Socio-Economic and Political Empowerment of Youth
Helvetas started its engagement in Sri Lanka in 1978. The focus has been on strengthening economic rights and immediate needs of disadvantaged groups in Sri Lanka, while building up strong and trustful relationships with local state and non-state actors in numerous districts in the South, the East and the North.
Since 2009, the focus has been in the Governance and Peace working area and the economic empowerment. The interventions include areas on human rights, democracy, reconciliation and sustainable peace, safe labour migration, civil society support and strenghtening technical and entrepreneurial skills of impoverished people.
Projects in Sri Lanka
Youth as primary Stakeholder for sustainable Development
In Sri Lanka, youth accounts for nearly one third of population. The exclusion of youth from full participation in the social, economic, and political life of communities is a key factor that hinders the development of Sri Lanka. Helvetas, therefore, engages youth as a primary stakeholder in its development interventions and considers the socio-economic and political empowerment of youth to be of utmost importance in its journey to realizing a just world in which all humans determine the course of their lives in dignity and security.
Our Achievements
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More than 4000 youth from six differnt districts have improved capacities on prevention of violent extremism, peace building, reconciliation, and social cohesion
- More than 800 youth equipped with skills to engage in advocacy and activism
- Established a national network of empowered youth (LankanYouthCAN) to enhance youth representation in civil society
- Three Incubator Spaces for media and communication students established in collaboration with three universities and a youth network of over 600 future Media and Communication/Journalism professionals trained on promoting information rights and freedom of expression
- Capacity building for 30 civil society actors, nearly 700 state officials as well as religious and community leaders to identify the contributing factors to prevention of violent extremism in specific community contexts, prevent radicalization, and promote tolerance and social cohesion
- The Labour migration project Sri Lanka, built capacities of government sector officials, CSOs and Trade Unions, as well as community members on crucial aspects of safe labour migration such as the international covenants governing labour migration, the legal systems of destination countries, financial literacy, and psychosocial counselling, Trafficking in Persons, and effective reintegration etc.
- Helvetas developed the first resource materials (training manuals, guidelines etc) in this sector which have been adapted and are in use by other actors as well.
- Migration information centres were stablished providing services to migrants, which are still functional after the end of the project
- Four youth cooperatives with interlinked district-based social enterprises established that enable income generation for youth and facilitate community development initiatives
- 202 returnee/aspiring migrant workers and their family members in the districts of Puttalam & Gampaha started/improved income generation activities through small group enterprises or securing employment
- Helvetas carried out humanitarian response on a small scale during 2017 in response to floods, as well as in 2020 during the Covid crisis
- In the aftermath of the 2022 economic crisis, Helvetas piloted a cash and voucher assistance programme to deliver humanitarian aid to vulnerable communities. Helvetas’ beneficiary referral criteria focused on low-income households, female headed households, households with disabled dependents etc. Where neither cash nor voucher provision was possible due to logistical difficulties or the beneficiaries’ personal circumstances, ration packs were provided.
