The Guiding Leadership and Outreach (GLO) program, a youth leadership initiative launched in 2024 through a collaboration between the Association of HR Professionals (AHRP) and Global Learning Labs, continues to build momentum as it works toward empowering 1,000 young leaders across Sri Lanka in 2025.
Blending knowledge-sharing, skills development, and community-based learning, GLO has quickly emerged as a flagship platform for nurturing future-ready leaders. In less than 2 years, the program has attracted strong corporate backing and expanded its national trainer network, positioning it for rapid scale and deeper community reach.
Founding corporate partners Brandix, Fortude, IFS, John Keells Holdings, and Sysco Labs have remained actively engaged in program delivery and mentorship. They were recently joined by three new strategic partners—South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT), Sampath Bank, and Aitken Spence—bringing fresh industry perspectives and broadening participants’ career exposure.
A major milestone for the initiative has been the creation of Sri Lanka’s first five GLO Master Trainers: Shehara Bandarathilake, Nelushi Perea, Afifa Zuhair, Pasan Senevirathne, and Surindu Goonawardene. Following intensive workshops with Global Learning Labs, the Master Trainers have already guided a second cohort of 18 facilitators, expanding the national pool to 38 certified trainers alongside the five Master Trainers, ensuring quality, consistency, and scale as the program grows islandwide.
GLO’s four-day learning model has two days of foundational leadership training, followed by a two-day Train-the-Trainer module. This approach drives its distinctive “multiplier effect,” equipping participants to lead as well as mentor others within their communities and workplaces.
Speaking on the program’s growth, Dinusha Jayamanne, Vice President of AHRP, noted, “GLO is truly unique in the Sri Lankan landscape because it brings together a powerful tripartite partnership between AHRP, Global Learning Lab and the corporate sector to build leadership capability in professionals, who in turn are shaping and developing the youth of our country. This creates a beautiful chain of interdependence – where learning flows from industry to young people, and where youth-led community projects create real social impact. It is collaboration in its truest sense, generating positive ripples across communities and planting the seeds for a national movement of human-centered leadership that is both high-performing and deeply purpose-driven”.
The program’s first graduation ceremony, held at Cinnamon Lakeside, marked another symbolic moment with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Roland Smith of Global Learning Labs and Roshan Kulasuriya, the immediate Past President of AHRP, reaffirming a shared commitment to expanding youth leadership development nationwide.
Looking ahead, GLO is actively welcoming applications for its 3rd cohort, with training scheduled for February 20–21 and 27–28, 2026. Interest is expected to be strong, especially with the participation of Rick Hathaway, Vice President of Habitat for Humanity. His involvement will bring an important global development and social impact perspective to the learning experience.
Beyond classroom sessions, GLO continues to expand its reach through career guidance programs in schools, IT awareness workshops, laptop donation drives, and women’s leadership initiatives. These efforts demonstrate how the program translates learning into tangible community outcomes.
Participants gain access to industry leaders, CSR initiatives, and professional networking opportunities, while building both technical and soft skills needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving world. Early success stories include internships and permanent roles secured with partner organizations. Community projects completed under GLO guidance and sustained mentorship relationships also support graduates as they transition into the workforce.
With more partners joining, the trainer base expanding, and demand from young professionals growing, GLO stands poised to shape a new generation of socially responsible leaders for Sri Lanka. The program continues welcoming both corporate collaborators and individual participants, with AHRP serving as the primary point of contact for partnership opportunities and enrollment.