Sysco LABS sustains partnership with Educate Lanka Foundation to empower future generations

• Actively participates and provides mentoring for the Youth Change Agent Program

Sean Lee

Hasini Adhikari

Sysco LABS Sri Lanka, the innovation arm of Sysco, the global foodservice leader is continuing its nearly half-decade partnership with Educate Lanka Foundation (ELF), an internationally recognised education non-profit committed to unlocking opportunities for the young generation to become globally conscious change-makers. 

Founded in 2007, ELF aims to empower socio-economically disadvantaged children and youth in Sri Lanka by enhancing their access to quality and equitable learning opportunities. ELF’s unique intervention models are based on offering online peer-to-peer long-term micro-scholarships, targeted mentoring and honing foundational youth skills to be employable in the workforce of the future. 

This year, Sysco LABS collaborated with ELF’s Youth Change Agents Program – supported by the US Embassy in Colombo, which sought to motivate a group of 30 aspiring youth/student leaders representing diverse communities from Sri Lanka’s five main districts. The program aims to unleash their leadership qualities through a unique virtual platform, that connects them with professional skills trainers, corporate trainers/partners, and global peers along with equipping them with learning resources. Thus, empowering them to design and implement sustainable solutions to address issues in their local communities.

As a proud advocate for empowering the next generation, Sysco LABS conducted a virtual mentoring session titled, ‘Swimming in Uncharted Waters: Calculating and Managing Uncertainty’, providing knowledge on risk management processes including its sources, assumptions, and external factors.

The session covered the complexity of risks in terms of understanding how to observe and calculate the ‘unseen’ and the ‘unexpected’ in any project or personal effort. Participants were taught the basics of ‘Projections,’ ‘Assumptions,’ and ‘Risks’ to maximise success, sustainability, and impact. The session also covered the basics of software quality assurance and the importance of software testing, coding and skills necessary for such a career.

Sean Lee, Project Manager and a volunteer representing Sysco LABS Sri Lanka said, “We need to first inspire students to embrace a limitless future and to see their learning as purposeful to what they can achieve. Sysco LABS, through our partnership with Educate Lanka Foundation, are helping these youth by sharing information and resources, developing the foundational skills necessary to succeed in a modern workforce.”

Another mentor for the program, Sysco LABS Sri Lanka Business Consultant Hasini Adhikari added, “Most youth are apprehensive about entering tech-driven industries as they are unsure about how they can build a career in these fields. Through this session, in partnership with Educate Lanka, we were able to address some of their questions, and offer advice on work readiness and insights on operating within a professional environment. As a result, we are privileged to be a part of building and encouraging a new generation of confident, skilled youth who will become part of a thriving pipeline of talent for the future.” 

Educate Lanka Foundation Founding Executive Director Manjula Dissanayake stated, “Our Youth Change Agents Program aims to train aspiring young leaders using coaching and guidance to become active and empathic changemakers who are conscious about themselves, the community, humanity, the environment, and the world at large. We are delighted to continue our collaboration with Sysco LABS this year too in this important initiative where they share their time, skills, and expertise, bringing hope and inspiration to our youth and supporting them to discover and unleash their potential.”

More information on Educate Lanka and their programs can be obtained from Dhanu Amarasinghe, Country Director, Sri Lanka at [email protected] or Seevali Ratnakara, Manager, Mentorship Program at [email protected].