The Idea

We do not want to play the prophet but we believe that the 16+ Programme will in future years be THE most important programme of Satyodaya. What is its aim? The coloured board outside its small one-room Secretariat at Satyodaya reads: 16+. Peace, Equality, Love.

Peace is most relevant in the context of Sri Lanka and the World today, but peace with justice and equality, a living peace which responds to the aspirations of all sections of the People.

Equality, which includes issues of the empowerment of women and gender, equality between nationalities, castes and creeds, the rights of minorities. We here remember Comrade Bala Tampoe’s comment when in 1979 Satyodaya helped to set up the Movement for Inter-racial Justice and Equality: “Equality, more than Justice, is the cutting word”.

Love, recalling Che Guevara’s statement that love is the quality most needed by a revolutionary: love for the oppressed, love that is strong, decisive, fearless. One day everything else will disappear. Only love will remain - forever.

The present stage of 16+ is as follows;

• 16+ is a voluntary youth led organization
• Satyodaya members also are a part of this movement
• Now 16+ has a separate office at Satyodaya. It functions during weekends.
• 16+ has its own Central Committee, its members being both female and male, and with Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim representation
• 16+ has started a network with other groups such as
  National Resource Movement
• Environment Protection Movement
• Anti-Imperialist People’s Alliance (Anti-War Movement)

In the second part of the 2002-2003 budget year, 16+ worked several programmes for the achievement of its stated objectives. All those activities are described in the General Areas Report and in the 6 separate Area reports of our Annual Report 2002/03.

It has to be noted that 16+ is not a Satyodaya Project as such. Rather it is a purely voluntary Movement of committed youth owned and led by the youth themselves. This, we believe, is the most important aspect of the 16+ Movement. During the year the Movement was managed by a youth committee while Dinusha Karunarathne of Ooragala Village, Kandy and S. Alagurani of Matale acted as the Conveners.