British Sri Lankan Association recognises icons at 2019 Awards

BRISLA (The British Sri Lankan Association) hosted this year’s annual BRISLA Awards event on the Saturday 19 October in Westminster close to Buckingham Palace and the Big Ben.

This event brings the best minds and the most passionate individuals who will play an ever-increasing role in promoting unity and celebrating diversity, said Dr. Zimar Sivardeen, Founder and Chair who proceeded over the judging process and hosted the evening.

“With every award, there was a golden thread running through them.  A vision, a commitment to make a difference and tenacity to make it happen. On our own, we can sometimes feel ineffective.  But when we come together in an event like this, we can see how every small step helps to shift a few mindsets or brings together a small group of people who were not united before. When you add up all these movements – small, medium and large – we can believe we are making a difference.”

“Every award presented on the night acted as a stark reminder to us all that our unified efforts to promote diversity and encourage unity amongst people of all faiths is paramount and indeed, essential.”

BRISLA is a non-profit organisation that aims to facilitate co-operation and build partnerships between the UK and Sri Lanka around issues including education, environmental factors, health affairs and promoting sustainable development.

Each year, a prestigious awards evening is held to reward individuals and organisations that strive for diversity and social cohesion in today’s challenging society. This year, the annual event was held at the Conrad St. James Hotel, Westminster, and in attendance were Princess Katarina of Yoguslavia, Nirj Deva DL, Lord Mohamed Sheikh, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to the United Kingdom Manisha Gunasekera and renowned French pianist, composer and singer-songwriter Jason Kouchak.

Dr. Sivardeen used the awards evening as a platform to remind the audience that every individual has a role to play; to tackle and debate intolerance where possible, and recognise the power and strength diversity plays in today’s society.

“It was an honour and humbling experience to judge the awards.  Everyone should be proud of their stellar work,” he said.

The 2019 BRISLA awards winners are:

• Outstanding Achievement in the Legal Field Award, sponsored by Specsavers Opticians.Presented by Court of Appeal Lord Justice Dingemans.Winner: Harendra de Silva QC.
• Outstanding Achievement in Academia Award, sponsored by Grow Traffic. Presented by Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia.Winner: Professor Parosha Chandran.
• Excellence in Community Development Award, sponsored by Research Intelligence Unit.Presented by Ven. Dhammadassi Thero from Kingsbury Vihara.Winner: British Tamil Badminton Federation President Ambalavanar Sathianathan
• Excellence in Outstanding Leadership Award, sponsored by John Keells Properties and Cinnamon Life.Presented by Aldershot Headquarters Regional Command Chief of Staff Brigadier Alex Potts.Winner: Ambassador Manisha Gunasekera.
• Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Indocean Developers, promoters of Altair. Presented by Revd. Prof. Rob Gilbert. Winner: Niranjan Deva DL.
• Outstanding Friend to the British Sri Lankan Community Award, sponsored by Al Rayan Bank.

Presented by Jason Kouchak.Winner: Lord Mohamed Sheikh.

The winners act as role models to our neighbours, our communities, and the next generation, said the organisation in a statement. “We are only a chapter and we need to inspire the people of tomorrow to continue this story,” it added.

To find out more about BRISLA, please visit brisla.org.uk.