Don’t throw your waste; it can be turned into art
The Professor H.A. de S. Gunasekera Memorial Oration 2017 will be held on Tuesday, October 24, at 3 p.m. at the Senate Room, University of Peradeniya.
The Oration will be delivered by Prof. Sirimevan Colombage, Professor Emeritus, Open University of Sri Lanka, and a former Director of the Central Bank, on the topic, “The Political Economy of Central Banking in Sri Lanka”.
The oration will explore how far the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has been able to conduct monetary policy independent of political pressures.
Wesley College Colombo will host the inaugural ‘Shelton Wirasinha Oration’ on Thursday, October 19, at 5 p.m. at the College Hall.
The oration will be delivered by Kumar de Silva and is open to the public.
As Principal of Wesley College from 1962-1983, Arthur Shelton Wirasinha was the second longest serving Principal of the College after Revd. Henry Highfield.
A product of Richmond College, Galle, Shelton Wirasinha, better known as ‘ASW’, touched the hearts and lives of tens of thousands of students who passed through the portals of Wesley College. Now spread across Sri Lanka, and all over the world, they fondly remember him with great respect and deep gratitude.
“The Shelton Wirasinha Oration is thus a fitting event which will pay homage to this great educationist and will be
By Sinali Ranawala
Realizing the ‘value’ of waste was behind the “Waste To Art” exhibit organised by the Colombo Hippie Market and three collaborating universities at the Public Library recently. The exhibition held for the first time on October 6 and 7 drew an interested crowd.
The exhibition was a collaboration between the Colombo Hippie Market(CHM ) and the Colombo, Jaffna and Sri Jayewardenapura universities.
The oration is organised jointly by the Department of Economics & Statistics, University of Peradeniya and the Prof. H.A. de S. Gunasekera Memorial Trust Fund. The 2017 Oration takes place during the 75th anniversary jubilee year of the University of Peradeniya and the Department of Economics. The event is free and open to the public. an annual event where the Wesley fraternity, students and teachers past and present, together with friends and wellwishers will gather in the College Hall to reminisce ‘neath the Double Blue in an ambiance of great nostalgia,” says Principal Avanka Fernando.
Kumar de Silva, who has been invited to deliver this inaugural Oration had his education at Wesley College and came under the direct tutelage of Shelton Wirasinha. An English Honours and French graduate of the University of Kelaniya, he is a Public Relations and Media Consultant, photographer and author.
In recognition of his contribution to promoting the French language and culture in Sri Lanka for more than quarter of a century, de Silva was knighted by the Government of France as ‘Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters’.
The CHM operates on two underlying concepts; one to encourage a plant-based lifestyle and secondly, to build up a community that will find their own sustainable methods of waste management. The dedicated CHM team has been holding awareness programmes on up-cycling and environmental responsibility in schools islandwide.
“It is important to realize the true value of trash in finding solutions to the garbage problem,”said Dr. Randika Jayasinghe of the
In opening its doors to the differently abled, the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association (SLGGA) recently conducted a National Centenary Camp, which turned out to be a promising effort towards building a more inclusive society.
The SLGGA has been around since 1917 and the Association’s Branch for Differently Abled Guides was founded in 1924, just seven years after. It has since been working hard to recognise those with mental and physical disabilities, and include these girls and young women in the world of Guiding.
The initial companies included the Khan Memorial Ward at the National Hospital in Colombo for children with disabilities, School for the Hearing and Speech Impaired and the School for the Visually Impaired in Ratmalana, and later extended to the Nuffield School for Hearing and Visually Impaired in Kaithady, Jaffna. The Branch also extended guiding to socially handicapped girls in the Prison Rehabilitation Centres at Gangodawila and Mirigama.
Currently, the organisation counts a membership of 480 spread over 22 institutions from the North, South, West and East. The highlight of the Branch’s programme is introducing Guiding to the Special Education Units of the schools. Three pilot projects have been lined up in the Eastern Province, with the regular Guide companies. In addition to badge work and being Department of Engineering Technology, Sri Jayawardenapura University.
In answer to a newspaper advertisement calling for submissions of art made from waste, 110 applications had been received showing the team that indeed quite a lot of people were interested in finding unconventional solutions to the waste problem. Around 70 exhibits were finally exhibited drawn from artists from all corners of the island from Jaffna to Galle, including students.
A walk around revealed some unusual exhibits. We observed a romantic picture of a Victorian couple, the lady’s flowing skirt done in syringe bottle caps, on a background of old newsprint made by K.L.S. Silva. A.P. Kalyanawansa had created a kitchen stool from up-cycled recognised as a Girl Guide like the other Guides, the programmes include activities to harness the potential of these girls such as indoor and outdoor camping, crafts, concerts to display their talents, and ‘fun days’.
