The Weeramantry International Centre for Peace Education and Research (WICPER) conducted its annual Training for Trusteeship (TFT) Workshop from September 23-30, 2010 at the MAS Institute in Thulhiriya Sri Lanka. Once more over seventy five young leaders from universities, private tertiary educational institutions and leading youth organizations met together at this unique forum under the theme Harnessing Youth Idealism for Social Advancement. Also, the workshop took into account that the UN had proclaimed 2010 year to be dedicated as the UN Year for Biodiversity and UN Year of Youth.
This was the third consecutive year that WICPER organized the TFT and it has received much attention both at the local and international levels and the continued support of the Public Affairs Centre of the US Embassy, Colombo, is noted here with much appreciation.
Many individuals and organizations came forward this year to collaborate with WICPER in achieving the objectives and goals of this workshop. Noteworthy amongst these are the collaborations with the Earth Charter Initiative, Costa Rica, Monash College Pty Ltd, Australia and persons such as Professor Lakshman Guruswamy, Nicholas Doman Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School, USA (WICPER Advisor) and an international expert in the field of international environmental law and energy policy, Mr. G.E. Chitty, former UN Assistant Secretary General and first registrar of the UN Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, (WICPER Trustee) both of whom spent four days with the participants exchanging ideas and engaging them at various sessions. Professor Mohan Munasinghe, who is a sharer of the Nobel Peace Prize, as Co-Chair of the UN Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change sent in a strong supportive message setting out the fact that young leaders can make that necessary commitment and change toward sustainable development, both in principle and in practice.
Further, Sri Lanka Unites (a leading youth organization in Sri Lanka) and Mother Sri Lanka (a collective organization of public, non-governmental and private institutions) collaborated with the TFT participants of the three years to carry out a tree planting campaign and home garden project at a local school in Warakapola (in close proximity to the venue of the workshop) and engaged students from that schools to highlight the importance of environment protection and taking collective action for sustainable development.
At the end of the workshop, participants had made many lifelong friendships and committed themselves to carry forward the ideals of trusteeship both as individuals as well as in groups back to their communities, institutions and organizations.
