My Statement at the Joint Thematic Debate at UN Headquarters; New York

April 10th 2014 was a big day for me, where I was able to  deliver the UN Major Group for Children and Youth statement representing the half of the worlds population at the High Level and Thematic Debates of the President of the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly (PGA.

 

The statement

Good Afternoon Excellencies, ladies & gentlemen,

As a youth from Sri Lanka -- I am happy to say that after 30 years of brutal civil war now we are free at last and entering a rapid development stage. New roads, airports and skyscrapers are constructed everywhere. But we have made sure that these developments does not compromise the environment and meet the social needs to accelerate the economic progress. It is important that developing country like Sri Lanka can be an example to others in conserving the natural beauty, biodiversity and it’s cultural heritage.

As part of the Major Group of Children and Youth, I would like to emphasis how it is essential to build intergenerational meaningful partnerships and adapt to change. Trade priorities must be in line with the public priorities, such as human rights and equity.  Partnership should not be limited to specific private sectors or agencies but it should accommodate with all actors. We need to highlight the partnership with public, private and people’s groups.

Sustainable infrastructure is not only about new infrastructures; it is about rehabilitation, reuse or optimization of the existing resources. It’s not always about building new things but using what we have sustainably taking into account local context. It is important to calculate the environmental, economic and social impact during the planning, designing, construction and operationalization phase. Infrastructure is not just about privatization or commercialization -- it is about innovation, sustainable patterns and resilience.

Youth globally are prepared to turn dialogue into action. Indeed, the outcome document of the World Conference on Youth to be held in Sri Lanka will also focus on the importance of “Mainstreaming youth in the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda”.  To us, working together in unity to implement solutions is true partnership. We look forward to working with YOU, to create the future we need"

As a Youth Speaker for the Joint Event of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council “The role of partnerships in the implementation of the post 2015 development agenda”

It was a great pleasure to be a youth speaker for the joint thematic debate which was held on 9-10th April 2014 in UN Headquarters, New York city.

The Outcome Document of the Special Event to Follow‐Up Efforts to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals held on September 25th of 2013 underscored the need to strengthen the existing global partnership for development under MDG 8 and build new partnerships for sustainable development.
With less than 800 days remaining, efforts must be intensified for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, building on successful, effective and well‐managed national, regional and global strategies that have allowed the international community to meet several of the MDG targets and to achieve significant and substantial advances in those goals and targets that have not yet been met. Strengthened global partnerships for sustainable development will be a catalyst for the international community to aspire and advance towards an ambitious and transformative sustainable development agenda beyond 2015.
National ownership will be a fundamental factor of the post 2015 development agenda. National efforts will also need to be assisted by international support and an enabling international environment. The mobilization and effective use of all resources, public and private, domestic and international, will be vital. A renewed sense of commitment and partnership holds the key to both leveraging new public and private resources and leveraging stakeholders’ comparative advantage, including in the areas of research, technology, innovation, finance and human capacity.

The main objective of the thematic debate was to provide a platform for Member States to address how strengthened global partnerships for sustainable development including multi‐stakeholders partnerships can contribute to the implementation of the post 2015 development agenda.
The event promoted the scaling‐up of the impact of all forms of cooperation in the post 2015 development agenda, and promote the urgent implementation of existing commitments under the global partnership for development while also addressing the emerging role of innovative multi‐stakeholder partnerships.
The event guided by the following preliminary questions:

1) What are the key lessons learned of the implementation of MDG 8 and what incentives can be created to reinforce its implementation?

2) While not a substitute to existing cooperation mechanisms, how can multi‐stakeholder partnerships be an important complement to achieving internationally agreed development goals, including in the context of the post 2015 development agenda?

3) How can Governments, at all levels, incentivize multi‐stakeholder engagement for the implementation of sustainable development, in particular from the private sector?

4) Which models or mechanisms can help ensure effective monitoring and accountability of the means of implementation of the post‐2015 development agenda?

 

Pics - UN Web TV

A workshop for youngsters in Thalawakale-Nuwaraeliya

I facilitated a workshop for bunch of youngsters from a tea community in Thalawakale, Nuwaraeliya on March 7th and 8th, The workshop was focused on developing a news letter about the work they have been involved with Child Fund. Chulani served as a project consultant/manager

UN Secretary-General commends Sri Lanka for hosting the "World Conference on Youth - 2014

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon commended Sri Lanka’s initiative to host the World Conference on Youth (WCY) in May 2014 - the first ever global youth conference in Asia. The WCY will seek to mainstream youth concerns in the post-2015 development agenda.

