Page 4 - BCIS Newsletter 2018 .pdf

BANDARANAIKE CENTRE
FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
Signature Seminar Series

1948 Independence: What Then and Now for Sri Lanka & South Asia

Under the lagship Signature Seminar Series, BCIS
organized its irst signature seminar for 2018 on
the theme '1948 Independence: What then and now
for Sri Lanka and South Asia' on 22ⁿ February
2018 at the BCIS Auditorium. It discussed socio-
political transformations in Sri Lanka with
re lections on South Asian cases and Sri Lanka's
security, foreign and economic policy challenges
ahead.
Madam President Chandrika Bandaranike
Kumaratunga, Chairperson of the S.W.R.D.
Bandaranaike Memorial Foundation graced the
seminar while Prof. Rajeev Bhargava, Director,
Institute of Indian Thought, Centre for the Study of
Developing Societies (CSDS), New Delhi delivered
the Keynote Address on 'Shaping of South Asia through Independence.'

The two sessions of the seminar were driven by eminent panelists- Mr H. M. G. S. Palihakkara, former Foreign Secretary,
Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda, Emeritus Professor, University of Colombo (UOC), Senior Prof. Nayani Melegoda, Professor of
International Relations, Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies, UOC, Admiral Dr Jayanath Colombage, Director, Centre for
Indo-Lanka Initiatives, Path inders Foundation, Mr George I. H. Cooke, Deputy Director, BCIS and Mr Anushka
Wijesinha, Advisor, Ministry of Development Strategies & International Trade.

Women as Change Agents

The BCIS organized its second Signature Seminar for 2018 on
th
Thursday, 5 April 2018 under the theme 'Women as Change
Agents'. The seminar was organized with the aim of
exploring women's decision-making power in global affairs
in the context of development and foreign policy. Aligned to
International Women's Day, the seminar was geared towards
exploring the challenges faced by women in a changing world
and to understand the potential for the future.
The Keynote Address at the Inaugural Session was delivered
by Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Former Under- Secretary-
General of the United Nations, who spoke on 'Women in
Global Governance'. Madam President Chandrika
Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Chairperson of the
Bandaranaike National Memorial Foundation (BNMF) and Dr.
Mallika Karunaratne, Senior Consultant, Bandaranaike
Centre for International Studies (BCIS) addressed the
session.
The irst panel was chaired by Ambassador Pamela J. Deen, Director General, Bandaranaike International Diplomatic
Training Institute-BIDTI and included Dr. Maneesha Wanasinghe-Pasqual, Head, Department of International
Relations, University of Colombo, and H. E. Mrs. Joanne Doornewaard, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands who spoke on 'Women in driving foreign policy.

The second panel was chaired by Ambassador Geetha de Silva, Executive Director/ South Asia Policy and Research
Institute (SAPRI), and included Mrs. Dhara Wijayatilake, Chief Executive Of icer, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and
Mrs. Wasantha Perera, Director General, Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA) who elaborated
on 'Women leading the development agenda'.

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