Anoka Primrose Abeyrathne

Anoka Primrose Abeyrathne
Abeyrathne at the Commonwealth Women's Ministerial Meeting 2013
Citizenship	Sri Lankan
Education	LLB Attorney Environmental Science Development Economics
Alma mater	Bishop's College University of London Sri Lanka Law College University of Colombo
Occupation	Environmentalist, Social Entrepreneur, Lawyer
Known for	Growin' Money
Awards	Commonwealth Youth Award SAARC Youth Award Youth Service America and Huffington Post 25 under 25 List of Most Influential And Powerful Young Persons of the World 2012

Anoka Primrose Abeyrathne also known as Anoka Abeyratne is an award winning Sri Lankan eco-social entrepreneur,^[1] environmentalist and youth activist on sustainable development and entrepreneurial issues in Sri Lanka and Asia.

Abeyratne presented the Keynote speech of the Youth Leaders Forum, Commonwealth Asia Region Youth Ministers Meeting 2015 ^[2] and is the first Sri Lankan to be elected to represent the Asia-Pacific region to the global UN Habitat Youth Advisory Board ^[3] in October 2015 and to the Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network Leadership Team as the Steering Committee member for Policy & Advocacy in June 2016.^[4] Anoka is the co-organizer of TEDxKandy,^[5] an independent TED-like event curated for "Ideas Worth Spreading".

Early life

Abeyrathne at a press conference on environmental protection

Abeyrathne born to a businessman and a biologist in Sri Lanka during the Sri Lankan Civil War, completed her education in Biology at Bishop's College serving as the president of the United Nations Club, the Red Cross Society, secretary of the Environmental Society, as a Girl guide and a gold medal receiving athlete, swimmer and pianist.^[6] She graduated with a LLB from the University of London and a Master's degree from the University of Colombo.^[6]

Notable family members include the Father of Free education in Sri Lanka - C. W. W. Kannangara, Sri Lanka's first female diplomat - Manel Abeysekera and United Nations Human Rights awardee - Sunila Abeysekera.

Activism and Work

Early Activism

Abeyrathne at a campaign

Abeyrathne started volunteering at the age of 13 when the 2004 Tsunami struck and has replanted over 40,000 Mangroves in South Asia by providing over 5000 families the opportunity to gain in income source through designer handicraft making, organic farming, eco-tourism, innovation labs and creating equal access to education through soft skills and IT skills training.^[7]

Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations Kamlesh Sharma presented Abeyrathne with a Commonwealth Youth Award in March 2013.^[8]

Abeyrathne with
Queen Elizabeth II

Recognized by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)^[9][10] and by Youth Service America as one of the 25 Most Influential and Powerful Young Persons of the World 2012,^[11][12] Abeyrathne is featured in Sri Lanka's first digital environmental music video.^[13]

Abeyrathne at a WEF event

As the youngest founding Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum^[14] Colombo Hub established in 2012 in Sri Lanka, she served as one of the 12 Shapers on the United Nations - World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Council working towards mainstreaming sustainability and is the only female Shaper Sri Lankan New Champion of the World Economic Forum.^[15]

Continuing Activism

Abeyrathne continues her passion for eco-entrepreneurship while engaging as a sustainable development advocate. Being the youngest panelist on Sri Lanka's first Social Innovation Forum^[16] and the Commonwealth Women's Affairs Ministerial Meeting,^[17] Abeyrathne is a founding member of the Commonwealth Gender and Equality Network and a drafter of the first Commonwealth Gender Agenda, working towards linking gender, education, entrepreneurship and sustainable development.

She is the co-organizer of TEDxKandy, an independent TED-like event curated for "Ideas Worth Spreading" and presented the Keynote speech of the Youth Leaders Forum, Commonwealth Asia Region Youth Ministers Meeting 2015 ^[2] and is the first Sri Lankan to be elected to represent the Asia-Pacific region to the UN Habitat Youth Advisory Board ^[3] 2015/2017.

Abeyrathne has been featured by the United Nations Environmental Programme,^[18] the UNICEF,^[19] The Guardian^[20] TEDx,^[21] UNFPA,^[22] Echelon Magazine,^[23] UNDP^[24][25] and Huffington Post.^[12]

References