Features on 2012-04-1 15

http://www. .ceylontoday.lk/3 35-4631-news-d detail-feasting-it-young.html

Feastingi itYoung
ByMichaelMendis Direction, today, is har to come by. Too often, you people are prevented from true rd ung m greatness because they lack the guidance needed at the most crucia time. Thus, th are y al hey swallow wedbythecorpo orateworld,unr ready,whereev veryonehaslittleinterestinthe eirtrue gifts and hidden talent We think the best way to develop perso ts. o onally is to follo our ow passions find ways to excel in what w s: were truly gifte in, says Sahan Hannadige. When ed YouthFe estwasinitiallyconceived,ouro objectivewasto ohelpyoungSriLankansdojust tthat discover ring who they are and wh y hat they reall want to do with their lives. ly YouthFest,foundedby ySahanHannadige,alongwith hiscolleagueDa amithaSamarak koon,is gearing up to make a return perfo ormance this A August after its highly suc ccessful inaugura ation in Decemberr, last year. They launched under the them Seize your d me dream, wake th hero within that time, and in a programm spanning just two days, to the he d me ook opportunity ytoprovideale earningeventto outedasbothen ntertainingand experientialto nearly175youn ngindividuals.It twasa resounding success,bringin ngtogetherthe collaborationsa avastbodyofin nterestgroupsfromtheeducationalfield,socia alwork organisation ns,governmentagenciesandco orporatebodies. The festival in itself focuses on many c core values, inc cluding most notably the idea of creating c a cooperation acr ross all communitie es.YouthFest2 2011wasagreatopportunityfo orus.Weworke edtogetherinte eamstoachievecommontasksbutwe were from different backg grounds, said H Hasudeen Moha ammed Rajjaz, a second year student of Scie ence Faculty at Jaffna University. All the students were collabo orating with eac other without any difference as all the peo ch e, ople should be in this country.Iam mreallyhappya aboutmyYouthFestexperience e. Butwhatis thisYouthFest allabout?Yout thFestisorganis sedbyagroupo ofvibrantyoung gindividuals,on navoluntarybas sis,not inspiteoft theirdayjobsandotherroutinecommitments swhilealmost talloftheminv variablyshareco ommonrootsin nbeing alumniofAIESEC(worldsla argestyouthrun norganisation),theyinsistthattheFestival,par rticularlylastyear,wasthefruit tofthe commoneff fortofAIESEC,E EarthDreamInternational(atra ainingandconsu ultancycompanysetupbyagroupofAIESECA Alumni) aswellasth heNationalYout thServicesCoun ncil. The festival is, at best, des scribed as a con nference featu uring young part ticipants engaging in interactive sessions, indo and e oor outdoor wo orkshops, compe etitions, forums etc., that are a designed to develop various and essentials values in indiv s all s s viduals: personalde evelopment,teamwork,volunte eerism,entrepre eneurship,citizenshipandtoget thernessarethe emainvaluesth heywill focusonatthisyearsFestiv val,accordingto oHannadige.Thisyearsfestival lwillbefollowin ngthethemeCelebratingYouth h,and will be ope to 300 young Sri Lankans b en g between the ag 16 and 30, who will be selected through a filtering proc ges cess to participate inthefestival.5 50foreigndelegatesarealsotobeselectedforparticipation,in nadditiontothe eaforementione ed300, toaddtoth hevibrancyand diversityofthe bodyofparticip pants.Theentireeventwillbe heldatMASIns stituteofManag gement TraininginT Thulhiriyafromt the24thto26th hofAugust. Last years festival saw a number of speci sessions lined up. The case studies of exem n ial mplary young ac chievers serve as good example.Pe eopleareusedt tohearingtheusualrhetoricof untappedpoten ntialandpersev verance,without tmuchmaterial reality to it. This p particular set of case studies, h f however, gave t participants the opportunit to see living proof of the Fe the ty estivals message. A Another example is the Ambas e ssadorship Challenge competition, where best five problem solvers were se t elected throughanintricatecompe etitiveprocessto obetrainedintheAIESECstude entexchangepro ogrammeandev ventuallyworkf forone monthinaS SouthEastAsian ncountry. In essence, Youth Fest is also about expos sure.Where the lucky young people arebro ese ought the chanc of being expo ce osed to different en nvironments, fr rom ethnic diffe erences, to cor rporate atmospheres. As far a exposure is concerned, cor as rporate

involvementinthefestivalneedssignificantmention.Theinitiallegofthefestivalsawanumberofbignamespledgingtheir partnership in the programme, bringing with them crucial contributions to the end result. Browns, Sri Lanka Navy, CIMA Sri Lanka,WorldBank,BankofCeylon,SriLankanAirlines,theCentreforPovertyAnalysis,361EdgeandRibelzarejusttonamea fewofthem.Theircontributionsrangedfromsubsidisingregistrationcoststoprovidingresourcepersonneltosometimeseven takingcompleteresponsibilityforthesubject matterofcertainsessionsandorganisingthem.Inthissense,Hannadigeavers thatthecorporatesectorhasrecognisedthemeritintheirwork,andthegreatbenefitstothecorporateworldinpursuingand supportingthissortofconference. The Youth Fest 2012 organising team is packing up a punch for this coming August; much is already underway. More information on how you may pitch in or get involved can be found on their Facebook page found athttp://www.facebook.com/YouthFestSL