial support to these delegates.

SLYP is the platform to make change happen. The Action Partners will be the driving force in mobilising young men and women nationally and advocating policy and practice change towards a sustainable future. As SLYP Action Partners, they will have a chance to design and participate in youth-led campaigning at the national, and if possible even at an international level.

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