The Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa, Canada and the Consul General’s Office in Toronto together with the Sri Lankan community celebrated the Deepavali festival on a grand scale on 7th November, 2010 at the Korean Cultural Centre in Toronto. Religious dignitaries of the Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian clergy participated in the event. Five Members from the Federal Parliament of Canada including Members of the Municipal Councils and over 300 Sri Lankans participated in the celebrations.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in collaboration with several Italian and Sri Lankan partners will launch a series of events in Rome reflecting Sri Lanka’s Cuisine, Culture and Music at prestigious venues in Rome in the first week of December this year.
The Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka recently launched a diploma programme in Buddhist and Pali studies in Vienna in cooperation with the Department of the Study of Religions of the University of Vienna. This affiliated programme was initiated by the Venerable Dr Wijayarajapura Seelawansa Thero of Vienna Dhamma Centrum with the assistance of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Austria. The inauguration of the programme was held under the patronage of Venerable Dr. Ittademaliye Indasara Thero, Vice Chancellor of Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka at the University of Vienna on Friday, 22 October 2010.
A 03-day workshop jointly organized by Sri Lanka Social Security Board ( SLSSB ) and the Sri Lankan Manpower Welfare Association ( SLMWA ) under the patronage of the Sri Lankan Embassy was held from 7 – 11 October at Mirage Hotel in Kuwait aimed at creating awareness on “Surakuma”, a newly introduced pension and social security scheme and its benefits to the migrant workers. The scheme, the first of its kind launched overseas, was introduced under the concept “A Pension for All” in the “Mahinda Chinthana Forward Vision” policy document presented by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. It is estimated that over 380,000 migrant workers thus far have become members of the scheme making them eligible for a monthly pension, social security benefits, compensation payments etc.
The Asia Pacific Group of UNESCO held its annual Cultural Evening at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on 21.10.2010.
Sri Lankan sitar virtuoso Pradeep Ratnayake and ensemble performed at the European Parliament in Brussels last week to an audience which included MEPs, Parliamentary staff and officials from European Institutions and EU member states. This performance considered as the first by a Sri Lankan artist in the European Parliament, was held at the Yehudi Menuhin Auditorium in the presence of Dr. Libor Roucek, Vice-President of the European Parliament. The event was hosted by the Sri Lanka Embassy in Brussels in collaboration with MEP Nirj Deva and the Friends of Sri Lanka group of the European Parliament.
The Sri Lanka High Commission, London is pleased to inform that with effect from 05th July 2010 Sri Lanka has been removed from all marine war, and marine strikes risk of the Joint Cargo Committee Joint Cargo Watch List. In addition, the Ground Risk of 2.6 (High Level) previously applicable for the entire ground in Sri Lanka is now confined only to the Vavuniya – Jaffna Section of the A-9 Highway.
