Sri Lankan Youth Celebrate IYD2012

Almost 2500+ Youth Gathered to Celebrate IYD2012, Each light beam represents a YOUTH



International Youth Day is celebrated on 12 August all around the world under the theme "Building a better world, partnering with youth." This day is recognized as an immense opportunity for the government, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, the private sector and young people to get key actors involved to celebrate efforts of yo

uth for a better world through forums, public discussions and information campaigns. 

International Youth Day 2012 - Sri Lanka

International Youth Day 2012 – Sri Lanka

International Youth Day is celebrated on 12 August all around the world under the theme "Building a better world, partnering with youth." This day is recognized as an immense opportunity for the government, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, the private sector and young people to get key actors involved to celebrate efforts of youth for a better world through forums, public discussions and information campaigns.

Last year we celebrated this special day by breaking a world record for the World’s Largest Human Mosaic where we managed to mobilize 1500 youth within only 9 days of preparation. We showed the world that Sri Lankan Youth are Diverse, Dynamic and Energetic. (Check this historic moment -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Waq8kLCuYsc&feature=youtu.be )

With that inspiration, this year IYD 2012 National Event is Organized by - the National Youth Services Council with United Nations Volunteers and supported by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development, United Nations local office.

Date  : 12 August 2012

Time  : 04:30PM – 08:00PM

Venue: Independence Square / Hockey grounds

Join now for more info  - http://www.facebook.com/events/259755257469596/

We are looking for Volunteers who can help us in organizing this National Celebration – Celebrating our lifestyle - YOUTH

If you are interested please sigh up NOW!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDdtMmNCbjYzR1RvSUVZVmkybUhmTHc6MQ

22nd Rotaract District Assembly kicks off

Click Here to get the online article - Ceylon Today 29-07-12

By Sikander Sabeer

More than 300 likeminded young leaders from all over the country, including Jaffna and  Anuradhapura gathered for one of the biggest event in the calendar of the Rotaract Sri Lanka, that's the 22nd Rotaract District Assembly for RI District 3220, which was held on 30 June 2012, at the Taj Samudra, Colombo.

This colourful day was jointly organized by the Rotaract Clubs of Colombo Fort and the University of Colombo—Faculty of Arts on the theme “Inspire the Rotaractor in you.” The opening spark of the assembly was delivered by the Assembly Chairperson Rtr. Minoli Ranasinghe, where she thanked everyone for their participation and mentioned the importance of the event, "This is the moment to recognize you and your hard work of the past Rotaract Year."  

A short time taken to refresh the memories of past journeys which summarized the services rendered by the district to those in need in the past emphasizing on how the ultimate beneficiaries gained from those efforts by the District Secretary for 2011/2012, Rtr. Umanga Settinayake.

District Rotaract Representative for 2011/2012 Rtr. P.P. Subramaniam Sudhakaran delivered a heartfelt address to the gathering before concluding his term of office and recognized the past District Committee of 2011/2012 for their invaluable dedication.

Then the most awaiting moment of the day, the Awards Ceremony which recognized many Rotaractors’ and their clubs for their efforts in bringing a change in the Sri Lankan community. One of the most significant awards was the Rotaract Paragon Award, an initiative by D.R.R. Rtr. P.P. Subramaniam Sudhakaran, to recognize the top five Rotaractors of District 3220, of whom the others can consider as role models in the movement.

The District Rotaract Committee Chairman for 2011/2012 and 2012/2013, Rtn.P.H.F. Yohan Kumarapperuma in his address, challenged all Rotaractors to come together and make a difference, while commending D.R.R Rtr. P.P. Subramaniam Sudhakaran on his effort for 2011/2012 and wishing D.R.R Elect Rtr. P.P. Dilhan Jayatilleke for the upcoming year. 

Guest of Honour, new district generations chairperson for 2011/2012, Rtn. P.H.F. Dayani Panagoda and District Governor 2011/2012Rtn. P.H.F. Gehan Siribaddane, both spoke with high praise for DRR Rtr. PP. Subramaniam Sudhakaran for the discipline inculcated by him and his committee in the Rotaract District 3220.

The second session began at around 2:00 p.m. with the gracious presence of many more Rotarians. The Guest of Honour for the event’s second session was Rtn. PHF. Janaki Anandasundarem and the Chief Guest was Rtn.PHF. Darshan John. The welcome address for the second session was delivered by the Assembly Chairman Rtr. IPP. Hazeem Osman.

Installation of the District Rotaract Representative

The most awaited segment of the event, the Installation of the District Rotaract Representative for 2012/2013 Rtr. PP. Dr. Dilhan Jayatilleke was conducted by his predecessor IP. DRR. Rtr. PP. Subramaniam Sudhakaran. The DRR for 2012/2013, then briefed the gathering about his plans for the upcoming year while requesting the entire district to contribute their maximum to make 2012/2013 a success. He thanked his alma mater—Asoka Vidyalaya, his sponsor-Rotary Club of Colombo Fort and the other Rotarians who have supported him throughout his life as an Interactor and a Rotaractor.

