Conference for youth
View(s):It was just three months ago that the Birendra and Serika Siriwardhana Initiative spearheaded the Real Men Don’t Abuse Women movement, campaigning for the end of violence against women. This month, they will be hosted by Trinity College Kandy for another phase of their long-term programme to achieve this goal; on February 8, they will conduct their first Youth Awareness Project on Gender Based Violence (GBV) for young people, and they’ve got some illustrious speakers on board.
The conference will be chaired by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative to Sri Lanka Dr. Firdosi Mehta while Justice Shiranee Tilakawardana will also address the audience. “Justice Tilakawardana attended the concert in November directed by Steve De La Zilwa and was moved by the sincere inspiration behind the Real Men Don’t Abuse campaign,” says Birendra Siriwardhana who fronts the initiative. Together with Dr. Mehta, Justice Tilakawardana was instrumental in facilitating the eminent panel of speakers.
Dr. Manoj Fernando (Concept of Gender and Factors Associated with GBV), Dr. Shyama Arambepola (Impact of GBV on Children and Youth), Rosy Senanayake (Empowering Girls) and Prof. Savitri Goonesekara (Legal Mechanisms in the Country to Protect Girls and Women) are the other speakers. Together with Dr. Mehta (who will speak on the Importance of Youth Involvement in Preventing GBV) and Justice Thilakawardana (speaking on Impunity and the Role of Youth in Preventing GBV), this illustrious panel of respected professionals hope to inspire the young people at the event to speak up and stand up against gender based violence.
The conference/workshop for the young people in attendance will be conducted by a panel of experts headed by Dr. Manoj Fernando of the WHO.
Admission to the event is free to any young person interested; youth organisations, schools, members of service organisations and groups such as Scouts, Girl Guides, members of Interact and Roteract clubs in the area will also participate in the event. Please call 0773 011 955 / 0779 826 953 / 0772 323 748 to register.