News
PRCA APAC appoints Country Representative for Lanka
ASIA PACIFIC – 8th September, 2022 – The Public Relations and Communications Association Asia Pacific (PRCA APAC) has announced Thanzyl Thajudeen MPRCA as its first country representative in Sri Lanka. Thajudeen is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) with over 10 years of experience in advising, managing, and leading PR and communications for notable brands across diverse industry sectors in Sri Lanka.
Spearheading the strategy in the local context, the representative will pursue activities aimed at curating, sharing, and enforcing knowledge and insights, and actively engage with industry leaders and practitioners within agencies and organisations in Sri Lanka. Among the initiatives is to publish a brief report on the state of the industry in the country and organise an industry webinar with renowned communications experts in the APAC region on emerging challenges and insights.
Head of PRCA APAC Tara Munis said “Thanzyl Thajudeen is a positive driving force for PR in Sri Lanka. As the world’s largest and most influential professional PR association, our mission is simple – to raise standards across the world. We’re looking forward to working with Thanzyl to further untap PR’s enormous potential in Sri Lanka.”
Sri Lanka representative Thanzyl Thajudeen MPRCA said ‘‘It is with great pleasure to represent PRCA in Sri Lanka and I believe it is long overdue of having a global voice in the industry. As the world’s largest and most influential PR professional body, there is tremendous amount of insights and resources that can be mutually beneficial to making relevant, sustainable and responsible decisions in a practice that is constantly challenging and evolving.’
‘‘We look forward to actively engage and work together with diverse stakeholders such as agencies, organizations, media, associations, academia, policy makers and experts to uplift the communications landscape and standards of Sri Lanka through various activities that spur knowledge sharing, responsible practices, and continuous learning,’’ Thajudeen added.
The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) is the world’s largest professional PR body, representing more than 35,000 PR professionals in 82 countries worldwide, delivering exceptional training, authoritative industry data, and global networking, and development opportunities. Its mission is to create a more professional, ethical, and prosperous PR industry. It also manages the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) – the umbrella body for 41 PR associations and 3,000 agencies across the world, and LGcomms – the UK’s national body for local government communicators. The Sri Lanka representative can be reached via srilanka@prca.global.
The Department of Education has announced that the results of the 2024 General Certificate of Education Advanced Level Examination have been released online, and can be viewed on : www.doenets.lk
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the training of teachers required for the new education reforms will commence in May, and that contracts granted to political cronies in local government institutions will be brought to an end following the upcoming local government elections.
The Prime Minister made these remarks while addressing public gatherings held in the areas of Mirigama, Minuwangoda, and Katana in the Gampaha District.
Addressing the gatherings, Prime Minister stated:
“From birth to death, all the aspects of life of a person are handled by local government institutions. However, to this day, these institutions lack proper systems even to provide the people with basic facilities.
We are committed to working with a proper system, free of fraud and corruption, and managing every rupee carefully and attentively. We are identifying the needs of people and implementing projects under a systematic plan to develop rural sectors.
You elect fellow members who stand firmly against fraud and corruption through two decisive elections. First, you elect Anura Kumara as President, a leader committed to fighting corruption. Then, in the parliamentary election, you choose a group of qualified individuals who are equally dedicated to this cause to represent you in Parliament.
To ensure that the funds allocated for rural development reach the people, the local government institutions which are the closest to the villagers must also be clean and transparent. That is why this election is so important to us.
The people and the villages come to experience our corruption-free political culture through local government institutions. These institutions must properly implement, monitor, and evaluate the development projects allocated to the rural sector. The era of awarding contracts for such projects to political cronies must end.
Although early childhood development is a crucial part of education, there has never been a proper system for it. We are now establishing such a system. Starting in May, teacher training for the modern education which is being introduced will begin. We have a comprehensive plan for development across all sectors.
The Ministry of Education has received billions worth of projects, but there is no proper implementation process. For example, 1,500 smart boards were brought for smart classrooms, but the Secretary to the Ministry has not implemented a system to distribute them to schools. Teachers have not been trained to use them. Teacher training institutes still follow outdated curriculum. This will be corrected through the new education reforms,
In order to deliver all these benefits to the rural sector efficiently, it is essential to elect the right people for the right purposes. Therefore, in the upcoming local government elections, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya urged the public to vote for the candidates who are free from fraud and corruption presented by the National People’s Power (NPP).”
The event was attended by Parliament Chief Organizer of the ruling party Dharmapriya Wijesinghe, Members of Parliament Ruwanthilaka Jayakody and Chaminda Lalith Kumara, along with several local government candidates and the residents of the area.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath will represent Sri Lanka at the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican City, the Ministry said.
The funeral is scheduled for today.
About 50,000 people came to pay their respects to the late Pope on Thursday, the Vatican news service said.
“Pope Francis’ funeral Mass will take place on Saturday, April 26, at 10:00 AM in St. Peter’s Square, marking the beginning of the Novemdiales, an ancient tradition of nine days of mourning and Masses for the repose of the late Pope’s soul,” according to the Vatican news service.
“The Novemdiales Masses will be held each day at 5:00 PM (GMT +2) in St. Peter’s Basilica, except for the Mass on Divine Mercy on Sunday, April 27, which will take place at 10:30 AM in St. Peter’s Square.”
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