Rishini Weeraratne
Editor, The Sun (Daily Mirror) and Head of Social Media, WNL
Today, as we mark International Youth Day, we celebrate the boundless energy, creativity, and courage of our young people. Sri Lanka’s youth are more connected, informed, and capable than ever before. They are innovators, entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, and changemakers shaping the nation’s future. This year’s theme reminds us that empowering youth is not just an investment; it is a responsibility. From the bustling streets of Colombo to the rural heartlands, young Sri Lankans are finding solutions to challenges, building bridges across communities, and reimagining a better tomorrow. To our youth: your voice matters. Your vision matters.
And your actions will define the Sri Lanka of the next generation. As you dream big and work hard, know that you have the support of those who believe in your potential.
Happy International Youth Day!
Thaliba Cader
UNICEF South Asia YPAT
I am proud of you. Truly, deeply proud. If you still hold a newspaper in your hands, you are keeping alive one of life’s rarest romances. In a world spinning faster than your pulse can catch, to pause and read is rebellion. I see you. I hear your silence. That silence may be the loudest thing you carry. I stand in my final year of belonging to what the world calls youth, about to turn that invisible corner. For so long I searched for role models in others, never realizing the person I truly needed to look up to was the one in my own skin. Half my youth was stolen before I could claim it. The rest I guarded fiercely. I owed her, the younger me, everything. In your late teens, you think you know everything. In your early twenties, you discover you know nothing at all. You may roll your eyes at your parents, yet one day you will ache for your mother’s bed. Technology will make life easy, but do not let convenience drain your soul. Notice life. Taste it slowly. To those whose childhood was a battlefield, I am sorry. I am sorry if your parents were too loud or too absent, if you ever had to choose between them. I am sorry if your existence felt like an afterthought or if you have been in rooms where you felt unsafe.
I cannot take away the weight of it, but I will try my best to stand for you. Until then, hold on. Plan your way forward with education and kindness. If the hard decisions feel like traps, know that you are already in one. Remember that purposeless privilege is just another kind of poverty. You can have a warm bed and still be cold inside. You can inherit a future and still starve for meaning. If the world confronts you with cruelty, stand. Stand for something. Stand for yourself. Accept love and opportunity without guilt but always test the air around you. The world is vast, varied, and not always sweet. Nurture the life inside you even when the outside feels lifeless. Fall in love with forgotten colours. Be unapologetically yourself. Protect this planet. One day, someone’s map will lead to you, and you will know you did it right.
Kiara Wijewardene
Columnist
To me, youth day is about celebrating the energy, creativity and resilience we bring as young people. It’s a reminder that we’re not just “the future,” but the present, we’re here now making things happen in our communities, speaking up for what we believe is right and trying to leave the world even a tad bit better than we found it. As a 20-year-old I’d like to contribute to society in the future by helping to create a world where equality isn’t just some unreachable idea that we dream about but something we all experience. That means speaking up for what’s right, getting involved and making small choices each day that bring people together. In terms of my goals for the future, they mostly evolve around sustainability, equality and environmental justice. I’d like to contribute towards protecting the planet and calling out things that harm the environment, I also believe a greener future has to be a kinder, fairer one. So, I’d like to create change that’s both good for the people and the planet.
Thasmina Sookoor
Columnist, Deputy Head of Department (Social Media), WNL
Youth are the future of our world, the heartbeat of tomorrow. I believe the responsibility for shaping this world, whether for better or worse, rests in our hands. We must carry the flame of sustainability, embrace new technology, and step forward as the future lawmakers and decision-makers. For me, education is the key that opens every door, but our attitude determines how far we go. Respecting each community, valuing diversity, and working towards world peace are essential to building a stronger, united future. Respect for others is what holds a community together. My hope is for a future where we work together, learn from one another, and create a world we can all be proud of. Happy International Youth Day!
Shazeena Naushad
Columnist
Happy Youth Day! You are not just the future, you are the present, and the world needs you now. Dream as boldly as you can, but also value the small, everyday steps that shape you into someone unstoppable. There will be moments when life knocks you down, when plans fail, and when things don’t make sense, and that’s okay, because those moments are not the end, they’re the training ground. Fall, learn, rise, repeat. Your energy can inspire movements, your ideas can spark change, and your courage can light up places where hope has faded. You don’t have to change the entire world in one day, start with your own corner of it, touch one life, solve one problem, take one step, and watch how far it grows. So, keep dreaming, keep building, and keep showing up, because the future isn’t waiting, it’s already here, and it’s YOU.
Yashmitha Sritheran
Columnist
Youth Day is a reminder that our voices, energy, and ideas shape the future. Yes, I’d like to change something too as a youth, I don’t know if I can, but we youth always keep trying, and that’s the special thing about our generation. Another goal of mine is to always stay positive and spread positivity to the people around me. If I have a responsibility, I will make sure to fulfill it. I believe our generation has the power to turn hope into action. Happy Youth Day to all the dreamers and doers out there!
