Our commitment
Ruhunu NextGen Tourism works with school students across Galle, Matara and Hambantota. Every child's safety and wellbeing comes first in everything we do.
This policy applies to Ruhunu Tourist Bureau staff, volunteers, judges, partners and anyone else who works on the programme. For safeguarding, we treat every student under 18 as a child.
Our principles
- The welfare of the child always comes first.
- We work with students through their schools, not directly.
- We collect as little information about students as possible.
- We never publish a student's photo or name without the school's approval and a parent's or guardian's consent.
- We listen to children and take every concern seriously.
- We do not accept abuse, harassment, bullying or discrimination of any kind.
The teacher coordinator
Each School Tourism Club has a teacher coordinator appointed by the school. The coordinator:
- is our main point of contact for the club and its students
- receives programme messages and passes them to students and parents
- supervises students at club and programme activities
- collects parent or guardian consent where it is needed, following the school's procedures
- reports any concern to the principal and to us
Contact with students
- Staff and volunteers do not contact students directly by phone, messaging apps, social media or email outside school channels.
- Staff and volunteers do not send friend requests or private messages to students, or accept them.
- Staff and volunteers do not ask students for their personal phone numbers, addresses or social media accounts.
- If a student contacts a staff member directly, the reply goes through the teacher coordinator, or the coordinator is copied in.
- Staff and volunteers do not meet a student alone. Activities take place in open settings with a teacher present.
There are no student accounts, comments or chat features on this website.
Field activities
Activities such as beach clean-ups, heritage visits and tourism site visits must be led and supervised by the school.
- The school's own rules on permission letters, travel and supervision apply.
- Teachers remain responsible for students throughout. Ruhunu Tourist Bureau staff and partners support the activity but do not replace school supervision.
- Activities follow safety advice for the location, such as sea conditions, weather, traffic and heat.
- Students are not asked to travel alone to or from a programme activity.
Photos, video and names
We like to celebrate students' achievements, but only in a safe way.
- Photos and video of students are taken and used only with the school's approval and the written consent of a parent or legal guardian.
- Giving consent is a choice. It is never a condition of taking part.
- Students who do not have consent are not photographed, or are not shown in a way that identifies them.
- We prefer group photos. We do not publish students' home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses or social media accounts.
- We do not use images that could embarrass a student or put them at risk.
- Media and partners at our events must follow these rules. We ask parents and visitors to respect them too.
Competition results may name schools. Winners' names are published only where consent has been given.
Withdrawing consent and removing images
A parent or legal guardian can withdraw consent at any time, and so can a student with a parent's or guardian's support. You can ask through the teacher coordinator, or contact us directly at [email protected] or +94 91 222 4072.
- We will remove the photo, video or name from this website and from our Facebook page.
- We will stop using it in any new materials.
- We will act as quickly as we can, and always within the time required by law.
We cannot recall printed materials that have already been handed out, or copies that other people have shared, but we will not use the image again.
If a child is in danger
If a child is in immediate danger, call the Police on 119.
You can also call the National Child Protection Authority's 1929 Childline. It is free from any network, open 24 hours a day, and available in Sinhala, Tamil and English.
Reporting a concern
If you are worried about a child's safety, or about how anyone involved in the programme is behaving:
- tell the school principal or the teacher coordinator
- contact Ruhunu Tourist Bureau on +94 91 222 4072 or at [email protected], with "Safeguarding concern" in the subject line
If a child tells you about a concern:
- listen calmly and take it seriously
- do not promise to keep it secret
- do not investigate it yourself
- write down what was said, in the child's words, with the date and time
- report it the same day
We act on every concern promptly. We share information only with those who need to know to keep the child safe, such as the school, the National Child Protection Authority or the Police.
Our Facebook page
We remove comments on our Facebook page that are abusive or that share a student's personal details. If you see something that worries you, tell us at [email protected].
Responsibilities and review
Everyone who works on Ruhunu NextGen Tourism must follow this policy. Anyone who breaks it may be removed from the programme, and serious concerns will be referred to the proper authorities.
Our Privacy Notice explains how we handle personal data. We will review this policy regularly and when the programme changes.
Last updated: 4 October 2026