Events  

Vijaya Kumaratunga memorial lecture

A memorial lecture was delivered by veteran artiste Sathischandra Edirisinghe at the 70th birth anniversary celebrations of veteran actor Vijaya Kumaratunga. It was organized by the Vijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Fan Club and was held at the SLBC's Ananda Samarakoon studio recently.

Minister of Mass Media, Gayantha Karunatilleka, who was present on the occasionsaid "The politics practised by veteran artiste Vijaya Kumaratunga were exemplary." He said Vijaya Kumaratunga was a person who honoured policies which he respected and valued, therefore, the politics he practised were exemplary. The Minister said Vijaya Kumaratunga spoke for the people.

A collection of songs by Vijaya Kumaratunga was presented to the Minister. Director General of the SLBC Erananda Hettiarachchi, Media Secretary to the Minister B. Madushanka Abeygunawardana, singer Sanjeewani Weerasinghe, film director Padmasiri Kodikara, actor Cleetus Mendis and many veteran artistes were present.

Purple Parade 2

Purple Parade 2' a walk organized by the Parents Teachers Association of Bishops College Colombo took place last week. The parade commenced from the College premises, with the participation of Principal Sharmila Gunatilleke, teachers, students and the 'Old Boys' who attended the nursery at some point of time.

- Ruzaik Farook

'71st Royal Philex'

The Philatelic Club of Royal College has organized '71st Royal Philex', the annual exhibition of stamps and items related to philately, to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the club.on October 29, 30 and 31 at the Lionel Wendt Gallery. This is the only annual stamp exhibition organized by a student club in Sri Lanka for a continous period of 29 years. It is also and is the largest exhibition organized by a student club.

More than 1000 exhibits is open to the public free of charge. Students of leading schools will participate in the 'Invited Schools Category.'

The 29th volume of 'The Royal Philatelist', the first philatelic magazine in Sri Lanka and longest published philatelic magazine in South Asia will also be launched.

The Philatelic Club of Royal College was formed in 1944, and is the only Sri Lankan Club to be recognized by the Singapore Philatelic Academy.

70th National Observance of UN Day

The United Nations Association of Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Sri Lanka celebrated the 70th National Observance of United Nations Day at the Bishops College Auditorium recently.

The event also marked the 60th anniversary of Sri Lanka's membership to the UN and the 65th anniversary of the United Nations Association. The celebrations were held under the patronage of the Executive Chairman of the Association, Brigadier General G.V. Elapata.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Harsha De Silva was the Chief Guest and the Acting Resident Coordinator and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO Representative for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Bath S. Crawford was the Guest of Honour.

The Chief Guest presented awards to the Highest Honorary Member and Invaluable Service to the UN. Special awards were presented to those who supported the Association.

Text and Pic : Ruzaik Farook

Asian Conference on Intellectual Disabilities held in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka hosted the 22nd Conference of the Asian Federation on Intellectual Disabilities (AFID) from October 3 to 7 at the Sri Lanka Foundation. The conference was attended by 210 persons from eight Asian countries, one from the UK and 83 from Sri Lanka participated. They included members of national organizations on Intellectual Disabilities (ID) in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Japan, South Korea, Macau, Singapore and Taiwan. In addition, academics doing research on ID persons, teachers in special education units (SEU) in schools, ID persons themselves and persons accompanying them attended the conference, organized by the Ceylon Association for the Mentally Retarded (CAMR), Sri Lanka's national member of AFID. Ms. Nandhini Wijayaratnam served as the President of AFID since 2013 up to October 2015 . Minster Mano Ganesan was the Chief Guest

Some performances were also staged by the dance troupe of the National Youth Council and teachers of SEUs in government schools. On the final day, four presentations by ID persons were made.

An offer was made by a group of delegates from an Eastern Asian country to assist Sri Lanka to build a facility, including training of staff, where ID children could be provided with an education and training to enable them to lead a more dignified life in an inclusive society.