Two Sri Lankans win prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders award

From right: Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Ajith P. Perera, Thejitha Saubhagya Edirisinghe and Kavindya Thennakoon

Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Ajith P. Perera felicitated two young Sri Lankan achievers – Thejitha Saubhagya Edirisinghe and Kavindya Thennakoon – at a meeting on 19 June at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They are among the 60 winners of the Queen’s Young Leaders (QYL) program 2015 from Commonwealth countries.  

The QYL program is a new initiative established by the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in partnership with the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) and Comic Relief in recognition of the Queen’s lifetime service to the Commonwealth. It recognises and celebrates exceptional young people aged 18 – 29 from across the Commonwealth, who are taking the lead in their communities and using their skills to transform lives. 

The two award winners from Sri Lanka, Thejitha Saubhagya Edirisinghe and Kavindya Thennakoon, aged 26 and 19 respectively, are among the eight winners from the South Asia region. They have attempted to bring about positive changes in the fields of education, social harmony and integration. Having seen and experienced the divisions created in the social fabric by Sri Lanka’s armed conflict, Edirisinghe sought to encourage future peace. Based on the belief that enabling people to learn and communicate in different languages will break down barriers and rebuild social trust, he set up ‘Human Wing International,’ an organisation that recognises the importance of culture and arts in creating a cohesive community.  

Thennakoon, the other award winner, had volunteered for organisations throughout her school career. In the conviction that education is key to addressing many social evils, she recently founded ‘Without Borders,’ an organisation which aims to tackle the lack of quality education and employment. 

Edirisinghe and Thennakoon were presented awards by the Queen in London at the first-ever QYL Awards. Along with the other award winners, they also received a package of training, mentoring and networking, including a one-week residential program in the UK from 22-27 June, aimed at helping them to continue and develop the initiatives taken in their communities.