The Hon. Thanura Dissanayake

¶ 01 Madam Deputy Chair, I focus on youth affairs. Within the Ministry, several institutions serve youth. This year’s Budget allocates Rs. 600 million to the National Youth Services Council for various projects; Rs. 500 million to the National Youth Corps; and Rs. 70 million to the National Leadership Training Centre.

¶ 02 However, the core issue is not merely more projects, but whether our actions move youth to the next level through a coherent plan. Persistent debates revolve around unemployment and underemployment. We must integrate ministries—Industries, Tourism, Education, and more—around a single objective, since jobs depend on their coordinated policies.

¶ 03 A big problem is communication. Youth are active in digital spaces—social media, discussion forums. Government must engage them effectively and channel their ideas into programs. Working with the Digital Economy Ministry, we are developing a youth app to connect and guide.

¶ 04 Many youths approach us without any career guidance, despite having studied in various fields. We need structured counselling and align training with national priorities—if we grow tourism, train for it; if we push industry and entrepreneurship, build those skills.

¶ 05 We should also mobilize volunteerism—India’s MY Bharat shows how. Our youth are keen to protect the environment and serve, but efforts are fragmented. Through programs like Clean Sri Lanka, we can engage them widely. Effectiveness comes when we produce practical, skilled youth. We have allocated funds to the Civil Defense for Clean Sri Lanka; we will also launch an evening social-media-based platform, “Hawasata 11,” to engage youth constructively, and a V4R platform to crowd in ideas and innovation from creative youth, aligning government targets with their energy. Thank you.