SLPA to felicitate 10 veterans at its 68th Anniversary Convention

The Sri Lanka Press Association (SLPA) is scheduled to celebrate its 68th anniversary convention on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at the BMICH from 3.00pm.

The SLPA, the pioneer and the oldest journalist union in Sri Lanka, will facilitate 10 veterans, who have rendered a yeoman service to the country during its annual convention.

Foreign delegates, including representatives of the Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ), are to grace the event.

The SLPA was formed by Ven. Udakendawala Siri Saranankara Thera on October 9, 1955, as the Ceylon Branch of IOJ (International Organization of Journalists) and was later renamed as Ceylon Press Association by the stalwarts D. F. Kariyakarawana and Hema de Silva in 1957.

The Association attracted media giants at that time including D.B. Dhanapala, Piyasena Nissanka, Mervyn de Silva, Meemana Premathilake, U. L. D. Chandrathilake, Newton Seneviratne, Evans Cooray, Lakshman Jayawardene, Sivanesa Chelvam, B.H.S. Jayewardene, Eamon Kariyakarawana, David Raju, J. B. Dissanayake, Srimal Fonseka and a host of others.

Its 68th Anniversary convention this year would felicitate 10 veteran journalists, namely, Karunarathne Amarasinghe, S. Kaneshan, Tulin Jayarathne, Shan Wickremesinghe, Christopher Kamalendran, Pushpa Rowel, Mohomad Thajudeen, Lambert Pemmawadu, Kamal Liyanarachchi, and Pushpakumara Mathugama.