"We also hope that this particular award scheme will provide catalyst for further promotion of community work," Thusitha Tennakoon director BCIS said in an interview.
"Another objective is to give a platform for youth to voice their concerns at the national level and also to contribute in policy planning at development level."
High inflation, two-decade civil war and deteriorating economic conditions in the country have galvanized youth to conduct community development projects in their areas to increase their standard of living.
"It drives the youth to come out and do something for the nation and their community." Sri Lanka must therefore recognize talent and help them to increase community development work," Tennakoon said.
"The kinds of projects our youth are engaged in are of very high quality and we feel that even in a difficult situation the kind of effort that they take is really commendable, they need to be recognized and rewarded at the national level."
Sri Lanka, before the proliferation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), has had a culture of community development while leadership, resources and assistance have been obtained by the community to solve the issues of the community.
However, following the proliferation of NGOs, the resources and leadership have been coming from the outside, Tennakoon says.
The awards have received applications from over 750 applicants for 15 categories such as peace building, rights, community health, sustainable environment, youth empowerment, culture and arts and ICT.
"Through the application process we have seen a tremendous interest and we have come across very useful projects that the youth have been undertaking to help sustain the community."
From the 15 categories, 150 will be chosen and following evaluation of the projects, 75 will be chosen based on on-site evaluation of their projects.
In the second phase, the 75 will then undergo leadership training on quantitative aspect such as effectiveness and qualitative aspects of vision, mission and attitude in order to groom themselves to suit the selection criteria.
The list will be further cut down to 45 projects, three from each category- notwithstanding the magnitude, financial aspect or the popularity of the project and awarded gold, silver and bronze medals.
"Out of the 45, through a marking scheme, we will be choosing the most outstanding young community leader of the year," Tennakoon said.
The winner will receive a one million rupee project grant to implement what ever the kind of dream project to further their community development work.
The organizers hope the scheme will also empower youth leaders to stand out in the community to take on community development projects.
"Unfortunately given our system, if you are not socially or politically connected or if you do not have a certain wealth, it is very unlikely that you can come up to the open, you do not get the national level recognition." Tennakoon said.
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