Business
Virtual Design Festival To Showcase ‘Designed And Made In Sri Lanka’
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The Academy of Design (AOD) has conceptualized SRI LANKA DESIGN FESTIVAL 2021, with the purpose of promoting the country’s ‘designed and made in Sri Lanka’ initiatives through a series of virtual fashion showcases, design exhibitions, forums and workshops that focus on product innovation, sustainable design, art and creative industries, a news release connected with the event said.
The Sri Lanka Design Festival 2021 will be held virtually for the first-time, on Jan. 15, 16 and 17, 2021. It will showcase to a global audience through various collaborations and international partnerships, the organizers said.
“Under the theme ‘impACT’, the Virtual Festival will showcase fashion and design initiatives that motivate the industry to ACT now and create a positive impact, in a meaningful way whilst bringing in much-needed new exports through design driven innovation,” the release said.
“Since its inception in 2009, this will mark the 10th Sri Lanka Design Festival, held at a significant time, celebrating fashion, architecture, tourism and design technology bringing together all connected industries. The three-full day Virtual Festival will include over 40 different segments and showcase over 50 different eminent personalities comprising designers, design led industries, craft and the SME sector makers, artists, young entrepreneurs, speakers, celebrities and like-minded enthusiasts.”
Amongst many exciting segments and speakers, Anoma Wijewardane a globally renowned Sri Lankan artist will be featured as the Artist Spotlight of SLDF 2021 showcasing some of her exclusive work on ‘Art captivating transformation, inclusivity-diversity unity and climate change’.
Another highlight segment will be the Keynote Speech by H.E Tshering Tobgay, former Prime Minister of Bhutan, on the topic of ‘Only carbon neutral country in the world’ as he will share insights on the harmony between sustainability and economics reflecting on Bhutan’s success in this front.
A partnership with the Ministry of International Relations will ensure all missions abroad and diplomatic missions in Sri Lanka, help promote engagement and connections that will lead to meaningful commercial collaborations for the country through the post festival period, the organizers said.
“The virtual Sri Lanka Design Festival 2021 is produced by the country’s leading catalyst for design and innovation – Academy of Design (AOD) – in partnership with government, private and international entities, to be unveiled soon. Sri Lanka Design Festival 2021 will present a fascinating insight to how Sri Lankan creativity adapts to working in an insular world and the impact creativity, design and innovation can have on healing and recovery,” the release added.
Dr. (Hon DCL) Linda Speldewinde, Founder of Sri Lanka Design Festival and Chairperson of Academy of Design commented “We are excited to bring this to you in a new way and at a much-needed time for Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Design Festival 2021 – reveals the first-ever virtual Festival that will innovatively showcase the initiatives, transforming the fashion and design tech industry. In the last decade,
“AOD has shaped the lives of many young creative people helping them to become young entrepreneurs and designers of today. Furthermore, Sri Lanka Design Festival has been a window to contribute to the fashion, tourism and design-tech industry as a whole and we are proud to collaborate with inspirational and like-minded businesses to elevate the industry as a whole and host the milestone event that would definitely recognize Sri Lankan Design, Craft, Fashion, Creative industries and Technology via the nation’s renowned change-makers at an international level”
The Festival will be open to the public for free and requires only prior online registration for joining. For more information regarding the event and online registrations please visit www.srilankadesignfestival.lk
Ceylinco Life’s Ambalantota branch agent AIP Manjula has been named one of three global finalists for the prestigious Insurance Agent of the Year award at the 11th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards (ATLAA) 2026.
The recognition places a Sri Lankan insurance professional among the finalists in a regional field spanning South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.
Ceylinco Life said the achievement reflected the calibre and customer-focused approach of its agency force, while recognising Manjula’s professionalism and commitment to policyholders.
The award evaluates insurance agents on criteria extending beyond sales performance, including ethical conduct, client service, policy persistency, digital adoption, innovative practices and contributions to the insurance industry and community.
The awards are organised by Asia Advisers Network and Asia Insurance Review, with LIMRA as co-organiser. An independent judging and balloting process is monitored by KPMG as the official scrutineer. The judging panel comprises senior insurance executives, association presidents and industry experts from across the Asia-Pacific region.
CEAT Kelani Holdings (CKH) has retained its National Long-Term Rating of ‘AA+(lka)’ with a Stable Outlook from Fitch Ratings for the sixth consecutive year, reflecting the company’s financial resilience and leading position in Sri Lanka’s pneumatic tyre market.
The ‘AA+(lka)’ rating, the second-highest on Fitch’s national scale, indicates a very strong capacity to meet financial commitments.
Fitch said CKH’s established market leadership and resilient financial profile remained key strengths, while noting its exposure to price-sensitive, cyclical and highly competitive markets.
The Stable Outlook reflects expectations that the company will maintain its market position despite rising input costs and increasing competition from imported tyres, while preserving adequate credit metrics during periods of weaker earnings and higher investment.
Fitch expects CKH’s established brand, extensive dealer network and adaptive pricing strategies to support its market position. Planned production facility upgrades are also expected to improve product quality, particularly in the radial tyre segment.
The rating agency expects near-term pressure on margins from higher raw material and energy costs but said the company’s low leverage and sound liquidity would provide a cushion.
CKH Chairman Chanaka De Silva said the rating reinforced the company’s focus on disciplined financial management, operational adaptability and long-term investment.
SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise, the enterprise services arm of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, has launched its Premium Cloud service powered by Nutanix, aimed at helping Sri Lankan businesses modernise their IT infrastructure and accelerate digital transformation.
The service was unveiled at the Lanka Tech Summit 2026 held recently at ITC Ratnadipa, Colombo.
The Premium Cloud combines hybrid multi-cloud capabilities with enterprise-grade performance, enabling businesses to run mission-critical workloads, scale cloud deployments and strengthen business continuity through disaster recovery capabilities.
Hosted on SLT-MOBITEL’s Tier III data centre infrastructure, the platform is designed to provide enhanced security, reliability and flexibility while supporting the growing technology requirements of enterprises.
SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise said the platform would also support organisations seeking to adopt AI-ready capabilities and improve the management and performance of IT workloads.
A key feature of the launch was SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise joining the Nutanix Elevate Service Provider Program (NESPP), which the company said made it the first service provider in the region to join the programme.
Powered by Nutanix’s hybrid multicloud platform, the service enables application and data mobility across on-premises environments, public clouds and edge locations.
The company said the partnership combined Nutanix’s cloud technology with SLT-MOBITEL’s local expertise and support, strengthening its multi-cloud portfolio.
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