Young Professionals in Public Policy

A Learning and Network Platform

What is the YPPP?

YPPP is a learning and network platform for young public policy professionals below the age of 45 to meet peers who have a new imagination around policy advocacy, policy making and policy implementation. A key purpose of the YPPP is also to help forge linkages between those young Sri Lankans in academic or practitioner public policy roles overseas, with their contemporaries in Sri Lanka, as well as to connect those in different types of public policy roles within Sri Lanka.

Why the YPPP is important today

Sri Lanka is in the midst of a very challenging period for its economy – a recovery and transition that requires charting smart public policy pathways that embody inclusiveness, innovation, and sustainability. In many spheres of our economy and society today, young people are setting new agendas for change. This is the backdrop against which the ‘Young Professionals in Public Policy’ (YPPP) was formed by the Centre for a Smart Future (CSF) in mid-2023.

Much of Sri Lanka’s public policy landscape has, for many years now, been dominated by narrow groups of individuals – mostly older, and mostly male. Much of the public policy debate tends to be dominated by economists. Existing associations and networks allow little room for fresh ideas and new thinking. This is simply not in sync with contemporary socioeconomic realities. It also does not reflect the many new talented young Sri Lankan public policy professionals beginning to make their mark.

Membership and Meet-ups

Membership in YPPP is free and is based on sign-up and regular participation in YPPP events. The YPPP welcomes Sri Lankan public policy professionals, from a range of roles and workplaces (think tanks, academia, private sector, International organisations, independent researchers), from Sri Lanka as well as overseas. Each meet-up, which takes place roughly once in every two months, features a guest speaker on a topic of broad interest to YPPP members, and also features presentations on the topic from YPPP members who work in that area.

Previous YPPP meet-ups have offered opportunities for members to make presentations on their work in tech policy, environmental advocacy, and social science research. Meet-ups are primarily in-person, with some provision for remote participation for members based overseas. Discussions are held under ‘Chatham House’ rules, and intended to create a safe space for open and frank interaction among members.

List of Previous YPPP Meet-ups

July 2026 – ‘Making Parliament Work‘ – Asoka Obeysekere (Former Country Director, NDI), Madhavi Perera (Former Media and Communications Lead, Parliament), and Thilini Panduwawala (Senior Consultant to the Parliament’s Committee on Public Finance).
February 2026 – ‘Explaining the Economy: Rethinking Economic Journalism’ – Daniel Alphonsus (CEO, Examiner Media) and Kalani Kumarasinghe (Editor – Newswire).
September 2025 – ‘Making Change when Change is Hard’ – Suresh Shah, Fmr Director General of State-owned Enterprise Reform, Ministry of Finance and Fmr Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
May 2025 – ‘Financing the Green Transition Amidst Economic Tensions’ – Dr. Ma Jun, President, Institute of Finance and Sustainability .
February 2025 – ‘Dig Where We Stand: Understanding the Systems Critical for Sustainable and Effective Leadership’ – Dr. Britt Yamamoto, Educator, Entrepreneur and Changemaker.
January 2025 – ‘From K-POP to Crisis: Understanding South Korea’s Recent Socio-Political Shifts’ – Dr. Kyungjin Song Country Representative, Korea, The Asia Foundation.
October 2024 – ‘Democratic Contradictions and Economic Reforms’ – Prof. Mick Moore OBE, Institute of Development Studies, UK.
August 2024 – YPPP Annual Event ‘PATHWAYS’ with multiple sessions ranging from panel discussions with UN Resident Representative Marc-Andre Franche an Finance Ministry Advisor Deshal de Mel, to learning sessions about technologies in research. (More info here).
July 2024 – ‘India’s Ascension: Power Politics and Policy Considerations for Sri Lanka’ – Nilanthan Niruthan, Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Security Studies.
May 2024 – ‘Beyond the Blackboard: Rethinking the Future of Education in Sri Lanka’ – Dr. Tara de Mel, Former Secretary to the Ministry of Education, and Founder of the Bandaranaike Academy for Leadership and Public Policy.
February 2024 – ‘Debt Sustainability and Economic Recovery’ – Theo Maret, Associate, Global Sovereign Advisory.
December 2023 – ‘Towards a Nature-positive Economy’ – Ruwan Wijewardena, Senior Advisor to the President on Climate Change.
August 2023 – ‘Platforms and the Digital Economy’ – Mike Orgill, Senior Director, Public Policy and Government Relations, Uber.
June 2023 – ‘Soft Power as a Super Power’ – Penny Abeywardena, Former New York City’s Commissioner for International Affairs; and Sharmini Coorey, Advisor to the President on Debt Restructuring and Multilateral Engagement and Former IMF Director
April 2023 – ‘YPPP Launch’ – Prof. Matt Andrews, Edward S. Mason Senior Lecturer in International Development, Harvard Kennedy School.

What participants gain

YPPP members participate in our meet-ups for a variety of reasons – ranging from the opportunities to network with like-minded peers, to learn new topics from expert speakers. YPPP offers:

Learning opportunities to improve and refine critical public policy knowledge and skills
Networking opportunities to meet fellow public policy professionals from diverse disciplines and work places to foster interdisciplinary thinking
Mentoring opportunities to engage with world-leading public policy practitioners and academics on their work and the latest international thinking
Peer-learning opportunities by interacting with fellow professionals doing exciting new work in diverse spaces
Policy influencing opportunities to make proposals and advocate with national level policymakers

Get in touch

Reach out to our YPPP Coordinator – Piyumi Wattuhewa (Junior Researcher, CSF) to learn how to get involved! [email protected]