Liberal Youth South Asia (LYSA) Elects New Officers, Adopts New Strategic Plan for 2007 and 2008
2007-03-01

NEW LYSA OFFICERS: (L to R) Chamidu Ranaweera, VP External Affairs; Anjali Patil Gaikwad, General Secretary; Ross Parkash Mahtani, President; Manusha Nannayakara, Vice President for Programs; and Gayatri Prasad Bhattarai, VP for Finance.

Renewing their commitment for the promotion of liberalism in the region, members and officers of the Liberal Youth South Asia (LYSA) gathered in Nagarkot, Kathmandu, Kingdom of Nepal for their Strategic Planning Workshop and Annual General Assembly from October 28th to 31st last year.

The annual general assembly paved the way for the election of new leaders of the leading federation of youth organizations in South Asia. Considered to be YLDA's pillar in the region, the new officers will be led by Mister Ross Mahtani of Focus Youth Group in Pakistan as President. Mahtani will be supported by other members of the new LYSA Executive Board that include Miss Anjali Patil Gaikwad of Indian Liberal Group (ILG) as General Secretary, Mister Manusha Nannayakara of Liberal Youth Guild (LYG) of Sri Lanka as Vice President for Programs, Mister Chamidu Ranaweera also of LYG as Vice President for External Affairs, and Mister Gayatri Prasad Bhattarai of Youth Initiative Nepal as Vice President for Finance.

Affirming their support to their new leaders, the participants also gave their vote of confidence to the incoming officers when they unanimously adopted the LYSA Strategic Plan for 2007 and 2008 under the guidance of Dr. Stefan Melnik of Germany, who facilitated the holding of the four-day affair. Among the features of the plan was the formal adoption of LYSA as an affiliate member of the Young Liberals and Democrats of Asia (YLDA) and the relocation of the organization's secretariat at # 56, Bhittai Nagar Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan.

The new Strategic Plan also presents the member organizations' standpoint, ideals, and aspirations as it outlines events LYSA wants to host as well as the resources members can share to promote their advocacy on liberalism. It also funnels LYSA's resources to spreading its influence and presence in the region by expanding its membership. For this to be accomplished, the plan calls for the establishment and strengthening of LYSA's network of youth liberals in the region, which include encouraging more transparency and cooperation among member organizations.

Garda Bangsa Garda Bangsa was formed in 1998 following the successful political reform spearheaded by students and other campus activists to depose the tyrannical regime of President Suharto. The organization was founded by Abdurram Wahid, a former adviser of President Suharto who resigned following an escalation in government corruption and political management by the administration. He championed "Responsible Openness" within the government system and proposed the establishment of a Reform Committee in order to mitigate poor governance within the administration. His calls were left unheeded and so he eventually withdrew support for the government and joined the efforts advocating for reform in the government. Read more...