Being the change

Forums are possibly one of the most effective mediums to discuss telling issues. And the one held on the July 21, at the British Council, could simply be described as argumentatively informative. With "How importantly should Global Warming figure in development agendas of developing countries" being the title of the forum, the focus was primarily on Sri Lanka.

The event started off with an introduction by Gill Westaway, the Director of British Council, Sri Lanka. She touched on British Council's ongoing effort to raise awareness among the public about the risks posed by climate change. She mentioned that although Sri Lanka, as a country, has many issues to be dealt with, the country is not exempt from the issue of climate change, while emphasising the need for action, initiated especially by young people.

The introduction was followed by a presentation on Youth Yatra, the project from which the event stemmed. The presentation on Yatra focused on the learning from a personal point of view from each of the Yatra participants from Sri Lanka. Yatra for Reflection and Action for Change is an EU funded project for young people managed by the British Council along with partners in Finland (Finnish Youth Cooperation Allianssi), India (Swechha We for Change Foundation), Sri Lanka (Sarvodaya Shramadan Movement) and the UK (UnLtd). The scope of the project moved beyond the traditional realm of volunteering to build the capacity of young people as change-makers. This project brought together 24 young change-makers from Finland, India, Sri Lanka and United Kingdom to go through a practical, professional, personal, reflective and active journey over 10 months on issues of sustainable development.

The key aim of the project was to build the capacity of the participants for the promotion of positive social change by being role models for youth activism in the international movement for sustainable development. These young change-makers were a diverse group of young men and women journalists, community animators and film-makers, in the age group of 18-30 years, with a passion for making a difference through youth empowerment, participation and policy formulation on global issues.

Beyond Borders, another party involved in the organising of the forum, is a sharing, learning and networking project which was initiated by the British council for young people in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, UK and Sri Lanka, and is now continued in some of the countries, on different levels. The project's aim is to explore identity, diversity and to contribute positively towards an understanding of "active global citizenship." Beyond Borders Sri Lanka, at present, functions as a team of core group members supported by the Colombo office of the British Council.

The introduction to the topic was handled by Professor Ajith De Alwis (Head -Department of Chemical & Process Eng., University of Moratuwa) and he spoke on the risks posed by climate change on Sri Lanka. He raised many point: Here's a summary –
*Young people and people in general cannot be ignorant of issues, and the 21st century demands us to be more informed of the changes that are taking place.

*According to some experts, Jaffna, and other places is in the north and eastern provinces, and Matara in the southern provinces, is in danger of going underwater due to sea level rise caused by global warming.

*The 'piece of land' which is at the focal point of the current armed conflict in Sri Lanka may not be there, in a few years time if the predictions are true.

*Loss of solid productivity is one of the main environmental problems in Sri Lanka and the problem of soil erosion, will be further aggravated by climate change. This will have far reaching implications for agriculture sector, among others.

*Climate change will also increase the risks of malaria, and chikungunya outbreaks.

*Sri Lanka hasn't played a significant role in creating the problem, and similarly what we can to mitigate the problem is also small.
*Despite this, we stand to suffer from it. Especially adding on to

problems we already have of poverty and conflict. Imposing climate change issues on top of this will have disastrous consequences.

*There are policy issues that need sorting out, for example the CEB (Central Electricity Board) incurs a loss of Rs.50 Million daily - enough to build a rural hospital a day.

*Sri Lanka suffers from power inefficiency.

*Despite this, most important thing is not to be appalled by the problem, but instead understand if fully and solving it bit by bit.

*Time magazine chose the century's greatest people. No.1 was chosen as Albert Einstein, next was was Mahatma Gandhi. Both science and values are important, and with the correct balance of the two, you can change the world.

*You have to practice what you preach walk the talk and like Gandhi said - you must be the change you want to see.