Highlights of the Branch for the Differently Abled’s plans:
• Caregiver programmes for parents and teachers to help caregivers inculcate in differently abled children the sense of responsibility required to take care of themselves and to be independent.
• Empowering Guiders/Leaders with more skills and training.
• Initiating hands-on training for the differently abled employee through the facilitation of the Employer’s Federation
• Workshops for the key stakeholders by being a catalyst between the corporate sector and the differently abled, to be a liaison between the employable employee and the employer, and especially to facilitate the security and safety of the girl employee. This was highlighted at an Initiative Meeting by the University of Colombo.
Many of these efforts were witnessed at the National Centenary Camp held at the Army Infantry Training School in Minneriya from August 23 – 27. Among the Guides who participated were 20 differently abled Guides from the North, East, and Western provinces, along with 1,000 other Guides.They participated in a number of sporting rice cookers, discarded signboards and fabric cut-offs while S. N. Rajasinghe’s sculptures made from melted plastic were almost lifelike in appearance, particularly his showpiece of street performers. Also, notable was a sculpture of Jesus made from melted plastic.
Next time you don’t know where to throw your old electronics, plas- events during the camp, including throwball and cricket matches.
Apart from the fun, games and community events, the SLGGA’s Branch for Differently Abled Guides also pays a great deal of attention to awareness and education on care-giving. Most events organised by this branch include workshops for caregivers, and the recent Centenary Celebrations were no exception.
The All Island Branch for the Differently Abled Guiders held a training session at the SLGGA National Headquarters in Colombo, while separate training sessions were also conducted in Batticaloa and in Jaffna.
The last training session was held on September 8 and 9 for Guiders of the Branch for the Differently Abled to enhance guiding skills and first aid. Recently, two Guides from the School for the Deaf, Ratmalana, were the first to receive the ‘Blue All Round Cord’, the highest award for the Differently Abled Guides and this year the SLGGA welcomed 15 Guides from the School for the Blind in Ratmalana.
Funding however, remains a crucial challenge. Most partner institutions cannot afford the extra-curricular activities, and the SLGGA therefore depends heavily on contributions from either individuals or organisations.
An All Island Differently Abled Guides ‘Fun Day’ was held on October 14. tics , the team at the Hippie Market will be happy to connect you with the artists.
Most of the artists were people who had day jobs, but had the creative mindset to come up with artistic creations in their spare time. The Colombo Hippie Market can be contacted on Facebook and Instagram.
“Megha’s Eloquent Memories” by Meghavarna Kumarasinghe will be launched on October 21 at 5.30 p.m. at Ananda College. The author, Meghawarna, a sports enthusiast has featured many sports personalities.
Minister of Regional Development, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, will be the Chief Guest whilst Principal of Ananda College S.M. Keerthirathna, will be the Guest of Honour at the launch. Sarath Fonseka will deliver the keynote address at the Siyawasa Mandiraya, Ananda College.
This book is intended for readers of sports, academics, media and anyone who appreciates sports.
Not many know much about “Angampora,” Sri Lanka’s ancient martial art. It has been a term languishing in obscurity for the last couple of centuries, often misunderstood as an urban legend; a thing of the past.
Oceans and Continents Sri Lanka, a collective of creative professionals based in Colombo, together with one of the last heirs of Angampora’s cultural legacy, have compiled a groundbreaking study of this ancient art in pictorial form. They will be publishing a coffee-table book titled “Angampora: A Nation’s Legacy in Pictures” after more than six years of intensive research and photography. The book is written by Deshamanya Ajantha Mahanthaarachchi and photographed by Reza Akram. With 436 pages and more than 600 stunning photographs, it aims to raise awareness internationally and locally about the last remaining vestiges of a colourful cultural legacy that shaped Sri Lankan society over the centuries.
The book showcases Angampora with an exotic array of never before seen ancient artifacts, colourful cultural practices that are on the brink of extinction, and a host of deadly combat techniques that include lethal pressure point attacks and more.Proceeds from book sales will be directly channelled to the Korathota Angampora lineage to provide much needed financial support for the traditional Angampora practitioners who have kept this art alive through the centuries.
The book will be released on October 21 at the DIMO 0800 showroom in Colombo 14. There will be a photography exhibition open to the public on October 22 and 23 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The project is sponsored by Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (Heritage Sponsor), Sri Lanka Army, Brandix PLC, Sampath Bank PLC (Legacy Sponsors), Sri Lanka Air Force, Sri Lanka Navy (Patriot Sponsors), Siam City Cement Lanka (Pvt) Limited, and Q&E Advertising (Flag-Bearer Sponsors).
The book will be available for purchase at Rs.9, 500 at the venue. Photography prints too will be available for purchase during the event.