This project has been designed to develop attitudes and skills and enhance the capacity of youth groups towards being more gender sensitive and responsive to addressing issues especially of violence against women in their respective communities. It also aims to make the young generation more sensitive towards inter-ethnic, religious tolerance and freedom of religion and belief.
The project aims to increase awareness and understanding of violence against women/girls and related issues among youth groups. The activities include to identify three youth groups of 30 each representing different ethnicities from the Avissawella area with the assistance and coordination of the National Youth Council committee of the area; to draft a Community Engagement Manual and conduct three-day training workshops for youth groups which will include debates and discussions based on the manual; conduct two-day training workshops on street theatre techniques for selected two groups from the pool.
At the end of the training all groups are supposed to organize community meetings at their localities and form Community Development Teams. Community Development Teams include religious leaders, teachers, public health inspectors, midwives, media personnel, defence officers, artists, and social workers in their respective communities. Through forming Community Development Teams, the project aims to create diverse groups of active and sensitised stakeholders at community levels to be alert on issues of violence with special attention on women/girls and take preventive measures as soon as they occur. The project is funded by The US Embassy in Sri Lanka.