DRR. Rtr. PP. Dr. Dilhan Jayatilleke, also installed the new District Committee with great pride and appreciation. The new District theme for 2012/2013, “Let’s unite to make dreams real” was launched by the DRR requesting all Rotaractors to brace themselves for a busy yet productive year ahead.

The District website, which intends to serve as a communication platform and an information provider for members and the public, was re-launched by Rtn. PHF. Darshan John.

Rtn. PHF. Janaki Anandasundarem, commended DRR.  Dilhan Jayatilleke for the International Rotaract Exchange Programme, he has made as the flagship project for 2012/2013. Rtn. PHF. Darshan John, then went on to speak about the admirable work done by the District Committee for 2011/2012 and extended an invitation to all Rotaractors to join Rotary and to continue being a part of the great Rotary family. The event concluded the end of another Rotaract year and marked the beginning of another fresh journey.

Rotaract is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young men and women in the age category of 18-30 years. Rotaract District 3220 is one of the most vibrant youth movements in Sri Lanka comprising of more than 45 clubs with over one 1,500 active members dispersed in all provinces of the country. Rotaract District 3220 aims to promote peace and harmony, co-existence and tolerance, personal development and professional ethics among the Sri Lankan youth. Each year, Rotaract clubs of Sri Lanka organize a number of worthy projects addressing the four avenues of Rotaract services; Community Service; Professional Development; Club Services; and International Understanding.

Featured In "Daily News" paper - July 31, 2012

Click here to get the online version - 31 July 2012

Click here to get the online version - 31 July 2012, (II)

L'AVENTURE - The Challenge!

Click here to get the online article from Ceylon Today - 22-07-12 By Sikander Sabeer

Today, the entire world is starving for young leaders and young entrepreneurs who can be a change and utilized their young age on both studies and extracurricular activities. As we know women play an important role in socio and economic development, they represent half of the world’s population and most of them live in Asia.

They face tremendous challenges in terms of nutrition, sexual reproductive health, education, employment etc. Physical and mental health has become a crucial factor for a young woman to produce a healthy generation, who can succeed the world.

Keeping this in mind 300 young girls were pumped up with energy and were bursting with excitement to experience the thrill of adventure as a celebration of the 95th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association with an adventurous day named ‘L’AVENTURE’. This exciting event was organized by the President’s Guides of the Western Province and the special Chief Guest of the event was the Zonal Director of Education, Colombo Zone, Chitrangani Lunuwila.

The event took place at the Vihara Maha Devi Park on 30 June 2012. Ms. Lunuwila enlightened the young Girls Guides in her opening remarks, "It was indeed a great pleasure to see young girls organizing such a wonderful and energetic event, when most of the children are running for tuition classes in the competitive education system". She also encouraged the parents to support their children in such events as it would improve their leadership skills, team spirit and self-confidence which are vital to face the fast moving world.

Some of the adventurous games like Spider crawl-(where the girls had to crawl on a net ,which was setup horizontally, good six meters above the ground!) ,Vertical rope climbing-(this was voted the hardest challenge!) and the challenging Commando crawl- (where they crawled under barbed wire!) were challenging to the youngsters. The girls' eyes filled with determination to complete a task and voices of triumph filled the Vihara Maha Devi Park.

The organizing committee consisting of 16–18-year-olds promising President's Guides of the country watched the beaming faces of their sister Girl Guides beaming even more. The President of the organizing committee, Devi Wijesinghe and the Secretary Sakuni Cooray together with the other members of the organizing committee had marked a memorable and significant event in the Girl Guide calendar.

“It had not been an easy task organizing such a huge event all by ourselves. We had held brainstorming sessions in the Girl Guide Headquarters from early April, determined to make this event a reality. We had to carryout tasks which were familiar and some unfamiliar to us. But, as the Girl Guide motto says we were ‘Prepared’ for the challenges, hence we were able to successfully achieve them” commented a member of the organizing committee.

The energetic participants completed the challenges setup and were rewarded by an extra dancing session .Then it was time to join in a glamorous camp fire. In the brief closing ceremony the highlights of the event and the joyful moments that occurred when organizing the event was presented as a video clip, the fun clip was interrupted with a heavy shower, which in the end was thought to be for the best to wash away the sweat off the bright smiling faces.

The event started with smiles and ended with smiles! According to the Guide Law ‘A Guide is courageous and faces all situations with understanding’ (The Guide law stands as pillars to each and every Girl Guide). The celebrations/event concluded: making friendships stronger, enhancing opportunities for girls by letting them feel the thrill of adventure; all leading to a prosperous future of this nation.

The Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association was founded in 1917 by Jenny Calverly. For 95 blissful years this organization has been enriching lives of girls and young women through activities which help to develop a girl's Potential. Guiding builds self-confidence, as well as cultivate habits of helping others, through all this; not forgetting to have fun.