Theme: Blueprint for Change

Change is a constant process that affects us as a society and as an individual. It can cut across different fields and disciplines, impacting human lives in multiple areas. Sri Lanka has seen an increased development in infrastructure, connecting diverse people from across the island. Simultaneously, there is a boom in different industries with startups and small industries mushrooming across the country. Therefore, it is now more important than ever to engage with this phenomena of change in everyday life.

Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre
C W W Kannangara Mawatha
Colombo 7, Kŏḷamba, 00700
Sri Lanka

Asoka Obeyesekere

Executive Director - Transparency International Sri Lanka

Asoka Obeyesekere is a Barrister, Political Scientist and "Professional" Asset Declaration Hunter. He is the Executive Director of Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), a civil society organisation focussed on tackling corruption and improving governance. Most recently he has guided TISL in supporting the Sri Lankan RTI Bill in the Supreme Court as well as championing a draft Bill seeking to change Sri Lankan Asset Declaration Laws. He had previously worked at Verité Research where he founded Manthri.lk - Sri Lanka's only parliamentary tracking system. Asoka holds an MSc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, an LLB from Queen Mary College, London and was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple.

Chaminda Serasinha

Carbon Negative Consultant

Currently serving as Director/Consultant at the ‘Shigadry with Earth’ Group; a research and innovation company; in Japan and Sri Lanka, he is also the author of the world's first Direct Carbon Negative Product Concept, with over 10,000 hrs of structured research on Climate Change & Mitigation. Having initiated and coordinated Sri Lanka's first ISO 14064 Greenhouse Gas inventory assessment, Chaminda is the holder of many patents and copyrights in diverse technology disciplines. Being a member of The Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), UK, with an MBA in Operations Management, he is an experienced Corporate Manager cum Senior Executive with over 20 years in the industry and is currently into R&D, Inventions cum Product Development, Technology Management, Consulting and overall Business Development in the Low Carbon space, with special aptitudes in Electric Transportation (EVs) and Energy Management.

Chandila Fernando

The Entrepreneurial Economist

Having graduated from Royal Holloway College, University of London with a BA (Hons) in Politics and Social Policy, Chandila started his journey by setting up a cell phone company at 19. Having failed in a series of other businesses and seeing the financial independence of innocent people evaporate during the economic crash of 2008; his inner belief was reinforced that bad debt dis-empowers people and takes away human dignity. Gaining significant insight from his own failures, he became CEO of the UK’s No. 1 Aero Medical Business, worked with the government of Sri Lanka and then went on to advise a former Prime Minister’s private office; all before the age of 40. His curiosity also led to trying his hand at politics, entitling Chandila with the record for being the youngest person in British history to run for President of a national, political party.

Chinthaka Abeysekera

Waste Management Specialist

Having graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University, USA, with a Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering Technology (Hons) on a full tuition scholarship, Chinthaka had the idea of entrepreneurship firmly inculcated at an early age. He gained his experience in successfully deploying a viable business, and further honing skills in niche areas such as Environmental Engineering - through formal education and project experience. As a true professional with a view of long term benefits to society through meticulous planning, precision, and delivery, Chinthaka currently holds the post of Chief Executive Officer at ‘Sisili Hanaro Encare’ and is a Consultant for ‘GITEC Consult GmbH’ in Germany.

Michael Ketigian

Spoken Word Poet

Michael is an engineer by training and a writer by passion riding the line between Science and Art. After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in engineering from Cooper Union, he managed operations at a software consulting start-up, also located in New York City. While he thoroughly enjoyed the start-up scene, he decided that he must follow his passion for community building to maximize his offering to society. He began writing and performing spoken word poetry in 2011, which eventually led to the formation of Stageless Arts with two other poets and a filmmaker. This art collective gave rise to a biweekly sharing series called ‘Open Brain’, which has since spread to various cities across the globe including Colombo where he is working to establish a co-working space, while also further expanding the ‘Stageless Arts’/ ‘Open Brain’ community.

Nissanga Warnapura

3d print specialist

Nissanga is an innovator. He’s that quietly excited, politely intelligent guy that is going to provide you with a disruptive solution to your problem that is so mind-blowing that it leaves you feeling excited about your problem in the first place. This unorthodox attitude of his aided in him making his way out of his first professional journey at a leading apparel manufacturer in Sri Lanka, and founding ‘3D Concept Studio’ instead. 3D Concept Studio- Sri Lanka’s first 3D printing fab lab, started out two and a half years ago as a rapid prototyping company and has now grown to be one of the country’s leading innovative solutions providers. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Nottingham, UK.

Ohan Hominis

Spoken Word Poet

An economist at his core, Ohan is a social scientist who aids people in maximizing their creative resources. It is something that has remained a constant throughout the many paths he’s made his way into, from starting a t­shirt company, to running a newspaper, to presiding over a fraternity, then moving from financial analysis to economic analysis, to building out an analytics department. Over time, this role of an economist evolved into a wandering poet and community builder leading him to set up ‘Stageless Arts’ with a few other creative partners. Its results inspired him to spend more time in spreading art and promoting free expression, which is why he has now begun building a replicable model for an open arts community in Sri Lanka, one that can use the momentum of chapters in other cities to grow and connect its artists in a global network.

Shanuki De Alwis

Actress/Advertisor

Shanuki is an anomaly in Colombo; being middle-aged, sober and still unmarried. She is a well-known stage personality as well as the Assistant Artistic Director and Choreographer of the Workshop Players- one of Sri Lanka’s leading amateur English Theatre companies. She hates being defined and takes her passion to heart by playing different roles in life, constantly aiming to stay different from the rest of the human herd. In her 27-year old career, she has been a teacher, financial marketer, photography assistant, project manager, writer, TV presenter, strategic planner and has even run a company. By day, she works as a Creative at an international advertising agency network, and at other times she is a novelty cake artist, magazine columnist, animal rights activist, radio voicing artist, event emcee, and performer. She loves sharing her loud thoughts with whoever listens