He made this remarks when a Sri Lankan delegation led by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Skills Development Hon. Dullas Alahapperuma called him at the UN Headquarters in New York on 18th February (Tuesday) to hand over the invitation of His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa inviting him to the World Conference on Youth in Colombo in May 2014.

The Secretary General emphasized that youth are one of his key priorities in the programme that he had outlined at the commencement of his second term. “More than half the world’s population is under the age of 25, so this is a “youth world”, the UNSG said. He highlighted the urgency of resolving the huge burden of unemployment and providing political and economic opportunities to youth. “I am impressed by what Sri Lanka has been doing for the advancement of the youth”. He recalled the comments of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Navi Pillay of the impressive success of the Youth Parliament of Sri Lanka.


Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon thanked the President of Sri Lanka for the invitation and said that he would make every effort to be in Colombo for this unique event despite his busy schedules.

Minister Alahapperuma expressed his gratitude for the continued assistance given by the UN system and the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth with regard to the arrangements for the Colombo Conference. “As a nation, we believe that the Youth Conference will help in rebuilding the nation. The ‘Colombo Youth Action Plan’ – the outcome of the Conference which will be jointly produced by the youth and the policymakers would serve as a guideline to meet youth aspirations in many multilateral processes in the post-2015 era. This action plan will cover seven fundamental issues and seven thematic areas that have been recognized as vital for youth engagement in the global development agenda", he added.  Ambassador Dr. Palitha Kohona, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN, said that, “youth are today’s concern, not tomorrow's. They contribute to electing governments and in the formulation of national policies. Their concerns and aspirations could be addressed only by recognizing their input to policy-making and empowering them. That is why the Government of Sri Lanka has set up a task force of 20 global young leaders to prepare the key components of the conference arrangement”.

Minister Alahapperuma presented the UNSG with copies of the recently launched “Youth Policy of Sri Lanka” and the publication on “Youth and Development: Realizing the Millennium Development Goals for Sri Lankan Youth”. Mr. Lalith Piyum Perera, Chairman/Director General of the National Youth Services Council (NYalso spoke about the successful conclusion of the Commonwealth Youth Forum in Hambantota, Sri Lanka last November. Mr. Christopher Dekki and Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake – Members of the International Youth Task Force for the conference - explained the ongoing logistics arrangements for the 1,500 delegates expected to attend the conference and the inclusive multi-stakeholder consultations on the draft outcome document. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon further said that he placed youth at the center of the UN agenda for the first time by appointing an Envoy on Youth and creating a system-wide action plan on youth and an inter-agency network on youth. UN Volunteers, he said, play a key role in many aspects and recalled how thousand so of volunteers were active at the Sochi Olympics.

Accompanying with the Minister of Youth Affairs and Skills Development was Ambassador Dr. Palitha Kohona, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in New York, Mr. Lalith Piyum Perera, Chairman/Director General of the National Youth Services Council and Mr. Waruna Sri Dhanapala, Minister Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN and IYTF members – Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake (Third Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka) and Mr. Christopher Dekki (IMCS-Pax Romana-US and Syria). 

My World Analytics

Education for All Global Monitoring Report (@efareport) was launched by UNESCO

The Education for All Global Monitoring Report (@efareport) was launched by UNESCO.

Though the results for some countries seem hopeful,others are just disturbing.

Please See some of the data from the report:

"After 4yrs 77% of students unable to read a sentence"

"Global learning crisis hitting the poor currently in top 3"

This report reinforces the outcomes of the My World Survey and its overaching emphasis on Education as the first priority need of individuals in the #Pos2015 framework and the urgent need of investing in education for all.

Download the full report: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/efareport/

Featured at "Stories to Inspire 2013" by UN Volunteers - Sri Lanka and V Awards

Stories to Inspire is a publication by the UN Volunteers, Sri Lanka which contains the stories of the finalists of V Awards. The first edition of the book was published in 2011 for V Awards 2011 and this year, the 2nd edition was published with the stories of the 12 finalists of V Awards 2013.

http://www.vawards.lk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/VAwardsBook_Online.pdf