Young Asians affiliated with the Asia-wide youth organization Young Liberals and Democrats of Asia (YLDA) attended a five-day international gathering of youth leaders in Colombo, Sri Lanka from January 17 to 21 sponsored by its the German foundation partner Friedrich Naumann Stiftung (FNF).

Titled the "The Art of Asking: A workshop on Fundraising," the seminar/workshop aims to train Asian youth leaders on the technical, strategic, and practical aspects of fundraising. The five-day activity requires the participants to master, among other things, the need to create and maintain a reliable network of contacts in the international community, formulation of adaptable strategies, and detailed writing of relevant grant proposals for prospective donor agencies.

Seminar organizers YLDA and FNF expect the 23 participants from ten Asian countries to learn from the resource speakers the principles and practice of effective fundraising programs in fulfillment of their long-term goal of starting their own programs and projects for the youths in their respective country. Leading the learning exercise is Hon. Nivard Cabraal, the Central Bank governor of Sri Lanka who delivered a lecture on "Subsidiarity, Transparency and Efficiency: Liberal Policies in Fundraising."

Other speakers with strong background on international aid and development like Mr. Siegfried Herzog of FNF-Manila and International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY) Immediate Past President Emil Kirjas also encouraged the participants to be more pro-active and creative in their search of financial support for their organizations.

Jan Argy Tolentino of the Kabataang Liberal ng Pilipinas (KALIPI), both Secretary General of KALIPI and YLDA, considers the activity as an opportunity for Filipino youth leaders to define within the context of their organization the importance of fundraising. He adds that "having an effective fundraising mechanism affords any youth organization in Asia the liberty of prioritizing and instituting its own projects and programs."

The seminar workshop according to YLDA President Rajendra Mulmi of Nepal also provides participants the chance to discover new opportunities for their respective organization. Mulmi stresses that "this seminar workshop on fundraising not only equip participants the necessary skills to make their organizations self-reliant, but more importantly, it gives them the autonomy to chart their own paths to freedom from the whims of traditional politicians who often use youth organizations in Asia as part of their political machinery."

Recognizing the importance of the international gathering of Asian youth leaders, YLDA Executive Committee member Sandun Gamage of Sri Lanka also echoes the same idea when he explained that "it is very imperative for each of the participants to learn not only from the resource speakers but from the experiences of other participants as well in their struggle to promote liberal democracy in the region. More than finding funds for their projects, congregations like this of Asian leaders coming from common heritage, history, and purpose makes all of us understand the intimate truth that by investing our resources and putting our ideas together, we are also bound to achieve a shared democratic and liberal destiny for all Asians."