Lankan students win Ritsumeikan prizes

Sri Lankan winners of one of the world's most prestigious essay contests sponsored by the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University of Beppu, Japan, received their prizes from First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy Jakashi Ato, at a ceremony in Colombo recently.

The title of the essay was "The influence of a borderless economy on local society." Wijesinghe Shanil Aroshan of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia and Miss. Seneviratne Shavera of Hillwood College, Kandy won two of the top five prizes and a personalised Certificate of Achievement. Each received 20,000 Japanese Yen and their schools also received certificates of recognition.

"This is a significant achievement for the students, their schools and Sri Lanka," said Harin Gunewardene, Country Representative of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, "because not just one, but two major prizes have come home".

The essay competition, whilst not linked to enrolment at the University, was created to encourage students from the Asia Pacific region gain greater understanding of the leadership role they will play in the future.

The university recognised that students from the region needed to understand the regional culture, geo-political issues and sensitivities and these could be best served from an institution in the region rather than one outside who did not share the same background or aspirations.