Jayathma Wickramanayake recognised among the ‘TIME’s 100 Next’

Saturday, 16 November 2019 00:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

US news organisation TIME has recognised Sri Lanka’s Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN Youth Envoy, as one of the 100 rising stars from across the world who are shaping the future.

Listed as an innovator in the inaugural TIME magazine’s 100 Next, Jayathma Wickramanayake represents youth within the senior echelons of the world’s largest intergovernmental organisation.

Last year, Wickramanayake, who was appointed the United Nations’ Envoy on Youth in 2017 and the UN announced Youth 2030, a strategy to involve young people in UN initiatives and strengthen the organisation’s focus on their needs, including sustainable development and economic empowerment, Time’s author Jasmine Aguilera.

“We need to make sure that the United Nations works, not just for young people, but with young people in partnership,” Jayathma was quoted as saying in the Time’s profile.

TIME 100 Next spotlights individuals on TIME’s new list – an expansion of TIME’s flagship TIME 100 franchise – that recognises dozens of people who are shaping the future of business, entertainment, sports, politics, health, science, activism and beyond.

Tweeting about the accolade, the UN youth envoy said she is humbled by the recognition. “If not for the young people who believe in me, bosses Antonio Guterres and Amina J. Mohammed who let me ‘misbehave,’ a team that has my back, and a supportive family; this work wouldn’t be possible.”