The Young Researchers Forum 2012 20th & 21st January, 2012 Western Province Aesthetic Resort, Colombo

Session: Youth in Sri Lanka Date: 20th January, 2012 Time: 2.15pm-3.15pm
To register for YRF 2012 and to find out more details please visit http://theyrc.org/what-wedo/yrf or email forum@theyrc.org (Prior registration required)

The Young Researchers Forum 2012 The Youth Vote: A Hope for Democracy Navam Niles navam.niles@gmail.com This research paper will focus on the importance of youth voting and the involvement of youth in policy processes in Sri Lanka. The post-war situation in Sri Lanka has provided the youth voting bloc - those between ages 18 and 24 - with the opportunity to play an important part in the social, economic and political priorities of the nation. Previously, discussions regarding key socio-economic issues were crowded-out by various other concerns, especially that of national security. However, as the nation begins changing its priorities towards economic and social development, youth participation is not only important but essential for the demographic in particular and the nation in general. The current economic indicators are not very encouraging as youth unemployment remains relatively high while the education system in the country struggles to empower youth with the necessary skills for a globalised economy. Moreover, the faith of youth in social and political institutions is also arguably decreasing and this sentiment is reflected in the countrys poor international rankings in areas such as corruption, economic freedom and political stability. Therefore, it is important to focus the attention on two key areas of study: firstly, the factors that could influence the mobilisation of the youth demographic with regard to greater involvement in political discourse; secondly, the key programmes that could be used to enhance the youth participation in the political processes. This paper will examine the existing body of literature concerning the voting behaviour of the youth and the various international programmes initiated by particular countries and international institutions such as the United Nations (UN) to facilitate greater youth participation in political activities. The objective would be to identify and evaluate methods relevant to Sri Lanka. Accordingly, this paper will seek to argue that the main reason for the lack of enthusiasm on the part of youth with regards to voting and political participation is not

The Young Researchers Forum 2012 so much the lack of interest in political affairs, but the lack of information and opportunities to meaningfully engage in the social, economic, and political discourse. Moreover, it will also argue that the failure of political parties to engineer political, economic and social policies that appeal to a wider youth demographic will almost invariably lead to political instability and increasing levels of political extremism within the youth demographic.

Bibliography Central Intelligence Agency. (2011). The world factbook - South Asia - Sri Lanka. Retrieved 1 5, 2011, from CIA: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/ce.html Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. (n.d.). IDEA voter turn out . Retrieved 12 5, 2011, from IDEA:

http://www.idea.int/vt/country_view.cfm?CountryCode=LK Lintelo, D. t. (2011). Youth and Policy Processes. Future Agricultures. Ray Carlos, D. D. (2004). Youth Voting Behaviour. Indiana State University . The Heritage Foundation. (n.d.). Sri Lanka. Retrieved 12 5, 2011, from Heritage: http://www.heritage.org/index/country/SriLanka Transparency International . (2011). Corruption Perceptions Index 2011 . Transparency International .

The Young Researchers Forum 2012