Fashion Bug honours little artists of Sri Lanka at Roo Siththam 2016

Once again the much awaited ‘Roo Siththam’, the annual art competition organised by Fashion Bug proved to be a resounding success with over 61,000 entries being received from over 250 schools island-wide. Roo Siththam is the signature annual event pertaining to ‘Sisu Dirimaga’ – Fashion Bug’s social sustainability platform dedicated to education and the upliftment of Sri Lankan students.

Initiated in 2011 with the objective of identifying the creative talents of school children, this year’s theme was ‘Protect the Environment with Love and Care’, with 2016 being the sixth consecutive year that Roo Siththam is being held.

The awards ceremony and prize distribution of Roo Siththam was held recently with the Chief Guest being Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, while the Guests of Honour were Visharadha Nanda Malini , Visharada Chandrika Siriwardane and Kalashoori Dr. Jayasiri Semage.

The competition which is organised under the supervision of the Department of Arts – Ministry of Education was held both in Colombo as well as in Kandy. There were three age groups: 7-9, 10-12 and 13-16, with the judges being lecturers from the University of Visual and Performing Arts. This event has been growing in size and popularity over the last five years with a year on year growth in the number of entries being submitted. School principals, a large number of teachers and parents attended both events, which have now become a much looked forward to event in the school’s annual calendar.

The Kandy event had the Minister of Social Empowerment and Welfare S.B. Dissanayake as the Chief Guest, while the Guest of Honour was well known English Teacher Wilbert Ranasinghe who was recently awarded as the Sri Lankan of the year 2016 by Ada Derana.

Altogether 450 students were awarded at both ceremonies with medals, certificates and gift packs. The All Island Winners were gifted with a bicycle, Rs. 5,000 gift voucher, memorabilia with the winners’ art printed, as well as Rs. 10,000 in cash.

There was an island-wide winner in the age category 13-16 who on two occasions had won the All Island Trophy, namely E.M.K.L. Tharusha Bandara This year too he won the All Island Trophy and in recognition of his special achievement he was rewarded with a grand laptop in addition to his other prizes.

“Our objective in conducting this art competition on an annual basis is to give an opportunity for school children to exhibit their inherent talents and encourage the creativity that lies within them, simultaneously harnessing this creativity into the appropriate channels,” said Fashion Bug Director Shabier Subian.

“It is our aim to establish a sustainable CSR platform as opposed to miscellaneous one-off projects that lack clear long term objectives. The ‘Sisu Dirimaga’ program will ensure that all the projects will stem from one clear platform, establishing a clear CSR identity for Fashion Bug as a responsible Corporate Citizen,” said Subian.

In addition, Fashion Bug is also involved in several other CSR projects which include the refurbishment of the Fort Railway Station, Ragama Hospital, Kalubowila Hospital, Maharagama Cancer Hospital, and several environmental projects namely ‘Thuru Sahasak’ and ‘Puruduwenna’.

“Each Fashion Bug outlet works closely with its community. We have close links with the community centres and religious communities of all religions and we actively participate in and contribute to all their events,” said Fashion Bug Deputy General Manager Dr. S.H.M. Faraaz.

“Developing underprivileged schools in rural areas through mobilising of projects, upholding and financially enabling underprivileged students who excel academically, enabling the dreams of those with the desire to learn and making a reality of education for them, as well as developing their talents, in this case their artistic capabilities, no matter their circumstances in life, is our goal,” said Subian.