Himali Jinadasa helms UNESCO EENET South Asia Chapter

Monday, 17 August 2026 04:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Himali Jinadasa

Himali Jinadasa has been appointed Chairperson of the South Asia Chapter of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Entrepreneurship Education Network (EENET), contributing to regional efforts to strengthen entrepreneurshipeducation initiatives and collaboration across South Asia.

The EENET is UNESCO’s flagship platform for advancing entrepreneurship education across the AsiaPacific region. The Network “supports UNESCO’s global mandate to strengthen entrepreneurship education, promote innovation, and equip youth and women with futureready skills aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 and SDG 5,” underscoring its relevance to national and regional priorities.

Jinadasa served 12 years as UNESCO Country Coordinator/Focal Point for Sri Lanka (2010–2022), with assignments across UNESCO offices in New Delhi, Bangkok, and Tehran, and contributions to UN peacekeeping, political affairs, humanitarian operations, and interagency coordination.

She previously initiated and led the seventh UNESCOAPEID Meeting of the EENET, the first time the event was convened in South Asia, delivered in partnership with the National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA). The meeting strengthened regional participation in UNESCO’s entrepreneurshipeducation agenda and expanded South Asia’s visibility within the Network.

Jinadasa is Sri Lanka’s first woman Chairperson of the NEDA, where she mobilised international financing for small and medium enterprise (SME) development, womenled enterprises, and rural valuechain strengthening areas central to postpandemic recovery and longterm competitiveness in the region. She has held several senior Government leadership positions, including Senior Adviser to the Industry and Commerce Ministry, ViceChairperson of the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA), and DirectorGeneral of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board.

Jinadasa is a member of several international, regional, and national institutions, including the Commonwealth Business Women’s Network, the Global Board Ready Women initiative (UK), the Sri Lanka–Nepal Business Council, the National Chamber of Exporters, and the Sarvodaya Institute for Higher Learning.

A member of the UNESCO Greening Education Partnership (GEP) and Senior Strategic Adviser to Planet Green Force, Jinadasa supports climatechange literacy in schools and youth communities. She is the author of ‘Engaging Civil Society to Enhance SDG4 Progress Monitoring’ (2024), funded by the Global Partnership for Education for the Coalition for Education Development (CED).

Jinadasa holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in History from the University of Colombo and a Master of Science in the History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

This initiative aims to support South Asia’s efforts to expand entrepreneurshipeducation initiatives, including collaboration with regional platforms such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and interregional engagement with the South East Chapter of EENET.