Daily FT partners UNDP Sri Lanka to empower young voices

• Youth and development-themed ‘Unlocked’ blogs to be featured in a weekly column

UNDP in Sri Lanka Country Director Joern Soerensen (left) and Daily FT Editor Nisthar Cassim exchanging the partnership agreement

United Nations Development Program [UNDP] in Sri Lanka Country Director Joern Soerensen and Daily FT Editor Nisthar Cassim signed a partnership agreement last week to enable space for young Sri Lankans to express their views and opinions on development issues related to youth.  

The ‘Unlocked’ project, an initiative by UNDP Sri Lanka following the launch of the National Human Development Report [NHDR] 2014, is a youth and development-themed online platform exclusively for young voices.  

Building on the success of the pilot phase, which featured 11 young bloggers online over a period of three months, Unlocked will now provide a space for trilingual blogs allowing more young writers from across the island to contribute. The Unlocked online space will be rolled out in partnership with one of Sri Lanka’s leading daily English newspapers – Daily FT.  

Soerensen, commenting on the partnership, noted: “This partnership with a national newspaper is not just an encouragement for us but also an encouragement for the youth of Sri Lanka. Young voices matter in development and we very much welcome this partnership with Daily FT.” 

Speaking further, Soerensen stated: “Unlocked welcomes contributions from English, Sinhala and Tamil languages, and it is open to all young Sri Lankans.”

The Daily FT, in partnership with UNDP Sri Lanka, will feature Unlocked blogs in a weekly dedicated column to promote young voices in print media and encourage the youth of Sri Lanka to discuss, debate and engage in development issues.

Commenting on this partnership, Daily FT Editor Cassim noted: “As Sri Lanka’s only national daily business paper focused on empowering stakeholders, we are pleased to partner with UNDP Sri Lanka to provide greater exposure to the views of young Sri Lankans.” 

He further stated: “Through this partnership we hope to encourage the facilitation of an active discussion between youth, policymakers, civil society and the general public, thereby generating significant interest among readers.” 

The signing of the official partnership took place on Friday, 12 June, at the UNDP Country Office at the United Nations Compound.