Sunday 10th August 2014
By Dhaneshi Yatawara
The stage has been set for Defence Seminar 2014 which is to be held from August 18-20 in Colombo. It is being organised by the Sri Lanka Army.
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Over 350 delegates including 133 foreign delegates from 43 countries are expected to be partners in this learning experience.
Themed 'Sri Lanka: Challenges to a rising nation' the Defence Seminar 2014 hopes to shift focus towards development and prosperity.
According to the chief coordinator of the event Brigadier Ralph Nugera, who is also the Director, Training of the Army, the focus of this year's seminar will be on the strategic path of rising up which nations adapt after ending terrorism and lessons in relation to Sri Lanka.
There are many other symposia and seminars organised by different armies within our region and by countries that Sri Lanka closely associates with. Yet the unique experience of our country gives importance to the event.
“It will be a learning and interactive experience on areas of national well-being and prosperity along with its related challenges and concerns.
It would also broaden the scope of the forum to include candid views of regional and global partners on the rise of the country following the restoration of peace,” said Brigadier Nugera.
Common ground
He said that today, many armies face challenges in coping with new roles in supporting governments in the development of the nation going beyond the security concern.
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“All such institutes are finding ways and means to cope with these challenges as development demands get more complex over time. So there is a common ground for all to discuss and exchanging knowledge and experience,” he added.
The Defence Seminar, which will be held for the fourth year, brings forward issues ranging from defeat of terrorism and post-terrorism recovery to national stability and its effects on regional security.
“This is an opportunity to gain experience to strengthen national security and build up strategies to face challenges like terrorism without any casualties,” he added.
The Defence Seminar has now grown into an internationally accepted forum for interaction on matters of national, regional and international security.
It has become one of the annual attractions for the country. A significant number of hotel rooms of various ratings get booked at least for a week. The seminar progresses through carefully sequenced sessions comprising presentations and panel discussions designed to optimise discourse and learning on a range of topics relevant to national development, prosperity and security in a regional and global context.
The intention is to use Sri Lanka’s experience as a means to pursue productive engagement.
Diversity
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This will not be an event for military personnel alone. Some of the most eminent personalities and intellectuals including politicians, senior government officials, scholars and security experts will participate diversifying it further.
The core objective of the seminar is to use Sri Lanka’s rise after the end of terrorism as the focal point to generate discussion, fuse learning, exchange ideas, share knowledge and experiences and interact on matters corresponding to the theme.
The first seminar organized in 2010 on the theme “Defeating terrorism; the Sri Lankan experience' aimed at sharing the Sri Lankan experience and the lessons learnt in fighting terrorism for over three decades. Though there was a heavy enthusiasm from armies of different countries, the seminar attended by over 94 delegates from 41 countries comprised a diversity of professionals.
Subsequently inspired by the overwhelming response to Defence Seminar 2011, Defence Seminar 2012 under the theme, “towards lasting peace and stability” extended the discourse to the post terrorism experience of the nation. This forum took to the region and the world, Sri Lanka’s post-terrorism efforts based on the 5 R concept of reconstruction, resettlement, rehabilitation, reintegration and reconciliation. The forum provided the environment for learning and sharing of experience and knowledge through the candid exchange of ideas.
Defence Seminar 2013 under the theme 'Post-terrorism Sri Lanka; challenges and regional stability' expanded the discussion from national peace to the stability of the region. It was attended by a 113 delegates from 44 countries.
This year the seminar would discuss the shifting from threat based defence policy to ability based defence policy seeking solutions to common problems arising from issues of national development and survival. The organisers hope that as happened in past years that Defence Seminar 2014 would promote intellectual connectivity in areas of mutual interest which would add to long-term professional relationships among nations.
From : http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2014/08/10/sec03.asp
