President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced that the “Gen Z Dialogue” initiative will bring the perspectives of the younger generation into the governance process. To support this effort, the National Youth Service Council will be tasked with establishing youth centers at the national, provincial, district, and regional levels and organizing these dialogues.
The President made this statement while addressing the “Puluwan Sri Lanka” National Youth Conference, held this morning (30) at the Maharagama Youth Service Council. The event saw participation from youth leaders representing every divisional secretariat across the island.
Emphasizing that the future of the country lies in the hands of today’s youth, the President committed to equipping the Gen Z generation with the digital knowledge and tools needed to thrive in a rapidly advancing technological world. This includes providing training in digital marketing, freelancing, and offering free services to clients, which will open new avenues for income generation. Additionally, the President highlighted plans to implement training programs in commercial activities.
The President also noted that a robust economy would foster a modern agricultural culture and promote environmentally-friendly tourism, creating the necessary environment for youth to find employment and start new enterprises.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe stated his intention to create an environment that encourages greater youth representation in the political arena. He also announced plans to establish a Youth Parliamentary Advisory Office to enhance the political knowledge of the younger generation.
The President expressed his aim to develop Generation Z into a group capable of assuming leadership roles in the country. He highlighted that the hopes of the youth, which were shattered in 2015 and 2020, have been revitalized through the “Puluwan Sri Lanka” program.
Speaking further at the event, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said:
All of you here today are part of Generation Z, the generation that will lead this country in the future. There is often talk about Generation Z being outsiders and disconnected from Sri Lankan politics.
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) claims that the country has seen no progress in the last 75 years, a statement made from this very Youth Service Council. However, this council did not exist in 1948—I was the one who established the youth clubs and later formed the Youth Service Council. So, to say that the country has not progressed is not an accurate assessment.
It’s true that our country’s economy has not been strong, and now we must focus on how to strengthen it. Many young people feel disillusioned, saying they voted in the 2020 elections but were let down, or that they supported the good governance movement in 2015, only to have their expectations unmet. This disappointment has led some to reject politics altogether.
The JVP, however, claims they were never in power. My friend, former minister Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, says this, but I remember that Sajith Premadasa, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Wijayadasa Rajapaksha, and I have all served as ministers.
During the 2020 parliamentary elections, I warned that there was an economic crisis and that failing to secure 3 billion US dollars would result in an economic collapse. This truth led to the United National Party’s defeat. If speaking the truth means losing votes, then I should have exited politics. But I stayed because the country needed saving, and I stepped in to secure a future for all of you. We must all embark on this journey together—failing to do so would be a grave mistake. Remember, the decisions we make today will shape your future.
We have to decide whether we are thinking about 5 years ahead or 25 years ahead and building the country. Some people said that there is no point in thinking about 2048. But we say that we should focus on 2048. Thailand and Vietnam became a trade economy thinking about the future. But why don’t we think about it?
If there is a problem, they say that we will subsidize this. But there is no problem solving, that is what has happened so far. That’s why this vote is important. That day I rebuilt the economy of this country. Now we have to decide which way to go.
We have to decide whether we will become an export economy, or we will continue to borrow from this level and fall in another 15 years. In another 15 years we will have to suffer without gas or electricity. That is why we negotiated with the International Monetary Fund and worked to pass the Economic Transformation Act to move towards an export economy. I am asking for a popular mandate in this presidential election to implement it.
For the youth, we have presented the youth spring through the manifesto “Puluwan Sri Lanka”. It mentions digital marketing, freelancing to provide free services to clients, e-commerce, use of social media.
And we hope to have a dialogue (Gen Z Dialogue) with the new population. There should be discussions between us to solve the country’s problems. It should be done at national level, provincial level, district level and local level. Youth centres are being established for that. The Youth Service Council is entrusted with the responsibility of organizing that discourse.
Youth must be represented in the political arena once again, and we must create the necessary facilities to make this happen. We have proposed involving young people in the parliamentary sectoral committees. While some committees are functioning effectively, others have not been active. I plan to address these shortcomings and implement a more robust system in the next parliament.
The policy statement also emphasizes the importance of youth involvement in areas beyond just the “Youth Spring” initiative. For the past four years, we have been unable to create jobs. To address this, we aim to generate 100,000 new income opportunities for young people next year. Additionally, we will establish a dedicated unit to support those who are permanently self-employed in the agriculture sector.
We also plan to provide funding for vocational training to 50,000 more young people, allowing them to choose an institution for their training. By 2025, we aim to create 150,000 new job opportunities.
Simultaneously, we will focus on providing training to young people and offering support to companies hiring new employees. As the economy grows, new job opportunities will naturally arise.
We also plan to revamp the vocational training sector by consolidating all current vocational training institutes into a single vocational college. Furthermore, we are working towards establishing technical and management colleges in every province.
The development of the tourism, agriculture, and industrial sectors creates new job opportunities. Additionally, youth representation will be increased in the ‘Jana Sabha’ (People’s Assembly) of every Grama Seva Division. Jana Sabha will be established to enhance youth participation, and we plan to implement these initiatives in collaboration with the Youth Service Council.
Furthermore, new legislation will be introduced to allow citizens to petition Parliament to hold debates. If a petition is signed by 100,000 voters requesting discussion on a particular issue, Parliament will be required to address it.
A second council, including women and youth representatives, will also be established. A decision will need to be made regarding the re-election of these representatives. Through these initiatives, I aim to integrate youth more fully into society.
I have reviewed the manifesto of former minister Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake. While it mentions creating suitable jobs for youth, establishing a bank to provide information for unemployed youth, advancing the competitive examination system for government jobs, and offering vocational training for those who have completed A-levels, it lacks specifics on where and how this training will be provided. There is also no clear plan for job creation, which is a notable difference.
The manifesto also suggests establishing a development bank to provide loans to young people and claims that youth will gather in Youth Service Council branches. However, the Youth Service Council does not have branches; it has youth clubs. Writing policies without understanding these details undermines their credibility.
I also reviewed the proposals of former minister Mr. Sajith Premadasa, which include only 49 words about young people. They have not even dedicated 50 words to the youth. If you are considering entrusting the future to these individuals, it is up to Generation Z to make a decision about their own future.
My goal is to empower Generation Z to become a capable group ready to take on the leadership of this country. If there is a need for someone to lead, there should be no hesitation. We are working to nurture a generation of young people who are confident and prepared to take on the leadership of this nation without fear.
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