Kandy Perahera live in 17 countries

You know that a lot of Sri Lankans live abroad, in many countries across the globe. Wouldn't they also love to witness our local cultural events? Now such an opportunity has been provided for Sri Lankans domiciled abroad, to watch the Kandy Esela Perahera, which is known as Sri Lanka's biggest cultural pageant.

The Ministry of Tourism, as a means of boosting tourism and portraying the rich cultural heritage of Sri Lanka to the world, has taken the initiative to telecast this world-renowned perahera live in 17 countries, through the satellite service, Intel sat-60.

The programme would be beamed in India, Japan, Italy, Australia, Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea among other countries, while the possibility of telecasts in the UK and USA is also being explored by the Ministry. Of course, this opportunity is available not only to Lankans living abroad, but to anybody who wishes to see this grand pageant.

Over 100,000 people are expected to attend the first day of the Esala Perahera, which climaxes with the Randoli Perahera.

A modern lighting panel

U.S. scientists are developing thin, lightweight panels that could be used for residential and commercial lighting, as well as biomedical applications.

"Built of aluminum foil, sapphire and small amounts of gas, the panels are less than one millimetre thick, and can hang on a wall like picture frames," said University of Illinois Professor Gary Eden.

As conventional fluorescent lights, microcavity plasma lamps use glow-discharges in which atoms of a gas are excited by electrons and radiate light. Unlike fluorescent lights, however, microcavity plasma lamps produce the plasma in microscopic pockets and require no ballast, reflector or heavy metal housing.

Eden said the panels are lighter, brighter and more efficient than incandescent lights and are expected, with further engineering, to approach or surpass the efficiency of fluorescent lighting.

"Each lamp is approximately the diameter of a human hair," said visiting research scientist Sung-Jin Park, lead author of a paper describing the research. "We can pack an array of more than 250,000 lamps into a single panel," he said. The research appears in the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics.

UPI

Improving the literary skills of children

There is a lot of literary talent and knowledge among our local students. Sometimes, such talent stays hidden without being brought to the fore, and eventually goes waste. But the many cultural events organised in various parts of the country gives a chance to children to display those talents.

The National Literary Arts Festival - 2007, being organised by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs between September 20 and 23 at Sri Palee Maha Vidyalaya in Horana, is one such event. The Ministry has also organised a number of literary events in schools in the Kalutara District to prepare the stage for the final event.

This year's festival, which will depict a variety of events showcasing Sri Lankan culture and arts, will bring forth a new dawn in Sri Lanka's literary scene. Many cultural pageants and workshops are expected to be worked off during the event.

The school events have been organised by the Ministry with the support of local education officials, to broaden the scope of artistic taste and talents of schoolchildren.

The day for youth

Some of you may be in the age group defined as 'youth'. According to the United Nations, youth are those between the ages of 15 and 24; they are in the threshold of adulthood, waiting to take over the opportunities as well as the responsibilities of adulthood.

But, have they been give due recognition by the rest of the population? No, youth have largely been a neglected lot with most sections of society turning a blind eye to even their basic needs. The fact that they contribute to their societies in a major way with their rich and varied skills, interests and aspirations is forgotten by most people. Being the citizens responsible for the future of their respective countries, they should be given a better place in society and their voices listened to more often.

The International Youth Day, observed on August 12, is one day when their needs will be recognised and their voices heard. This year's event will be observed under the theme 'Be seen, Be heard: Youth participation for development'. The main event was held at the UN Headquarters on August 10, while large-scale ceremonies will also be held in New York.

International Youth Day gives the world an opportunity to recognize the potential of youth, to celebrate their achievements, and plan for ways to better engage young people to successfully take action for development.

It presents a unique opportunity for all stakeholders to rally together to ensure that young people are included in global, national and local affairs and decision-making. The UN General Assembly decided to declare August 12 as International Youth Day on December 17, 1999.

The Assembly recommended that public information activities be organised to support the Day as a way to promote better awareness of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, adopted by the General Assembly in 1995.

Task force to protect environment

The environment is a precious resource for the entire world. Eco-systems including coral reefs are an important part of environment and their protection is vital to the sustainability of the marine eco-system.

The South Asia Coral Reef Task Force was launched by the South Asia Co-operative Environmental Programme (SACEP) in Colombo recently to promote and support the protection and enhancement of the environment in South Asia.

The project is expected to be carried out individually, collectively and co-operatively. It will also encourage the proper use of environmental resources to alleviate poverty, reduce socio-economic disparities and improve the quality of life of the public.

SACEP was established in January 1982 and Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are members. Establishing a regional task force to advance cooperation and coordination for the management of coral reefs and associated eco-systems in South Asia is one of its priority areas.

For coastal resources to be sustainable, some coastal areas need to be maintained in their natural state or as near to this state as possible. Marine and Coastal Protected Areas are one such region that the SACEP wishes to protect.

Their plus points include the large diversity of species, biological activity, being an important eco-system or habitat, being a sanctuary for sustaining or replenishing fish stocks, for its aesthetic value, or coastal protection for the communities exclusively dependant on this resource.

Project to boost agriculture

Most of you may know that Sri Lanka was an agricultural society in the days gone by. The island had a great agricultural civilization and was self-sufficient in its food needs. But, due to the severe setbacks faced during the colonial era because of neglect and damage of tanks and canals, we soon lost this self-sufficient position.

Now, many irrigation projects are being established to bring at least part of this lost resource back. The Weli Oya Irrigation Project, which is to be completed soon, is one such project. This project is expected to benefit 5,000 farmer families and help make use of 3,000 acres of fallow land during both seasons. Further, it's also expected to contribute over Rs. 76 million to the GNP.

The people in these areas faced many problems due to the lack of enough water to carry out their cultivation projects.

The Weli Oya project was started in 2000 as a solution to this problem and comprised the building of a 25 metre canal to distribute water to farmlands by building a dam at the confluence (place where two rivers meet) of Weli Oya and Kalkanna Oya on the borders of Badulla, Moneragala and Ratnapura districts.

Under the first stage of this project, which cost Rs. 840 million, water was released last year to feed farmlands and 34 large and small tanks in the area. Water from this canal will also be directed to the Maw Ara project.

Himalaya expedition by Dharmaraja Scouts

An eighteen-member Scout contingent from 1st Kandy Dharmaraja Scout Group will leave for Nepal on August 15 for an expedition of the 7,248 metre Lanton Mountain of Himalaya. This is the first ever expedition to this mountain by a Sri Lankan Scout contingent.

Their hike due to start from Siyabra Bengi in Nepal and passing Kanjin Gompe, will reach the Lanton Luring Mountain. This expedition has been organised by Dharmaraja Scouts to mark the centenary of World Scouting.

The scout contingent is seen here (seated, from left): C.B. Hataraliyadde, A.N.K. Palliyaguruge, S.P. Dahanayake, Principal, Dharmaraja College, S.M. Keerthiratne, Major Anil Perera, A.L. Samarakoon and A.M.M.B. Attanayake; (2nd row): C.H.J. Pathirana, T.U. Athauda, T.N. Ruberu, S.Sriyananda, I.B. Wanasinghe, S.S. Samaranayake and R.D. Karunaratne; (3rd row): M. Mayadunne, D.H.S. Piyomal, P.K. Bandara, K.K.L. Madushanka, P.B. Wickremanayake.