Life style
Shrinking the glass ceiling
Today women are breaking glass ceilings and have emerged as strong entrepreneurs. The status of women in Sri Lanka too have access to professions such as medicine, teaching, politics and have the monopoly to start any businesses.Women around the world we see breaking male barriers, embarking on male dominated fields and disrupting deep rooted practices . No wall is too high for women in Sri Lanka to climb the ladder of success. We spoke to Fiona Nanayakara about ingenuity. entrepreneurial spirit.leadership skills and public relations and news publishing.
by Zanita Careem
About yourself and your career in marketing?
I am Fionna Nanayakkara. with a post graduate degree in Marketing and MBA from UK and currently reading for the PhD at University of Sri Jayawardenapura. Started my marketing career in 2007 and after working for industries FMCG, Healthcare, Manufacturing & Tech launched the first and only press release distribution system in Sri Lanka as News Publisher Online in 2018. In 2019 I was awarded the Most Influential Content Marketer at the World Marketing Congress and was recognised as a top female leader in Sri Lanka for 2020.
You have accumulated vast amount of experience having worked for many top companies. What did you learn from these rides and how do you apply experience in your current role?
Building a good network is the posi tive key. Your network becomes your net worth when starting out as an Entreprenuer. I actively participate and support any industry to develop and maintain long term relationships.
Work hard, discipline yourself to work smart with attention to detail time management are my magic action When you are own boss there won’t be anyone following up with you,
Learn everything from being in corporate communications I had no choice but e (as we manage other companies reputations), therefore we have to play close attention to the people , our team from the point of recruitment itself to evaluate thier skills & ethics equally
What made you fall in love with the world of marketing?
We are always on top with global, economic and organisational trends. Access to this information on an ongoing basis excites me to be a marketeer.
In school I loved maths as a subject but marketing came naturally to me. The fact that I was good at it helped me a lot
What does your typical day of work look like? How does your calender look and are you a coffee or tea person ?
I love both but start my day followed by tea where I sit with the newspapers and S scan all headlines and my clients’ articles. Before I start work, I read, exercise, meditate and take care of my doggy’s routine.
At my office, I usually have a heavy day
After work I sometimes have to attend to my studies, but if not its usually a little bit of reading, play time with my dog and Netflix/
How does the Covid-19 pandemic influenced the way your work?
Yes a few income streams needs re-strategizing such as events. However, News Publisher already had the necessary systems in place to work from anywhere. We still work with our industry experts so we don’t compromise on quality and we haven’t lost any talent.
News Publisher online platform is attracting more clients than before We are the only PR agency who has simplified the customer life-cycle so they can access the media from anywhere in the world.
What challenge is on your plate?
The global pandemic and reduction of resources for marketing from organisations. Marketing communications budget is reduced resulting in the lack of high revenue generating customers.
Mass media is accessible to an island-wide audience, however majority of this audience is only aware of political agendas. The room for development news is losing space specially in the Sinhala and Tamil media.
What technology trends do you see impacting the marketing industry?
From analysing customer behaviour, producing your product/service to promote technology plays a major part in order to stay relevant and engaged with the customer, employees or the community.
In an agency industr, the sentiment of monitoring helps brand to understand the voice of the people. Now promoting is very easy because the mainstream and social media and online marketing are easily accessible now,
Many entrepreneurs are empowered with numerous resources online to edit images, create videos and develop a creative content.
Brand campaigns are very engaging and memorable thanks to the use of technology. inmodern times.
Institute of Hospitality Sri Lanka
The 32nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the UK-based Institute of Hospitality’s Sri Lanka Chapter was held recently at the Ramada Hotel Colombo,.The event provided an evening of camaraderie , reflection of the past and present achievements,setting new benchmarks for the future
The AGM had the presence of two distinguished guests, the Chief Guest Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, and the Guest of Honour British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Andrew Patrick. Their inspiring speeches were lauded by all hoteliers who were present at the occasion
A special thanks was extended to Robert Richardson, CEO of the Institute of Hospitality UK, along with his team, sponsors, committee members, and all attendees for making the event memorable.
Dr. Harsha Jayasingh, Past President of the Institute of Hospitality (UK) Sri Lanka Chapter, emphasised the Institute’s longstanding history and the strength of its Sri Lankan branch. “The Institute of Hospitality (IH) UK has a history of 86 years, and we are proud to be the Sri Lanka Branch. IH Sri Lanka is much stronger now with many members from all areas of the hospitality industry,” he stated.
Dr. Jayasingh highlighted the significant role of tourism in Sri Lanka’s economy,. He said tourism it is the third-largest source of revenue for the country. “Tourism accounts for about 13.3% of total foreign exchange earnings and employs 450,000 people directly and indirectly. The hospitality industry in this island of pearl holds tremendous potential for economic growth, job creations, and cultural exchange,” he added.
He also pointed out more women should be attracted to the industry and advocated for the use of technology in hospitality sector to attract the younger generation.
