President to unveil 2030 vision for Sri Lanka on 2 January

Friday, 23 December 2016 00:13 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Chathuri Dissanayake

President Maithripala Sirisena will unveil National 2030 vision on 2 January, kicking off a three year campaign on sustainable development, simultaneous to declaring 2017 as the year of alleviating poverty.

The campaign, which has been designed taking on board the 17 goals set out in Agenda 2030 adopted during United Nations General Assembly 2015, aims to ignite a “new dialogue on conceptual and practical approaches to sustainable development compared to the political rhetoric that dominated during the first two years of President Sirisena’s office,” President’s Co-ordinating Secretary Shiral Lakthilake told journalists yesterday.

The national event will be held on 8 January, with a host of other events to be held following the launch. However, despite being scheduled on the anniversary of Sirisana being elected to the President’s office, Lakthilake emphasised that the program is not held to commemorate the event.

The campaign will also launch a program similar to the ‘scouts’ in other countries in 2000 schools aimed. The program is aimed at involving students and youth in sustainable development dialogue, while a new community based entrepreneur development program will be initiated alongside the Samurdhi programme, Lakthilake said.

Programs targeting different communities have also been planned to address the specific development needs of those localities, he said.