DreamSpace Academy

Aravinth and Kishoth founded DreamSpace Academy as a social enterprise designed to tackle local socio-economic and environmental challenges by offering challenge-based learning, grassroots innovation and impact venture building. Aravinth’s experiences as a refugee, exiled from his country for ten years, led him to launch DreamSpace Academy as a means to develop innovative social enterprises and infrastructure in Sri Lanka.

Aravinth first attended the One Young World Summit in Munich, 2021, and then returned in Manchester, 2022, where he spoke on the Presentation Stage about his story and work. He was impressed with the number of young people acting to solve the world’s challenges, and he used the opportunity presented by the Summit to successfully maximise his network and make connections with fellow Ambassadors. Aravinth’s co-founder, Kishoth, became a One Young World Ambassador in Manchester, 2022. 

Through their DreamSpace Lifecycle programme, Aravinth and Kishoth’s team identify young people from underserved communities that are motivated to generate change. These young people receive extensive training with interdisciplinary skills to help them develop grassroots, innovative enterprises of their own. DreamSpace Academy helps these young changemakers partner with international experts, thereby ensuring that they have the comprehensive skillset and exposure necessary to excel in their respective fields. So far, nine changemakers have graduated from this programme. DreamSpace Academy has also trained more than 1,400 people with vocational skills, with 14 innovations and 19 ventures having been built by their changemakers and incubatees in topics ranging from media information literacy, microbiology, local manufacturing, software engineering, arts and business development. Aravinth, Kishoth, and their team also work on environmental issues, women’s empowerment, peacebuilding and reconciliation, and rural development.

“When we talk about our problems, we think they are the biggest thing in the world, but then you get to the Summit and see that the whole world is full of challenges and that there are a lot of people working; in every small part of the world there is someone trying to solve a big challenge. And that’s what you learn from One Young World, and meeting such people, you feel that you are not alone. That is very important.”