The newly appointed Chairman Ramesh Dassanayake spoke about the challenges faced by the industry, including the reluctance of youth to join the sector. . Dassanayake expressed concerns over the migration of staff between hotels and the overall ‘brain drain’ in the sector. ” We must maintain high standards in the hotel We must try to attract tourists to Sri Lanka, we must have with many facilities Hence, hotel schools and other professional institutions involved in skills development mustincrease their intakes,” he pointed out.
Chief Guest Sajith Premadasa emphasised the importance of eco tourism and said “We need to have an environmental policy related to tourism in place,” . .
The 32nd AGM of the Institute of Hospitality UK, Sri Lanka Chapter, was a testament to the strength and potential of Sri Lanka’s hospitality industry. The insights and commitments shared during the event set a new benchmark for the future.(ZC)
Pix by Thushara Attapathu
Life style
He recognizes human identity beyond boundaries of gender, race, nationality and religion.
Visit of Sri Gurudev to Sri Lanka
Humanitarian, spiritual leader and Global Ambassador of Peace Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Sri Gurudev) was in Sri Lanka on a three day tour on the invitation of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Dinesh Gunewardene. Gurudev who inspired a wave of volunteerism and service to moot one of the largest volunteer-based organisations in the world – The Art of Living – visited the various projects under the aegis of the foundation and launched twelve vocational and technical centers around the island. He was accompanied by thousands of followers from Sri Lanka and around the world.
Gurudev who visited Sri Lanka for the sixth time also had a first day cover launched in honour of his visit. He is a strong proponent of spreading happiness, using the unique Sudarshan Kriya, yoga, meditation and practical wisdom to unite people, empower individuals and transform communities. His programmes provide techniques and tools to live a deeper, more joyous life, while his non-profit organisations recognize the human identity beyond the boundaries of gender, race, nationality and religion.
The Art of Living which has more than 30,000 teachers and over one million volunteers across 180 countries has touched in excess of five hundred million people around the world. CNN called it “Life Changing” and The Washington Post headlined it, “Fresh air to millions”.
In Trincomalee, Gurudev met with war victims and had a heartwarming engagement with the children from the children’s homes run by the Foundation. He also visited the Koneswara Temple in Trincomalee and graced the Kumbhabhishekam at Seetha ecogPnize the human identity beyond the boundaries of gender, race, nationality and religion. Amman temple at Nuwara Eliya. He held discussions with the trustees on the progress of the foundation’s social service projects, while also holding a special event – Ekamuthuwa – attended by a large number of dignitaries and his devotees from around the world.
His time with the Prime Minister was spent discussing the prospects of unity in diversity and uniting Sri Lanka by adding happiness into the formula of living. In addition he had discussions with the Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, prominent business stewards and civil society leaders.
by Zanita Careem
Envison your dream wedding day come to life at the Epitome Hotel, a prestigious city hotel in Kurunegala offering an unrivalled luxury rendors experience for weddings.
The venue is designed to embody opulence and luxury from all quarters for a spectacular wedding in kurunegala,Thier ballroom is the largest banquet facility in Sri Lanka It can be divided into six luxurious pillarless wedding halls on the ground floor and 25pax smaller banquet halls.
It can be easily named as a five star heaven in the heart of the city contributing to a myriad of immense experiences tailored to inspire and delight wedding experiences.
From opulent décor set up to exquisite table decor, lavish food, every detail is meticulously curated to spark your imagination and ignite creativity for a perfect wedding. The previous prestigious wedding shows season one and season two attracted large crowds
were unique events which gave the wedding vendors and potential clients had an opportunity to connect and interact with each other. Beyond being a showcase it was a chance for the wedding vendors to unite and contribute to the vibrancy of the wedding industry. The wedding show covered all area of the bridal industry providing a comprehensive variety of bridal supplies from Sri lanka and became the most popular bridal exhibitions in Kurunegala.This bridal exhibitions allowed brides and grooms to experience first hand the products and services available from suppliers in Sri Lanka
These wedding shows held at The Epitome created a benchmark and gave an opportunity for vendors to create connections to the utmost satisfaction said Harshan Lakshita Executive Director. of the magnificent Hotel
Our wedding shows featured experts and professionals in every field‘ It covered all areas of the bridal industry provided a comprehensive variety of bridal supplies from Sri lanka and became most popular bridal exhibition in this region.We are always open to everyone to join us at our wedding shows in the future. It is an opportunity to discover the incredible talent within our local wedding and bridal vendors to make meaningful relationships and plan thier special day at our breathtaking hotel The Epitome said General Manager Kavinda Caldera
The Epitome Hotel’s bridal show which will be held end of June will buzz with great ideas,advice and inspiration for all those who plan thier dream wedding
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The Hotel Epitome’s Wedding Season 3 will marked excellence, celebration and inspiration for those in the wedding industry. The exhibition halls will resonate with ideas on exquisite bridal wear to decor, florists , photography etc and showshowcase the rich tapestry of talent within the local wedding industry. .
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