Community leaders for US exchange program

Seventeen Sri Lankan community leaders from fields including community development, education, journalism, and business, will travel to Washington, to participate in a three-week program sponsored by the US Department of State that will focus on reducing marginalization, resolving conflict, and promoting democratic engagement in Sri Lanka civil society.

The program, conducted by Relief International - Schools Online (RI-SOL), in collaboration with the Business for Peace Alliance (BPA), will bring together young professionals from Sri Lanka and the United States to share experiences and improve leadership skills in order to become more effective community leaders.

At a reception hosted in honour of the selected participants, US Ambassador Robert Blake told the group," As some of the top youth leaders in Sri Lanka, you prove that young people are already making enormous contributions to Sri Lanka. You prove that Sri Lanka's youth don't have to wait until the future to make a difference in the country, you are doing so already,". The seventeen Sri Lankan participants will attend pre-exchange workshops in Colombo and will engage in post-exchange activities, during which they will share their knowledge with their fellow community members. While in the United States, participants will begin designing projects on issues the participants find important for their communities in Sri Lanka.

"Youth leaders hold the key to be future of Sri Lanka. The US Exchange program provides a unique opportunity for young leaders of various ethnic, social and professional backgrounds hailing from the regions in Sri Lanka to gain insight into the lives of their counterparts in USA," Secretary General of Business for Peace Alliance Manique Mendis said.

"The participants also have rich experience to share with the young community leaders they will meet in the US. Once the participants return to Sri Lanka, BPA will support them to share the experience they gained with wider groups in their community," he said.