HSBC Sri Lanka, in partnership with Janathakshan, has taken a significant step toward building a climate-resilient younger generation by empowering university students to become “Climate Change Action Ambassadors.” Designed to nurture passionate young leaders in environmental sustainability, the programme equips students with knowledge, innovative skills, mentorship, and resources to drive meaningful climate action within their communities.
The project was implemented in three phases. In the first phase, students were introduced to the basic concepts of climate change. During the second phase, selected students received advanced capacity-building training and were encouraged to submit proposals addressing identified sustainability gaps. In the final phase, the 15 best proposals were chosen to receive financial and technical support for field-level implementation.
The group leaders from the 15 winning proposals were invited to the HSBC Head Office in Colombo on 22 August 2025, where they were symbolically awarded their grants by the CEO of HSBC Sri Lanka, Mr. Mark Surgenor. The event was attended by the CEO and senior management of Janathakshan (Gte) Ltd, senior representatives from HSBC, expert consultants Senior Prof. Buddhi Marambe and Dr. Manoj Ranaweera, and academic focal points from the five participating universities. Students also had the opportunity to present their project concepts and share their experiences and lessons learned throughout the program.
The awarded projects are scheduled to begin field implementation over the next three months under the close supervision of the designated university supervisors and the Janathakshan project team. At the conclusion of the program, students will present the full outcomes of their work, including community impact related to climate change, at a final knowledge dissemination workshop.
