UN Celebrates 'International Day of Peace' in Sri Lanka
The United Nations in Sri Lanka yesterday celebrated the International Day of Peace under the theme; "Peace, Youth and Development", at the UN compound in Thunmulla. This year's Peace Day was dedicated to the Youth by UN Secretary General Ban Ki -moon. "This month marks the beginning of the International Year of Youth. Its theme of dialog and mutual understating captured the very essence of peace," the Secretary General had said in his Peace Day message.
Present at the event was Ministry of External Affairs Secretary Romesh Jayasinghe who explained that the United Nations goals of Youth and Development was in line with the objectives outlined by the Mahinda Chinthanaya. "The Government has been powering Youth programmes with an emphasis on Information Technology which is what the President believes will link the Sri Lankan Youth to the world. Programmes have also been launched to make the teaching of the third Language of English more user friendly and less elitist", he said.
He also mentioned the importance of Youth Development in the North and East and the Rehabilitation of child soldiers. "We have freed them from the nightmare they were in and are now taking steps to restore essential elements of normalcy to their lives," he said.
Source: Daily Mirror – 20.09.2010