Selyna Peiris, President of the Young Liberals and Upali Saddhananda, Vice-President, attended a workshop for Asian Liberal Youth that was held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on August 18th - 20th. The workshop was organized by the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, which is chaired at present by the Sri Lankan Liberal Party.

The following brief presentation on Liberal Youth in Sri Lanka was made by the Sri Lankan participants.

• See Presentation

Selyna Peiris, President of the Sri Lankan Liberal Youth organization, was elected Chair of the Asian Liberal Youth Caucus, which has been established in affiliation with the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats. The Sri Lankan Liberal Party is the current Chair Party of CALD, and Prof Rajiva Wijesinha, Chairman of CALD, delivered the keynote address at the inaugural meeting of the Caucus.

Ms Peiris received her first degree from the University of Hull, and has Masters degrees in Law from University College, London and in Advanced International Studies from the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna. She is currently completing her Attorney's Exams in Sri Lanka, while working in a legal firm and in humanitarian assistance.

Ms Peiris was previously the Sri Lankan Liberal Party intern with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe at the European Parliament in Brussels. The

Secretary General of the Sri Lankan Liberal Youth, Chamil Prasad, will take up another internship in Brussels later this year.

Ms Pieris was accompanied to the Youth Caucus meeting by Mr Upai Saddhnanda, who has been working on workshops in liberal democratic principles for young people in the Eastern and Southern provinces, based on an initial initiative of the National Democratic Institute. Despite the conclusion of that programme, the Liberal Youth group hopes to continue with such initiatives, in particular in the context of national reconciliation and the expansion of opportunities for young people nationwide.