Founded on the belief that nearly three decades of war has eroded trust among Sinhalese and Tamil communities of Sri Lanka as well as within the Tamil society, AFRIEL Youth Network seeks to channel the energy and goodwill of youth into collective action aimed at solving society’s problems. Established at the height of repression in 2013, the youth network was founded on the basic tenets of friendship, love, and trust – concepts that allowed for mobilization even in a highly militarized environment.

AFRIELs focus areas include promoting human rights and good governance and sub areas include transitional justice and reconciliation, constitutional reforms, right to information, and rights of vulnerable groups. AFRIEL works together with youth, to empower them to be leaders and agents of change and for them to work together with their communities to find solutions to their grievances rather than accept a top down solution that is provided.