Dharmathilake felicitated
A Sri Lankan receives Life Time Achievement In Packaging Award 2017 from the World Packaging Organization on 4th May 2017 in Dusseldorf, Germany
Dharmatilake Ratnayake, popularly known as Dharme among all his local associates and Dharma amongst his foreign contacts is a Packaging Consultant being a leading trainer and a specialist in Flexible Packaging in Sri Lanka and has been a resource person at a number of international seminars and training courses held in India, Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Presently he serves as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Moratuwa.
He has been associating with the Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging (SLIP) for 39 years and during this time he held the posts of Secretary, Vice President for, President for 6 years and still serves the Institute as a Member of the Council of Management representing the Packaging development Centre that was launched by him as the Technical arm of the SLIP with the Support of its Governing Body in the year 2006.
Dharma has been holding responsible positions in various other local and international associations connected to Packaging including Sri Lanka Institute of Printing, INGRIN Institute of Printing & Graphics as its Chairman, National Packaging Centre, Asian Packaging Federation as its President and the World Packaging Organization as its Vice President. He is being serving the Ministry of Industry & Commerce of the Government of Sri Lanka as the Chairman of its Packaging Sector Advisory Committee for the last 8 years. He also had the opportunity of being appointed as a consultant to the Business Advisory Services Section of the International Trade Centre, Geneva as a Senior Consultant.
From late nineteen eighties todate Mr. Ratnayake has been an active member of the Asian Packaging Federation (APF) representing the SLIP and has served the Federation as its Secretary General, Vice President and President. During his three decades of association with the APF he has launched several new activities with the approval of the Board of Administration of the Federation. One such activity was to confer Hon. Membership to all past Presidents and secretary Generals of the Federation and also to a number of dignitaries nominated by its member organizations in the Asia Pacific region. As a follow, up to this activity Dharma established a body named “College of Honorary Members” of the APF to act as an advisory body to the Members of the Board of Administration.
The major activity Dharma has launched is a project for recognition of Asian Packaging Professionals by conferring CAPP ( Certified Asian Packaging Professional ) and FAPP ( Fellow of the Asian Packaging Professionals) to those Asian Packaging professionals who reach certain standards laid down by the APF and Dharma chairs the “CAPP Committee” with three other com- mittee members from India, Thailand & Turkey. The official launch of this activity was held during an Asian Packaging Congress held in Mumbai in December 2016.
Dharma was responsible for establishing World Star Student Category awards and Lanka Star Student category awards and was bestowed the honour of being appointed as the Senior Consultant for World Student Star Great China Region & Asia Star China Region by the China Packaging Federation.
Dharma’s pioneering services in his chosen field - packaging for the last 49 years from 1968 to date accomplishing remarkable services will make his name engrossed in the history of the World Packaging Sector for years.
The Sri Lankan Packaging Fraternity is Grateful to the WO R L D PA C K A G I N G ORGANIZATION for recognizing the valuable services rendered by our Dharma to the World Packaging Community for almost a half a century and for bestowing honor upon him by conferring LIFETIME ACHEVEMENT IN PACKAGING AWARD 2017 on 4th May 2017 in Dusseldorf, Germany.