Ministry denies sending representative to Commonwealth Youth Conference

Colombo, August 10 (Daily Mirror) - The Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry clarified that it did not send any representative to the 1st Consultative Dialogue for Commonwealth Youth Ecosystem Stakeholders, despite reports circulating on social media.

The Ministry said that while it did receive an invitation to the event, participation costs were to be borne by the Ministry or the individuals themselves. As the Ministry regularly receives invitations to similar international youth conferences, it only nominates representatives for selected events. On this occasion, no official nomination was made, and no steps were taken to facilitate Sri Lanka’s participation.

Social media claims alleged that former National Youth Services Council (NYSC) Chairman Pasindu Gunaratne attended the event as the Ministry’s nominee.

According to the Ministry, the event organizers also directly invite individuals who have previously attended such conferences. It said Mr. Gunaratne’s attendance was based on a personal invitation, and therefore, he could not have participated as Sri Lanka’s official representative.

The Ministry further announced it would send an explanation to the event organizers regarding the false representation.

It urged media outlets to share the clarification