Young leaders passionate about reconciliation
Future Leaders Conference - Season 4:
Young leaders passionate about the cause of reconciliation, ready to
learn from the mistakes of the past and build a brighter future, are an
immediate need in post-war Sri Lanka. The Future Leaders Conference is a
platform that bridges the gap between this need and the real leaders of
the future. Bringing together student leaders from around the island,
Future Leaders Conference has, in the past three years has made a
significant impact in the lives of the participants as well as in their
schools and districts. This year for the fourth consecutive year Future
Leaders Conference will continue in its journey towards achieving a
truly reconciled Sri Lanka through impacting and changing the
grassroots.
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At last
year’s Future Leaders Conference |
Sri Lanka Unites, the youth movement that is responsible for the
Future Leaders Conference, is founded on the simple truth that the end
of the war was not the end of the conflict. Until the root problems that
led to the conflict are resolved and until the various ethnicities of
Sri Lanka co-exist, not just as cohabiters of the same nation but also
as one society interacting with one another, one cannot say the conflict
is truly over. The Future Leaders Conference serves as the first step
towards true reconciliation. Student leaders of different ethnicities
interact with those of other ethnicities for the first time. During the
interactions stereotypical views are shattered as they relate with each
other and realize the commonalities they share. Friendships are fostered
that reach beyond ethnic and religious barriers, which have proven to be
long-lasting, impacting not just their lives but also their families and
societies. Post-war Sri Lanka is plagued with a reconciliation impasse,
with one side refusing to accept the need for reconciliation and another
refusing to accept a reconciliation that cannot resolve the core justice
issues. Sri Lanka Unites through FLC creates a forum for the young minds
to come together and through interaction learn the need for
reconciliation, understand the issues that stand in the way of
reconciliation and more importantly proactively work on resolving these
issues, paving the way for a united Sri Lanka devoid of ethnic
boundaries.
There has been a multitude of success stories from the past three
conferences, where students who initially refused to even share a room
with someone of another ethnicity at the end were in tears as they
reluctantly took leave of their new found friends of another ethnicity.
The agenda of the Future Leaders Conference involved a session where the
students; both Sinhalese and Tamil, unconditionally asked their brothers
from the other ethnicity to forgive them for the acts of injustice
committed against them in the past.
While asking for forgiveness may seem like a purely symbolic act, we
have seen through the past three years the long-lasting impact it has on
the young minds, inspiring them to contribute towards achieving
reconciliation. Beyond this emotional response to reconciliation, the
conference provides a framework for students to formulate new opinions
regarding other ethnicities that were previously clouded by hatred and
stereotypes. To continue the momentum that begins at the conference, Sri
Lanka Unites provides the participants with post-conference guidance on
how they can impact their society, through Post-Conference Guide Books
and Champions of Change (CoC) projects.
This year, while keeping the core concept of the conference intact,
the programme for the conference is to be revamped to include more
relevant issues. During the past three years, the required approach to
reconciliation has changed dramatically as the participants of the
conference hasmoved from the initial post-war period to a time where
broader issues with respect to uniting Sri Lanka need to be addressed.
The conference this year will include panel discussions with an open
forum for students to express their views and opinions on the new
concerns that have risen post-war. FLC-4 promises to move towards the
next stage of an authentic reconciliation - addressing the issues that
stand in the way towards a united Sri Lanka.
Even in the sports and entertainment segments of the conference, this
year promises to be different. Julian Bolling, the only Sri Lankan
swimmer to participate in three consecutive Olympic Games will be
contributing his prowess in experiential learning games, where concepts
and ideas are conveyed through sports. In addition, this year would
include various opportunities for the participants and participating
schools to compete for many awards such as The Champions of Change
award, Best Trilingual Delegation award and awards for oratory, art and
creative writing.
However, the most unique aspect of this year's conference is, in
fact, its venue. This year the conference will be held at Jaffna
College, in Vaddukoddai in the Jaffna peninsula.
This is indeed an historic event, as students from all 25 districts
of the country gather at Jaffna and experience the culture and
hospitality of their compatriots of the North. Organizing an event of
this nature at Jaffna is a mammoth task, and this task has been
cheerfully taken on by the Sri Lanka Unites team, who have started on
preparations to make this year's conference one that would leave a
lasting impression on the minds of the participants, and instill in them
the passion to achieve a truly reconciled Sri Lankan society.
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