The British Council recently hosted an Active Citizens International Study Visit Program bringing in young social activists from countries such as Bosnia, Egypt, Pakistan, UK, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to create opportunities and develop cultural relations between countries.

The students aged 18-30 commenced on a  week long journey traveling in groups of 6 around the island visiting small communities, as well as heritage sites in places such as Kandy, Galle and Matara studying and observing various cultural aspects and issues faced by the local communities and sharing ideas and knowledge in problem resolution.

A key part of the week long trip is the exchange of knowledge between different countries, helping participants to understand the similarities between their disparate communities, becoming better globally connected and locally engaged.

All 36 young activists who visited the island have been trained in community development by the British Council’s Active Citizens Program – and many have subsequently developed creative and unique ways of working with marginalized groups.

At the end of their stay the groups got together to present their findings and share the knowledge they’ve gained as well as ideas in which they could help local communities deal with problems such as pollution and deforestation as well as community sustainability.

Among the topics discussed at the presentation was mangrove plantation and its benefits to the environment and communities, the production of traditional Sri Lankan masks, diverse tree plantation and organic compost production.

“This was my first international study visit and it was good learning experience. We got a greater understanding of issues and problems people face, here and around the world. We met some wonderful people who were so warm and open minded”, said Shahida, a student from Pakistan.

“It was a fantastic experience. There was a lot of energy among the students and it was great engaging in local projects and issues. The community visits were very interesting and we gained a lot of insight into the issues people face as a community. Among the activities we did were a local school clean up in Kandy and a symbolic cleaning of a river polluted with factory waste” said Dan Smith, a student visiting from UK.

The Colombo group saw the work of Team Muslim Aid, who work with disabled and orphan children and provide disaster relief across the country. They also visited the H3 Foundation, EMACE and GreentheClimate.Org, who carry out environmental conservation work and provide social enterprise and development support and training.

Issues such as domestic violence, mental health, sexual harassment of women, child marriage, and problems in post-revolution Egypt were among other topics discussed at the students’ presentation last week.

By Ashanthi Navaratne