Milinda.org

13/01/2005 - Daily Mirror

Milinda to participate in new major global meet to shape the future

Geneva, Switzerland, 11 January 2005 – Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, today released the names of the first 237 young leaders who have been selected and have accepted to take part in The Forum of Young Global Leaders, working in close cooperation with the World Economic Forum.

From Sri Lanka, Asoka Milinda Moragoda, Member of Parliament of Sri Lanka, has been nominated and has agreed to join The Forum of Young Global Leaders.

This new global undertaking, The Forum of Young Global Leaders, brings together outstanding leaders, aged 40 years or younger, who have committed to devote part of their knowledge and energy over the next five years to collectively work towards a better future.

Drawn from a pool of 8,000 candidates from around the world, the Young Global Leaders nominated in 2005 have been selected by a nomination committee of 28 eminent international media leaders, including Marjorie Scardino, Arthur Sulzberger, Tom Glocer and Katsuji Ebisawa. The committee is chaired by Queen Rania of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

"Rising leaders of today need to forge viable partnerships to spearhead a process of change,” said Her Majesty Queen Rania of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. “The Forum of Young Global Leaders will activate a network of insightful, innovative and energetic young people whose vision and dynamism can usher a future of hope, progress and positive change."

The Young Global Leaders nominated in 2005 form an exciting, powerful network of leaders from 69 different countries: 72 are from Europe, 62 from North America, 49 from Asia, 19 from the Middle East and North Africa, 18 from sub-Saharan Africa and 17 from Latin America.

Reflecting the diversity of stakeholders, the Young Global Leaders nominated in 2005 comprise 57 political leaders, including heads of state, ministers and parliamentarians. From the business sector there are 97 Young Global Leaders, mostly chief executive officers and successful entrepreneurs. The other stakeholders consist of 28 intellectual leaders, 27 societal leaders, 23 active opinion leaders and 5 cultural leaders. Women make up 30% of the entire group.

“We would like to integrate those Young Global Leaders into processes which will allow them to have a real impact on global affairs and to make sure that global decision-making preserves the interests of the next generation,” said Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. “The Forum of Young Global Leaders will be a strong force from all walks of life to shake up traditional thinking and to bring a bold, forward-looking approach to the world.”

The Young Global Leaders will engage in the 2020 Initiative, a comprehensive effort at addressing together the complex challenges of today to shape a better future for our world. They will meet for the first time as a community at their Inaugural Summit in Zermatt, Switzerland, 24-28 June 2005, where they will assess current and future trends, risks and opportunities both at global and regional levels. Young Global Leaders will then develop global strategies and put forward concrete actions to be taken today in order to advance towards a better world in the year 2020.

Mr. Moragoda is a Member of the Parliament and a former Minister for Economic Reform, Science and Technology. In 2001, he was elected to Parliament from the Colombo District, before being appointed Minister for Economic Reform, Science and Technology of the UNF Government. He resigned from his ministerial post in the caretaker government in February 2004. He is also a businessman and a founder of an NGO.

As a businessman, he was Founder and Chairman of Mercantile Merchant Bank Ltd (MMBL), a privately held investment bank, and was also the Founder of Apeksha, a free English Education Programme that provides children of low income families with access to competency in the English language. He also founded the Milinda Moragoda Institute for People’s Empowerment (MMIPE), a non-governmental not-for-profit organization, whose mission is humanitarian de-mining in Sri Lanka. Moragoda was educated in Sri Lanka, Europe and the US, and has an MBA from the Institute for Management Development in Switzerland. He is a Fellow of the Centre for International Affairs at Harvard University.