International conference on Science and Management:

Peace, a sine qua non for development

By Ranil Wijayapala

Sri Lanka, as a country which has ended three-decades of terrorism has realised that it was the absence of peace that hampered economic development. The four years of peace after the end of terrorism has put the country into a rapid development drive making it a focal point to showcase that peace is an essential factor for the development of any nation.

The Institute of Human Resource Advancement (IHRA) of the Colombo University will showcase this fact to the international community by organising a one-day international conference on 'Science and Management for Peace and Development' on October 21 at 9 am at the Waters Edge as a precursor to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November.

"The idea of organising this international conference parallel to the Commonwealth Heads of Meeting Summit in Sri Lanka is to bring in the concept to the world that regardless of science and technology, without peace countries will never develop.

So, peace is the vital and essential factor for the development of any country," said Director, IHRA , Dr. Rohan Perera.

"Sri Lanka after the end of the war against terrorism is now transforming into an education, port and aviation hub in Asia because we could achieve peace in this country after 2009. Sri Lanka is now rapidly transforming into an economic hub in Asia.

This is a great example to show that peace is the most important factor for the development of any nation," he said.

"The Institute Human Resource Advancement of the University of Colombo organised this international conference to show to the international community how Sri Lanka has rapidly transformed into a developing nation during the past few years after the end of terrorism.

That is the message we wish to convey to the Heads of Commonwealth through this conference," Dr. Perera said.

"Therefore, we have invited foreign delegations and High Commissioners and Ambassadors and various organisations to attend this international forum and see how academics have done research for peace and the development of this country. More than 200 delegates will participate and research papers will be presented by Sri Lankan and foreign delegates and professionals," he said.

"This international conference will provide a link between Sri Lanka and other countries to work together for the development of the human being," Dr Perera said.

More than 35 research papers will be presented by local and foreign participants. Major international concerns such as climate change, global warming, development of new medicines, food security, education for all, poverty and the energy crisis will be discussed.

"The other message we want to convey to the international community through this conference is that we all are human beings and even though we are divided by religion and ethnicity, we all are the same and we should work together to bring peace and development for the benefit of the entire world in the future," he said.

"If we can get together and discuss issues like food security, the international community can find solutions for these problems rather than compete with each other," Dr Perera said.

"The University of Colombo as one of the top ranking universities in Sri Lanka and the South Asian region and the Institute of Human Resource Advancement as an institute that promotes education as one of the most pivotal solutions for peace and development in any nation, we decided that the University of Colombo should take a step forward and start this international conference to pass the message to the world that we are willing to take the advantage of peace for the development of this country," he said.

"During the war against terrorism we did not get much money as grants. All the money we received was used for defeating terrorism. Now the financial factor has been sorted out and the IHRA gets more money for research and development," Dr Perera said.

"Research is a key area for development for countries such as Japan and Korea. They have become giants in science and technology because they do research. In fact, Japan and Korea developed after the end of their wars. War is the one thing that motivates a country to develop. Now Sri Lanka is taking that advantage which was not there during the past thirty years. Therefore, we can contribute to develop this country as a hub in Asia with the support of science and technology research, innovation and education," he said.

"Due to lack of funding not much research was conducted by the academia. Unfortunately many academics moved out of this country because of terrorism. Now there is motivation for them to come back and serve their country. The government is providing the basic requirement for innovation and research," Dr Perera said.

"Therefore, we have invited President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the chief guest for this international conference.

Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake, Science and Technology Minister Prof. Tissa Vitharana and Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, Gotabaya Rajapaksa will also take part in the conference," he said.