Recognising Thejitha Edirisinghe... 

Thejitha Edirisinghe is among the 60 young people from across the Commonwealth to receive a prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders Award for their exceptional work in the community. Thejitha received his secondary education at Ananda College and continued his higher studies at the National Film Corporation, Sri Lanka Foundation – Digital Film Academy and the Teleview Technology Academy. He has worked as a documentary and short film director, an actor, a stage manager and an assistant producer.

Currently, he is running his own foundation – Human Wing International; and is still working as a stage manager for the Freedom Theatre Group. Not only is he in the Youth Parliament, he is also a part of the Commonwealth Youth Network, the Federation of Youth Clubs and Kite Sri Lanka. Despite his busy schedule, Thejitha took the time to speak to us about his work and aspirations.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m Thejitha Saubhagya Edirisinghe, from Urapola, a village in Attanagalla. I’m a social entrepreneur and a youth activist.

How old were you when you first began your activism?

Well, when I was around 16 I started working in different societies and clubs in my school which was a huge influence in my decision to engage in community activities and it was only in my early twenties did I become a youth activist.

You’re someone who believes that breaking language barriers will go a long way in helping communities, what brought on that belief?

Sri Lanka being a home for multi-ethnic and religious groups practising a multitude of languages, customs and traditions and recovering from a 30 year civil war, I feel that reducing language barriers will enhance better communication among ethnic groups and help people to respect other ethnicities. I think it's integral in this post war reconciliation period.

What are you involved in right now?

Currently, I’m concentrating mainly on my own organization – Human Wing International.  At the same time, I’m the national organizer of the Commonwealth Youth Network in Sri Lanka, a national board member of the Sri Lanka Federation of Youth Clubs and the secretary of Kite Sri Lanka organisation so I am involved with all those activities as well.

How did you enter the Queens Young Leaders Award?

One of the delegates I met at the World Conference on Youth asked me to nominate her for this program and I did. In doing that, I also checked to see if I could apply. I felt confident in myself and the work I’ve done so I applied and a few months later I was told I have been shortlisted for the award and was asked to provide more evidence of my work. I did, and it made me fortunate enough to be awarded as a Queen’s Young Leader by Her Majesty at the Buckingham Palace.

You’re an active member of the Youth Parliament in Sri Lanka, what is your role in it?

The Youth Parliament is a platform for young people to have exclusive knowledge on the parliamentary process and democracy. I am the Minister of Culture and Arts of the Second Sri Lanka Youth Parliament which allows me to organize youth related cultural projects with the National Youth Services Council.

You established “Human Wing International”. Tell us a little about it.

Human Wing International was formed with the aim of achieving human development, in the sense of uplifting the living standards of people. We are an organisation that emphasises more on spiritual development than just materialistic development. We focus on psychological development in people. We also give more attention to youth development simply because we consider youth as the change makers of the world and owners of the future. Furthermore, we do work involving environmental sustainability, preservation of arts and culture, marginalized communities and people with disabilities.

Who are your role models?

I can’t really say I have one specific role model in my life.  For me, I select my role model according to the situation rather than having one consistent figure throughout my life. For example, during my childhood, my parents and teachers were my role models, during my higher studies it was some renowned artists and when it comes to the social work that I do, it would be someone else. It’s entirely based on the situation I’m in.

What do you hope to accomplish eventually in your work?

As a human being I want to serve the society that I was born and grew up in. It’s my commitment and responsibility. So the ultimate goal of all my work would be to ensure that people have meaningful and dignified lives.

What’s next for you?

I want to be involved with more community projects. I want to conduct a national conference on youth with disabilities. I’m also developing a project called “Gamwarayak Denu Labe” to help develop rural villages and temples in Sri Lanka.

*For those interested in joining Thejitha in his community work, email him at [email protected].

Interviewed by Panchali Illankoon