The Parliament of Sri Lanka launched the Parliamentary Internship Programme first in 2023, with the support of NDI (National Democratic Institute) and USAID, providing young professionals and students with practical experience in policy development and public service. Following outreach efforts to all the national universities in Sri Lanka, a group of interns was carefully chosen from the eight universities who responded. The program featured several sessions covering legislative development, engaging with parliament, and various modes of interaction with parliament. The program’s curriculum promoted inclusivity, diversity, and skill development for different career paths. Further, this program highlighted the parliament’s commitment to the open parliament initiative and aimed to address the trust deficit between parliament and youth while safeguarding democracy.
Three recent graduates as interns (G. Sarththiga – Department of Sociology, N. Sajanja – Department of Political Science and N. Mangaladharshini – Department of Media Studies) from the Faculty of Arts, University of Jaffna were carefully recruited for a period of 6 months for the parliamentary internship programme for university students in 2023.
Mr. N. Baskaran, Lecturer, Department of Sociology represented as a coordinator and participated in the orientation programme with interns of the University of Jaffna. Following a three-day orientation programme, the interns were allocated to their respective departments, and throughout their internship period, they received hands-on working experience with the parliament of Sri Lanka. The active interns successfully completed a 6-months internship program catering to their practical experience in policy improvement and public career paths.
