Annual Forum of the Asian Law Student’s Association concludes on a high
The Annual Forum of the Asian Law Students’ Association was held in Sri Lanka for the first time, and provided participants with a unique experience. The Sri Lankan chapter of the ALSA had worked hard to ensure that this year’s forum departed from the run-of-the-mill and would prove to be a memorable week altogether- where playing hard was equally a priority as working hard- with excursions across the island following the academic programme.
At the very heart of the forum were the academic sessions, much anticipated for their quality as the panelists participating were easily the best in the spheres they represented. The students could choose which session to participate, and all the sessions, held at the Kotelawela Defence University, ensured packed halls.
The session on National Security and Counter Terrorism had an elite panel headed by Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, founder Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a member of the Foreign Policy Advisory Group and of the Board of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International and Strategic Studies. Alongside Dr. Saravanamuttu was Ambika Satkunanthan, lawyer, human rights advocate, and currently a Commissioner on the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and chairperson of the Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust. Major General Udaya Perera, former commandant of the Defence Services Command and Staff College was the third panelist.
The session on Intergenerational equity had Prof Camena Gunaratne, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Open University of Sri Lanka who specializes in environment, human rights and gender. There was also Hemantha Withanage Executive Director for Centre for Environmental Justice, Sri Lanka and Manuja Wimalasena, Director of the legal unit, central environment authority, Battaramulla.
There was also a session on communication politics by Dr. Prathiba Mahanamahewa, former human rights commissioner. The sessions ensured that students gained exposure to some of the best legal minds of the region. The question and answer sessions where the students participated enthusiastically were testimony to the inspiration the discourse had sparked in them. It was a success the hardworking ALSA Sri Lankan Chapter highly deserved- and a harbinger of better things in the future.