Eleven youths, mainly women, from the Sinhalese, Tamil, and Muslim communities of Galle, Sri Lanka, participated in a three-month course on ethnic and religious conflict resolution. The purpose of the training was to achieve practical ways to find the common good among all peoples. The course also emphasized the importance of youth being aware of the new social dynamics of the future.
The course was organized by the Center for Youth and Social Development (CEYSD), which has been working with the aim of driving young people to be active change agents as they face the challenges of the world, seeking practical solutions to the challenges they come across. It was organized in collaboration with Mr. Sampath Priyadarshana, an award-winning professional photographer and cinematographer who graduated from the SIGNIS Communication Lab in 2015 and a is member of SIGNIS Talent+.
CEYSD has been providing leadership courses to young people for the development of society in Sri Lanka for more than eight years and has constantly provided programs with new activities, bringing various communities to build and spread peace and harmony in Sri Lanka and around the world.
This course was focused on ethnic conflict resolution, thus the participants tried to identify the issues and concerns that they can see in Sri Lankan society and across the globe. Some of the topics that were discussed were challenges such as unemployment, lack of skills and job experience in a changing job market, and the barriers to entering a desired field. The course followed by finding practical solutions to provide youth in the various communities a career that “fits their talent”.
A big part of the program consisted of providing the participants with career guidance through learning media skills. A special highlight of the program was a photography and short film production course themed “voice of third eye”, followed by a film festival.
During the course, the participants learned how to fully utilize visual language to capture good images in still pictures and moving images. The short film production course helped them open their hearts and minds to deliver impactful messages that touch the audience.
At the conclusion of the course, the participants pledged to strive to become better youth leaders and creatively apply the learned skills by utilizing social media platforms with messages for the common good and to promote peace and reconciliation in Sri Lankan society.
Article by: Mohamed Nasreen, President of the Center for Youth and Social Development (CEYSD).
