“THE RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN” An evening for future leaders

Presentation by TMC in association with CMI

The Management Club (TMC) together with Chartered Management Institute (CMI) SL Branch organised the second session in their new series of events “An evening for future leaders” on Tuesday 20th March at the Park Street Mews amidst the gathering of some distinguished participants.

The theme for the evening was “The responsible citizen” and the guest speaker on this occasion was Dr. A.C. Visvalingam, President of the CITIZENS’ MOVEMENT FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE (CIMOGG)

Dr Visvalingam has dedicated his time and energy over the last decade in drawing the attention of many discerning members of society to issues that are as diverse as “Garbage Disposal” and “Sound Pollution” to more serious topics such as “Presidential Leadership” and “Educating Children for Responsible Citizenship”.

At this interactive session he raised some key issues that concerns the ordinary citizens of Sri Lanka, and the measures that each of us could take even in our small way towards making the country a better place to live in harmony with others.

Dr Visvalingam, explained in simple terms how a responsible citizen will always be disciplined not to toot a horn unnecessarily or cut across traffic lanes and block another’s path, how he will not dispose garbage in a manner harmful to others nor waste electricity, water or any scarce resources, how he will not increase the volume of a TV or a sound set up unnecessarily or have noisy musical parties late in to the nights disturbing the neighbourhood etc, all of which are common occurrences we experience many a time. If such basic practises can be inculcated in a majority of our society, the challenge of promoting responsible citizenship will become easier with regard to more complex and serious subject areas.

There were quite a number of interesting questions from the participants and TMC and CMI SL Branch is confident that the deliberations at this forum helped focus the attention of those present to a great extent to the need for respect for the Rule of Law to work towards a society where all citizens can live in harmony with others while helping one another whenever that is possible. TMC and CMI plans to continue this series of meetings, every third Tuesday of the month, with the support of Peoples Bank and Park Street Mews thus providing an ideal forum for young managers of Sri Lanka, who are aspiring to be future leaders of our beloved country.