Sri Lanka Press Institute holds 17th AGM

SLPI virtual meeting

The Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) held its 17th Annual General Meeting on 21 October virtually, using the Zoom web conference platform, attended by representatives of its constituent partners – the Newspaper Society of Sri Lanka, The Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka, the Free Media Movement, the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association, and its members. 

Presenting the annual report of the institution, CEO Kumar Lopez stated that 2019 had been a successful year with many improvements, where they engaged with their main domains: media freedom and journalist professionalism, transparency and accountability, and peace and reconciliation. This included a self-reflection exercise on the self-regulation process of the print media with the objective of strengthening media ethics and professionalising newspaper reporting practices.

In keeping up with the SLPI mandate to nurture an informed public committed to democratic ideals, SLPI has made prominent interventions, especially in spreading awareness on the right to information (RTI) among various strata in society. The Right to Information help desk, which was established to support the newsrooms, and RTI Journalists forums continue to engage and strengthen the use of RTI among journalists. The CEO also mentioned the outreach program with the youth on RTI awareness and communication that had produced several success stories from districts across the country.

SLPI has been expanding their presence on the digital front, with increased engagement through social media and dedicated portals, such as Rtisrilanka.lk and Changemaker.lk for RTI engagements and Peace and reconciliation work via thecatamaran.org, to cater to a wider and growing audience. 

Several projects have been implemented in association with foreign missions such as Norway, United States, and Germany with the organisations like Norwegian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Open Society Foundation (OSF), UNESCO, International Research and Exchange Board (IREX), Media in Transition and Coordination (MiCT), USAID and the IOM. Lopez also mentioned the Journalism Awards for Excellence – a joint event organised by The Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka (TEGOSL) and the SLPI – that successfully concluded its 20th edition on 10 December 2019. 

The Directors of the Sri Lanka Press Institute who were re-elected are: Kumar Nadesan (Chairman) of the Newspaper Society; Sinha Ratnatunga (Deputy Chairman), Manik de Silva, and Mohanlal Piyadasa of The Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka; Seetha Ranjanee, Udaya Kalupathirana and Thaha Muzammil of the Free Media Movement; and Lasantha Ruhunage and Duminda Sampath of the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association. 

Ernest and Young Global Ltd. were re-appointed as auditors of the company, and FJ&G de Seram’s Corporate Services Ltd. (CSL) were re-appointed as the company secretaries.