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The first ever Good Life Centre in Sri Lanka
The Foundation of Goodness’ Good Life Institute launched its latest initiative, the Good Life Centre in September 2020 in the village of Kahawa, located in the Galle District. This is the first-ever Good Life Centre in Sri Lanka and will help develop marginalised children and youth in to successful and well-rounded citizens of tomorrow through a value based approach to development.
In line with the vision of the Good Life Institute, the Good Life Centre’s core focus is to inculcate good values in children from rural villages to be more responsible towards the community and environment. Alongside offering children support on school subjects, the Centre will deliver STEM education, an English Reading Programme, the Goodness Agriculture Initiative and the Children’s Good Values Initiative, free of cost (Visit the Foundation of Goodness website for more details about these programmes)
Striving in academic studies should go hand in hand with instilling good values into children’s lives from a very young age. The truth of the matter is, we now live in a world where parents and families have become nuclear due to their work schedules and other commitments. If a child is not able to imbibe the concept of “Goodness” from the time that they are aware of the surroundings and how to respond to it, their future path will have no real value. With this in mind, the Good Life Centre hopes to be a vehicle towards instilling a sense of empathy, integrity, and reliability amongst the youth of Sri Lanka so that they can take these skills into the adult world to make it better.
As the Founder of the Foundation of Goodness and the Good Life Institute, Mr. Kushil Gunasekera often says, “Education can make you rich, but values will make you happier”. The teachers and coordinators of the new Good Life Centre received a special training by Kushil Gunasekera, where he stressed on the importance of inculcating good values along with high quality education for the boys and girls in the rural village of Kahawa.
Since its inception last year, the Good Life Institute has developed and implemented various projects, notably the Good Life Experience – Better Than I Used To Be programme, MindShaper – What the Classroom Didn’t Teach, Planetary Health Education and the Children’s Good Values Initiative.
The Good Life Institute is an initiative of the Foundation of Goodness which has delivered humanitarian services aimed at bridging the urban/ rural divide for 21 years. The Foundation of Goodness flagship venue (The MCC Centre of Excellence and Sports Academy) is located in the village of Seenigama in Galle Districts and they also have 10 Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres located around the island in the districts of Galle, Monaragala, Badulla, Ampara, Batticaloa, Anuradhapura, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Jaffna reaching 31,500+ beneficiaries from 400+ villages annually, free of cost. To learn more, visit: www.unconditionalcompassion.org
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo welcomed the U.S. Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, former National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Stephen Howard and Astou Ndiaye, from June 8 through 14.
The Public Diplomacy section of the U.S. Embassy said that it would launch a weeklong basketball program intended to harness the unifying power of sports, made possible through collaboration with Foundation of Goodness and IImpact Hoop Lab.
While in Sri Lanka, Howard and Ndiaye, both retired professional basketball players, will conduct a weeklong program, Hoops for Hope: Bridging Borders through Basketball. The Sports Envoys will lead basketball clinics and exhibition matches and engage in leadership sessions in Colombo and Southern Province for youth aged 14-18 from Northern, Uva, Eastern and Western Provinces, offering skills and leadership training both on and off the court. The U.S. Envoys will also share their expertise with the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation, national coaches, and players, furthering the development of basketball in the country. Beyond the clinics, they will collaborate with Sri Lankan schoolchildren to take part in a community service project in the Colombo area.
“We are so proud to welcome Stephen and Astou as our Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, to build on the strong people-to-people connections between the United States and Sri Lanka,” said U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung. “The lessons that will be shared by our Sports Envoys – communication, teamwork, resilience, inclusion, and conflict resolution – are essential for leadership development, community building, equality, and peace. The U.S. Sports Envoy program is a testament to our belief that sports can be a powerful tool in promoting peace and unity.”
SJB Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahuman in parliament demanded to know from the government the reasons for CEB suspending the leave of all its employees until further notice from Thursday.
MP Rahuman said that the CEB has got an acting General Manager anew and the latter yesterday morning issued a circular suspending leave of all CEB employees with immediate effect until further notice.
“We demand that Minister Kanchana Wijesekera should explain this to the House. This circular was issued while this debate on the new Electricity Amendment Bill was pending. There are many who oppose this Bill. The Minister must tell parliament the reason for the urge to cancel the leave of CEB employees,” the MP said.However, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena prevented Minister Wijesekera responding to the query and said that the matter raised by MP Rahuman was not relevant.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) successfully concluded the 8th Annual CIPM Symposium, which took place on 31st May 2024. Themed “Nurturing the Human Element—Redefining HRM in a Rapidly Changing World,” the symposium underscored the pivotal role of human resource management (HRM) in today’s dynamic global landscape. Since its inception in 1959, CIPM has been dedicated to advancing the HR profession through education, professional development, and advocacy, solidifying its position as Sri Lanka’s leading professional body for HRM.
Ken Vijayakumar, the President of the CIPM, graced the occasion as the chief guest. The symposium commenced with the welcome address by the Chairperson, Prof. Arosha Adikaram, followed by the Web Launch of the Symposium Proceedings and Abstract Book by the CIPM President. The event featured distinguished addresses, including a speech by Chief Guest Ken Vijayakumar, President of CIPM, and an address by Guest of Honor Shakthi Ranatunga, Chief Operating Officer of MAS Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Sri Lanka.
The symposium also featured an inspiring keynote address by Prof. Mario Fernando, Professor of Management and Director of the Centre for Cross Cultural Management (CCCM) at the University of Wollongong, Australia.
Vote of Thanks of the inauguration session was delivered by Dr. Dillanjani Weeratunga, Symposium Co-chair.
The symposium served as a comprehensive platform for researchers to present their findings across a wide range of critical topics in HRM. These included Cultural Diversity and Inclusion, Talent Development and Retention, Ethical Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility, Adapting to Technological Advancements, Mental Health and Well-being at Work, Global Workforce Challenges, Employee Empowerment, and Reskilling and Upskilling.
The plenary session was led by Prof. Wasantha Rajapakse. Certificates were awarded to the best paper presenters during the valedictory session, followed by a vote of thanks delivered by Kamani Perera, Manager of Research and Development.
The annual symposium of CIPM was a truly inclusive event, attracting a diverse audience that spanned undergraduates, graduates, working professionals, research scholars and lecturers. This widespread interest highlights the symposium’s significance in the field of HRM, offering a unique opportunity for everyone to network and learn from scholarly brains.The CIPM International Research Symposium was sponsored by Hambantota International Port, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), E B Creasy & Co. PLC, and Print Xcel Company.
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
