YOUTH FORUM

Compiled by Nicola Jayasundera

CHANGE BEGINS AT HOME 

Joel De Silva explores multiple initiatives that could reshape Sri Lanka

However, real respect should create space for conversation, not silence it. We must also recognise the dignity of every kind of work. A farmer who feeds communities deserves as much respect as anyone else. I was raised to believe that though our society doesn’t always reflect it.

Q: And what are the challenges facing the nation at this time?

A: Sri Lanka is going through a difficult season. The economic crisis has hit hard, made worse by the knowledge that our potential is not being used well. Mismanagement and corruption have slowed us down in ways that didn’t have to happen.

Many of my peers are planning to leave the country because they don’t see a future for them in the country. Ethnic and religious tensions have also been used to distract people from the real issues for far too long.

Q: What are the challenges facing young people in Sri Lanka today?

A: On the surface, youth face practical challenges; limited access to education, scarce job opportunities and financial pressure. But the deeper crisis is one of identity – many young Sri Lankans have lost their connection to who they truly are.

There is also a quiet drifting away from faith and values. Faith has been central to understanding my purpose. This is why many young people are searching for not just a job or degree but a reason.

Q: How can our youth contribute to national progress?

A:  Young people must stop waiting for permission. When we begin, things shift. Youth can help bridge the digital divide by acting as translators between the old and new worlds.

Spaces such as the YMCA and YMBA could be reinvented as genuine hubs for innovation and civic engagement. More youth should be involved in local governance, sitting in rooms where decisions are made. We have less to lose than we think – and that’s our advantage.

Q: What type of leadership do you think the world needs right now?

A: We have confused leadership with authority for too long. Some of the most powerful leaders I’ve encountered will never make the headlines.

As head prefect, I’ve learned that students don’t follow you because of your badge; they follow you because they trust you. And trust is built in the smallest moments – not big speeches.

Q: How has the advent of AI and technology shaped your view of the future?

A: We’re living through a shift most of us don’t fully understand yet. For Sri Lanka, the opportunity is real but access to technology cannot be reserved for a privileged few. That would create a new form of inequality.

AI can do many things but it cannot love or truly empathise with someone. Those capacities rooted in our humanity and faith are exactly what the world needs more of, not less. It is both exciting and alarming.

Q: As a young person, what are your hopes for and concerns about the future?

A: My hope is for a Sri Lanka that young people choose to remain here. My concern is that many structures around youth weren’t built with us in mind. A table where only one generation speaks isn’t a dialogue – it’s a monologue.

Change begins at home with parents raising children not only to be successful but to be good. Sri Lanka has always been described as a pearl; I want it to become a place where it’s worth staying.

Q: If you could launch a project or movement in Sri Lanka, what would it be – and why?

A: I would initiate a nationwide youth innovation forum – a Shark Tank for young people, centred on mentorship at its core. A space where youth from Jaffna and Galle discover they were trying to solve the same problem from opposite ends of the island.

That connection could quietly dismantle the divisions we’ve inherited.

Sri Lanka doesn’t need to be saved by a hero; it needs a generation that decides to show up together.