Sri Lanka’s Permanent Envoy to the United Nations, Dr. Palitha Kohona, says that youth issues have been treated as “tomorrow’s problem” by many instead of considering them as “today’s challenge.”

Ambassador Dr. Kohona made these comments speaking on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, during the plenary session on ‘Mainstreaming Youth in the Post-2015 Agenda: Taking Action’ on the final day of deliberations of the World Conference on Youth (WCY) 2014.

“In the past, global dialogue on development paid little attention to matters related to youth, not because of deliberate policy, but that is how things have been done,” Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York said.

Many tended to treat youth issues as tomorrow’s problem, he continued, indicating that ironically today’s youth are at the center of a complex web of challenges of the world.

He said they elect governments, they change governments and initiate global movements. They are today’s challenge, not tomorrow’s problem, he said.

Chairperson of the Global Education First Initiative Mr. Chernor Bah said there is a significant difference in what today’s youth are doing and what they can actually do.

“We are the most informed and active youth generation in the history,” he said.

Minister of Youth Affairs and Skills Development Mr. Dullas Alahapperuma and Asia – Pacific Regional Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Ms. Nobuko Horibe were also at the plenary.