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The National Human Development Report, a major vehicle for policy development and implementation in Sri Lanka, was launched as a collaborative effort of UNDP Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development and the Ministry of Finance and Planning.
Expressing his thoughts during the launch, Chief Guest, Dullas Alahapperuma, Minister of Youth Affairs and Skills Development, stated: “2014 has been the year for Sri Lankan youth; launch of the first National Youth Policy, hosting of the World Conference on Youth 2014 led to an outcome statement : Colombo Declaration on Youth being jointly agreed upon by the policy makers and youth delegates for the first time in the history, declaration of the National Skills Day, establishment of the first-ever Commonwealth Youth Council Secretariat in Sri Lanka and now the launch of the NHDR on Youth.”
Minister further noted: “Findings and recommendations of UNDP’s NHDR could be used as key policy tools as it provides a new platform for policy development and reforms in youth development which would serve as a strong advocacy tool for promoting youth empowerment and human development in Sri Lanka.”
Globally, Human Development Reports (HDR) have been commissioned and published by UNDP since 1990 as intellectually independent, empirically grounded analysis of development issues, trends, progress and policies. The ultimate goal of the report is to help advance human development. In parallel to global HDRs, individual countries have been producing NHDRs, reflecting country level issues that have an impact on human development.
Speaking at the event, Subinay Nandy, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, noted, “We at UNDP firmly believe that this report will serve as a platform for strengthening collaboration between the Government and non-governmental actors, and importantly youth themselves, towards revitalising and prioritising the implementation of key existing policies that benefit youth and the country at large. The Report also looks to inform the formulation of strategies and a national action plan to give effect to the Youth Policy 2014.”
Commenting further, Nandy noted: “We hope that Sri Lankan youth will take ownership of the report, and realise their full potential as catalytic agents of change.”
UNDP’s third Sri Lanka NHDR ‘Youth and Development: Towards a More Inclusive Future’ was launched on 12 August coinciding with the International Youth Day.
Sending a special message on the occasion of the launch of the Sri Lanka NHDR, Ahmad Alhendawi, United Nations Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth, noted: “Globally, the UN is committed to listening to young people, engaging them in our work and providing them platforms to realise their full potential.”
In his written message Alhendawi also congratulated UNDP Sri Lanka for launching the Report on a special day where we celebrate youth, International Youth Day, and urged Sri Lankan youth to build on their desire to be part of the mainstream and be part of the solution.
Speaking at the event, Dr. B.M.S. Batagoda, Deputy Secretary to the Treasury and Co-chair of the NHDR National Steering and Advisory Committee, stated, “UNDP’s NHDR identifies in its analysis and reiterates the need to feature young voices in national agendas to address the challenges Sri Lankan youth face”. Dr. Batagoda, commenting further, stated: “Development agendas including the post-2015 development agenda needs the participation of youth at all levels for its success. Working with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development and key development partners like the UNDP, we remain committed to involve young voices at all levels of development planning.”
Several Ministers, Members of the Parliament, Ambassadors, Secretaries to Ministries, Members of the Youth Caucus in Parliament, Members of the Women’s Caucus in Parliament, Provincial Councillors, Heads of UN Agencies and civil society representatives attended the launch event.
The report is currently available in English language and will be made available in Sinhala and Tamil in the near future.
