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Changemakers: Sulakshana Senanayake, Sikander Shabeer, Mohamed Husni, Anoka Abeyratne, Sarah Jameel
The main Highlight of the Project was the formation of the word "YOUTH"
with
1500 people. This was declared a Guinness World Record by official representatives
and aerial pictures were taken by a helicopter. The purpose of the event was to
celebrate International youth day and to inspire more Sri Lankan youth to engage in
volunteerism and activism. This was achieved by the "youth carnival" that was
organized alongside the record breaking with over 8 youth organizations n the
country, namely; National Youth Services Council, Leo Sri Lanka, SLMUN, Rotaract,
Interact, AIESEC, IYV+10 and the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association. Dignitaries
including the Vice-chancellor of the University of Colombo, a Member of Parliament
and UN officials were honored guests at the event. The challenges faced were mainly
gathering such a number of people within NINE DAYS and we had utilize every
possible contact we had, social media and a large print and electronic media strategy.
This was done by making partnerships with youth organizations, social media such as
Facebook and twitter and also by giving away media sponsorship of the event to local
media giants. Apart from the obvious Guinness world record we achieved in the name
of the Sri Lankan youth, we were able to change the mindframes of many youth as
well as adults all around the country about the power youth possess and the benefits of
volunteering and activism.
