Programme to promote national heritage

A special programme to create an awareness about the country's national heritage among schoolchildren will be launched by the National Heritage Ministry. The programme will be launched in collaboration with the Education Ministry, National Heritage Minister, Anura Bandaranaike said recently.

The schoolchildren of today lack knowledge about the heritage of this country. They are aware only about sites like Sigiriya, Sri Dalada Maligawa, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa.

They lack knowledge and awareness about other important sites in the country, the Minister said. The Ministry is planning to draw up a national plan to protect important heritage sites with the assistance of a consultative committee headed by the Malwatte and Asgiriya prelates. The Ministry believes that the necessary funding to carry out this archaeological conservation work could be obtained from countries such as India, Thailand, China and Japan.

Even certain World Heritage Sites have not been declared as national heritage sites. It is important that this matter be taken up on a priority basis and attended to if our future generations are to witness the glory of our heritage and culture.

Equipment for schoolchildren

School material and equipment worth over Rs. 1,300 million will be distributed among schoolchildren by the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau. They will be distributed among children whose parents have left for foreign employment through the Bureau. The first ceremony to distribute these equipment among children from Colombo district schools was held recently at the Bureau's head office.

Sources revealed that 1,100 schoolchildren, whose parents have left for foreign employment after registering with the Bureau, were selected from the Colombo district to receive school equipment. For children to qualify for this entitlement, parents should register with the Foreign Employment Bureau before leaving the island for employment.

Week for important religious events

This week is important for most communities and religions in this country because the Holy Prophet's Birthday, Bak Poya and Good Friday all fall within the week. Milad-Un-Nabi or Holy Prophet's Birthday will be commemorated by Muslims all over the world today.

The birth of Prophet Muhammad was a blessing to the whole world. His life was an example to humanity. He was a messenger of peace and emphasised the need to cultivate tolerance in establishing peace and harmony.

The Bak Poya falls on the 2nd and will be observed by Buddhists in the country with religious activities. The Bak Poya commemorates the Buddha's second visit to Sri Lanka on the fifth year of His enlightenment.

Good Friday, an important day for Catholics and Christians, will be on April 6. It is a day of grief and sorrow for

 Christians and Catholics as it was on a similar day that Jesus was nailed to the cross, where he eventually died. Jesus, who died on Good Friday, is believed to have risen from the dead, three days later, on Easter Sunday.

Magical moments with Emirates

It was a fun-filled evening for the little invitees to the Emirates media event held at the

 Trans Asia Hotel on March 23 to promote the latest children's products introduced on Emirates flights.

All the children who travel long journeys with the airline will receive a mini rucksack, a lunch box, 10 classic stories from Dr.Seuss, a colourful new magazine called e-kids, colouring pencils, colourful toothbrushes and eye shades. At the entrance, children were presented with the new products.

"The comfort and enjoyment of children who fly with us is an area that receives a lot of attention," said the Emirates Sales Manager,Devika Ellepola.

The most important toy in the latest products introduced is the Querk, who can change into various animals from around the world; Sydney, the koala from Australia, Salam, the lion from Africa, Yorkie, the American eagle, Paris the Rabbit and Delhi, the elephant. According to Ellepola, this toy was made after a lot of research

and introduced early this year.

Many fun events were held at the media event to introduce these products to the children and the majority of them were centered on the Querk. The first game was Dressing up the Querk, using the Querk and the clothes available in their gift bags.

The first to dress the Querk was the winner. Rukshan Manohara won this event. Next was Colouring Delhi, the elephant looking at a picture provided by them. Then there was another game similar to musical chairs, which was named Passing the Querk.

The final event was a magic show, which astonished the children. All in all it was a great evening.

Janani Amarasekara

Facilitating distance education

A project is on the cards to improve the scope of distance education in the country through the Distance Education Modernisation Project, which is to be implemented by the Higher Education Ministry with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank. Speaking on this project, Higher Education Minister Wiswa Warnapala said that every human being has a basic right for higher education.

The doors of higher education should be open to all citizens without any consideration for cultural, racial or religious differences, he said.

An advantage in the field of distance education is that it makes learning possible for any person, anytime, anywhere. Advances made with regard to the internet and e-learning have completely changed the nature of higher education in the developed as well as the developing world.

These developments have made it possible for higher education to reach out to areas and parts of the population which had previously remained inaccessible.

The Project Management Office is now coordinating these programmes and syllabi with the Open University of Sri Lanka. Steps will be taken to enhance the potential and capacities of the Open University with regard to its infrastructure, staff development and research.

The functions coming under this programme will also be streamlined.