Dr. Sulochana Segera
Founder, Women in Management and New Generation Sri Lanka
International Youth Day 2025’s theme, “Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond,” is both a celebration and a call to action. It reminds us that young people are not merely the leaders of tomorrow, they are changemakers today. As the founder of New Generation Sri Lanka, I have witnessed firsthand how our youth possess the creativity, energy, and courage to address some of the most pressing issues of our time. However, their potential can only be fully realized if their actions are aligned with the Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and if they receive the right support from both the state and private sectors. Sri Lankan youth already contribute in powerful ways to the SDGs, whether through grassroots environmental initiatives, innovative tech solutions, or community-led social impact projects. Many young entrepreneurs are integrating sustainability into their business models, young activists are championing gender equality and climate action, and university students are driving awareness campaigns that touch thousands of lives. These are encouraging signs of a generation that is aware and ready to act. Yet, the reality is that much of this work remains fragmented and under-resourced. The SDGs are a global framework, but their success depends on local alignment. Our young people need more than inspiration; they need a structured ecosystem that connects their passion to measurable outcomes. That means: Policy Support, Private Sector Partnerships and Capacity Building. As we look beyond the SDGs, the challenge for Sri Lankan youth is to keep evolving, to address emerging issues such as AI ethics, climate migration, global health resilience, and inclusive economic growth. The future will demand not just solutions, but solutions that are interconnected, scalable, and equitable. At New Generation Sri Lanka, we believe in nurturing a youth community that is globally informed yet locally grounded. This is the only way to ensure that the dreams of our young people resonate beyond our shores and contribute to the shared vision of a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient world. The power of youth action is undeniable. The question is, will we, as a nation, provide the system, the trust, and the opportunities they need to transform potential into progress? If we do, Sri Lanka’s young people will not just contribute to the SDGs, they will redefine them for the generations to come.
Nisindi Jayaratne
Columnist
Youth is our loudest heartbeat; the pulse that shakes the world awake. We are not a generation waiting in the wings; we are the authors of new chapters, the challengers of old rules, and the dreamers who refuse to dream small. Every voice we raise, every step we take, every idea we dare to unleash is shaping the present, not just the future. Our time isn’t on the horizon, it’s right here, right now, and we’re making it impossible to ignore.
Fathima Rafi
UNICEF South Asia YPAT
I hope the sea near my hometown still sings its gentle song rather than roaring with fury. I hope the mangroves along Batticaloa’s lagoon and the coasts of Sri Lanka have been restored and stand tall, shielding our lands and sheltering wildlife.
I hope your skies are clear, your rivers flow clean, and your communities live in harmony with nature. May you have learned from our mistakes and embraced the responsibility to protect the planet.
I hope that by your time, the climate crisis will no longer threaten homes, crops, or lives, and that clean energy and sustainable living will be the norm everywhere — not just a hope.
If my voice can reach you across time, I want you to remember this: Every small act matters. Every tree planted, every plastic bottle avoided, every voice raised in defense of the Earth adds up to real change.Be the generation that healed the world and restored the balance between humans and nature.
With hope and faith from 2025
Nuha Faiz
Columnist
To me, Youth Day is a reminder that this stage of life is fleeting but powerful. I’ve always believed change begins with us; whether it’s taking the smallest step toward breaking an unhealthy pattern or standing up to protect the people around us. As youth, we often forget how precious this time is. There are people who have already lived through it who would give anything to come back; not just to relive the joy, but to make different choices, to right the wrongs, to dream bigger. I want to use my youth to create something that lasts through my work, my writing, and the way I connect with people. I want to tell stories that matter, work on causes that push for real change, and be a voice that inspires others to take action. My goal is simple but important: to live with intention, to keep learning, and to ensure that when I look back, I’ll know I made my time here count. Because in the end, Youth Day isn’t just about celebrating our age, it’s about deciding what we’ll do with it.
Vihara Marasinghe
UNICEF South Asia YPAT
If you are reading this, I hope the universe has been kind to you, and if not, I hope you will find the strength in you to face these challenges as a youth, just as I have growing up. As a young girl who was transitioning to an adolescent, I felt like a butterfly trapped in a cocoon. Even though I was given wings to fly, I was afraid of using them. At first, I stayed inside my safe space, hidden from the world without taking on challenges, because I was under the impression that staying silent and keeping my head down was better than talking too loudly and being opinionated as a girl. So, I stayed small, even when my soul was growing too big for the walls I had built around it. I was never smart during my early days in school. I was not talented in anything except for the fact I could draw reasonably well. Eventually, when I entered middle school, I found that I was gifted with the wonderful ability to “speak up for myself.” This is a common good we have been given without an opportunity cost, yet we don’t utilize it. I realized the more I spoke up for myself, the more opportunities I received, which led me to excel in sports, drama, debating, and academics. From being the one before the last in my class, I slowly rose up to be in the top ten, and before I left my 13th grade, I was the class 1st. When people ask me how I achieved this, I usually reply and say it was hard work, which I don’t deny, but the more I think of it now, I realize somewhere along the way, I genuinely started to love learning. I had a hunger for education, it was not to get a mark but to learn the ways of the world, Learning became my way of exploring the universe, one textbook page at a time. So, to the young girl reading this, what I want to say is that you don’t need to be perfect to be extraordinary. You don’t need to have all the answers or check all the boxes of a standard girl. What matters is that you are doing what you love and enjoy. Even if you’re not “the best” at it. In another 10 years, the world will be more complex, and the problems I faced as an adolescent girl trying to find my identity might seem insignificant, but I believe this will remain constant; while the problems may change, the ways in which we find strength, joy, and peace will always be simple.
Ananya Abeugunasekera
Columnist
Youth Day is a reminder that we are the driving force behind progress and the future. I want to use my creativity to inspire others, whether that’s by sharing ideas, taking action, or supporting causes I believe in. My goal is to grow into someone who makes a real difference, while staying curious, compassionate, and unafraid to challenge what needs to change.
