Text of my column written for Echelon monthly business magazine, Sri Lanka, July 2015 issue Kidney Disease Needs ‘Heart and Mind’ solutions By Nalaka Gunawardene If bans and prohibitions were a measure of good governance, Sri Lanka would probably score well in global rankings. Successive governments have shown a penchant for banning – usually without […]
Media sector reforms in Sri Lanka have become both urgent and important. Media freedom cannot be consolidated without other reforms that create a more professional and responsible media. Some progress has been made since the Presidential election. The new government has taken steps to end threats against media organisations and journalists, and started or resumed […]
The recent controversy involving Maggi noodles in India is an eye opener for the entire region. The popular instant food, which has been sold for over three decades, was banned in early June by India’s food safety regulator after tests found excessive levels of lead. Some samples also found Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), a flavor enhancer. […]
Sri Lanka’s mainstream media – especially in the Sinhala language (and perhaps in Tamil too?) – lacks sensitivity and restraint when reporting and/or commenting on incidents of violence – covering suicide, homicide, rape and child abuse – as well as on topics like mental illness and HIV/AIDS. This is my cumulative impression having closely watched […]
Besides being a political leader and social reformer, Mahatma Gandhi was also a prolific writer, journalist and editor for much of his life. He was the editor of three English weeklies, namely Indian Opinion (in South Africa during 1903-1915), Young India (1919- 1931), and Harijan (1933-1942 and 1946-January 1948). These journals, which he described as […]
Text of my column written for Echelon monthly business magazine, Sri Lanka, June 2015 issue Sri Lanka: Unclear on Nuclear By Nalaka Gunawardene Should Sri Lanka consider nuclear energy for its medium to meet its long term electricity generation needs? This has been debated for years in scientific and policy circles. It has come into […]
“Journalism to be useful and serviceable to the country will take its definite place only when it becomes unselfish and when it devotes its best for the service of the country, and whatever happens to the editors or to the journal itself, editors would express the views of the country irrespective of consequences…” Mahatma Gandhi […]
Every year in May, over a billion and a half South Asians join a waiting and guessing game for the mighty rain-carrying oceanic winds, one of the great forces of nature on this planet. Few things – human or natural – evoke such anxiety and anticipation of the South Asian Summer Monsoon, also known as […]
Sri Lanka is emerging as an important global destination for Information Technology supported Business process outsourcing (IT-BPO). This knowledge service industry is one of many benefits of improving telecommunications services and IT capability in the country. It is creating many well-paid jobs, and generating growing volumes of foreign exchange for Sri Lanka’s economy (USD 720 […]
The National Summit for Media Reform in Sri Lanka was organised by the Ministry of Mass Media and Information, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) and International Media Support (IMS) and held on 13 – 14 May 2015 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Colombo 7. Its aim was “to maximise the contribution […]
Text of my column written for Echelon monthly business magazine, Sri Lanka, May 2015 issue Black Swans, White Lies and the Rise of ‘Info-Doers’ By Nalaka Gunawardene The Global Village is a pretty noisy place. In today’s networked society, information can spread at the speed of light. Fabrications, half-truths and myriad interpretations compete with evidence-based […]
To describe Nihal Fernando (1927-2015) simply as a photographer leaves out so much more that was: explorer, writer, conservationist and cultural historian. He excelled in each field without having had any formal training – he was entirely self-taught, and mostly self-funded in his life time of public interest work. In fact, in a 2001 interview […]
In this week’s Ravaya column (in Sinhala, published in issue of 10 May 2015), I explore the aftermath of the major earthquake that hit Nepal on 25 April 2015, causing widespread damage. I quote Nepali experts and activists on how the lack of preparedness aggravated impact, and the challenge of recovery that now faces Nepali […]
In this week’s Ravaya column (in Sinhala, published in issue of 3 May 2015), I talk about the Magna Carta, one of the most famous documents in the world. This years marks the 800th anniversary of its adoption in medieval England in 1215. It was the first formal document stating that a King had to […]
The Annasi & Kadalagotu Literary Festival (‘A&K Lit Fest’), held on 25 April 2015, brought together literary enthusiasts from across the country. It was a collaborative platform where those who share a passion for literature can come together, explore the way we write, the way we read and learn about the ways of Sri Lanka […]
In this week’s Ravaya column (in Sinhala, published in issue of 26 April 2015), I question the wisdom of a new project by the Lankan government’s Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) on “ICT for Citizen’s Journalism”. ICTA’s CEO was recently quoted in the media as saying: “For this programme, what we are planning to […]
April 2015 marks 20 years of commercial Internet connectivity in Sri Lanka. Nearly a quarter of our 21 million population is estimated to get online, most of them using mobile devices. Blogging — as an activity of self-expression using the web – is being pursued by a few thousand people, and many thousands more participate […]
Text of my column written for Echelon monthly business magazine, Sri Lanka, April 2015 issue. Published online at: http://www.echelon.lk/home/managing-the-demographic-transition-the-silver-dividend/ Managing Demographic Transition: The ‘Silver Dividend’ By Nalaka Gunawardene Back in December 1993, Wired magazine asked readers to nominate seven modern wonders of the world – extraordinary structures or phenomena that characterise our age. Its editors […] ...
In this week’s Ravaya column (in Sinhala, published in issue of 5 April 2015), I explore Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy from the perspective of many public education efforts in Singapore during his time as Prime Minister (1959-1990) and afterwards. Such public awareness and motivation campaigns have been an integral part of Singapore’s national heritage. Over […]
On 16 February 2015, India and Sri Lanka signed a bilateral agreement to cooperate in peaceful uses of nuclear technology. Under this, India will help the island nation build its nuclear energy infrastructure, upgrade existing nuclear technologies and train specialised staff. The two countries will also collaborate in producing and using radioactive isotopes. On the […]