The Commonwealth of Nations needs restructuring to suit the contemporary needs to make the organisation more dynamic and helpful to its member countries' citizens in a more practical way, External Affairs Minister Prof.G.L. Peiris said.
"With President Mahinda Rajapaksa slated to assume the leadership of the Organisation for the next two years, Sri Lanka is looking forward to proposing changes to the organisation to make it more modern and practical," he added.
Prof. Peiris was speaking at the presentation of awards to winners of an all island essay, arts and debate competition for schoolchildren held parallel to the Commonwealth Summit 2013. The ceremony was held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday under the patronage of President Rajapaksa and Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma.
"Sri Lanka is proud to host the CHOGM. This is of enormous importance to Sri Lanka because it will enhance the country's stature as part of its benefits. This is a significant international event that is taking place in Sri Lanka after 1972.
An Asian country is hosting CHOGM after 24 years," he added. Prof. Peris said on the instructions from President Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka has sought to garner the support of its people belonging to all walks of life when hosting the event.
"We want the people to feel that they are all part of this international event," he said.
Prof. Peiris said the government organised many events and the essay, arts and debate competition for schoolchildren was one such effort.
Describing the competition as highly successful, Prof. Peiris said this had helped to inculcate valuable knowledge about Commonwealth of Nations among schoolchildren throughout the island.
The event was organised by the Commonwealth Sub-Committee on Social Programs with the help of the External Affairs and Education Ministry.
For all competitions only one topic had been given as 'Commonwealth development and social justice' . Essay competition and the debates were held in Sinhala, Tamil and English. "Essay and arts competitions were held under three age groups - 6, 7 and 8 Grades, 9,10 and 11 Grades and 12 and 13 Grades. Debates were held only for grades 12 and 13," Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Social Programs for CHOGM Indrani Sugathadasa said. Education Minister Bandula Gunawardana also spoke.
President Rajapaksa and Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma distributed awards and prizes to the winners.
Source -Daily News
12-11-2013
