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Sri Lankan Youth Parliament 2005

The first sitting of the Sri Lankan Youth Parliament' (SLYP 2005) which took place on the 24th to the 28th of August 2005 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall. SLYP 2005 was hosted by the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS).

225 delegates aged 16-25 representing all districts, ethnic and religious compositions attended SLYP 2005 on the basis of the action plans submitted by the applicants. The aim of SLYP 2005 was to bring together the first generation of young community leaders to network, develop policy, acquire new skills and most importantly, implement actions for social change around the island as a follow up to the event. SLYP 2005 provided these young leaders of Sri Lanka an opportunity to meet in a challenging and stimulating environment, interact and put forward their own solutions for today's issues. The agenda of SLYP 2005 was based on themes that young people around Sri Lanka articulated as key issues affecting them and their communities.

The project was designed and is being coordinated by Sri Lankan delegates of the International Youth Parliament. They put together a group of dynamic young Sri Lankan who formed the 'SLYP Organizing Committee' and together they launched the first ever sitting of SLYP 2005.

THE PROGRAMME AGENDA: Creating a Cohesive Sri Lanka

  The programme of SLYP 2005 was constructed in a way that focused on action planning, skills development and networking. We encouraged a diversity of opinions and approaches and did not aim to build 'consensus' amongst participants or generate an agreed 'declaration'.

Over the six-day programme, the delegates spent much of their time in 'Action Area Groups' working with other delegates who are addressing similar concerns to theirs. Each group consisted of 15-25 delegates and two facilitators. The Action Area Groups were described as the 'home base'. It was a space for dialogue and for sharing the experiences, perspectives and knowledge that each delegate brings to each issue. It was also a space for further developing analysis, decision-making and action planning skills. In the Action Area Groups the delegates worked on further developing their individual Action Plans, with the input, ideas and support from other delegates and the Operations Team. Action Area Groups were also a key space for networking and exploring opportunities for collaboration, which included the development of collective and group Action Plans. The facilitators were present at the discussions to support the group process, document outcomes and to provide the delegates with any resources that they need.

Whilst the implementation of local action plans is itself valuable, the most significant opportunities presented by SLYP over coming years exist in facilitating links between action partners, movement building and learning. SLYP is committed to supporting this action over the next two years as well as investigating the impact of the plans. We are also committed to learning about the effectiveness about our approach to supporting young people as change agents through our monitoring and evaluation work. SLYP emphasizes that action plans are never complete or finite. SLYP is committed to always challenging people to reflect and learn and to keep working on new areas of change.

ACTION AREA THEMES - SLYP 2005

Skills Workshops

A two hour skills workshop covering the following topics was organised on the 25 th of August

Regional caucuses

Delegates were given the chance to meet other delegates from their region. At these meetings they discussed regional specific issues and explored opportunities for 'collective' Action Planning and for collaboration of their individual Action Plans.