Jayathma Wickramanayake was appointed as the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth in June 2017 at the age of 26. She is the youngest senior official in the UN and the first woman to hold this position.

In this role, Jayathma works to expand the UN’s youth engagement and advocacy efforts across all four pillars of the organisation’s work: sustainable development, human rights, peace and security, and humanitarian action - and serves as a representative of and advisor to the Secretary-General.

Originally from Sri Lanka, Ms Wickramanayake has worked extensively on youth development and participation, including playing a key role in transforming the youth development sector in her home country.

Prior to taking up her post, Ms Wickramanayake was instrumental in creating the movement for the civic and political engagement of young people, especially young women, in Sri Lanka through the “Hashtag Generation” movement.