President congratulates new UN Envoy on Youth Jayathma Wickramanayake

Jayathma Wickramanayake, who has been appointed the new UN Envoy on Youth by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, called on President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday.

The President conveyed his appreciation over Wickramanayake bringing honour to Sri Lanka at international forums and wished her strength and courage to render great service for the youth of the world including Sri Lankan youth.

Having represented and motivated global youth development on an international level since the age of 21, notably during high-level United Nations initiatives, including the declaration of World Youth Skills Day, Wickramanayake has also played a key role in transforming the youth development sector at the national level, notably through the creation of a large movement for civic and political engagement of young people named the ‘Hashtag Generation’.

Presently working as an officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service, Wickramanayake has previously served as Secretary to the Secretary General of the Parliament of Sri Lanka (2016-2017), Project Officer-Youth, One-Text Initiative in Sri Lanka (2015-2016), Member and Youth Lead Negotiator, International Youth Task Force of the World Conference on Youth 2014 (2013-2014) and Official Youth Delegate to the United Nations, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development (2012-2013). Furthermore, she was a Senator at the Sri Lankan Youth Parliament (2013-2015).Born in 1990, Wickramanayake is reading for a Master’s in Development Studies at the University of Colombo and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science from the same university.