All Ceylon Buddhist Congress focuses on renewable energy, entrepreneurship and invention

The All Ceylon Buddhist Congress (ACBC), under the leadership of its current President, Retired DIG Chandra Nimal Wakishta together with the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission and diverse stakeholders, is launching an initiative in September to promote and showcase both invention and entrepreneurship related to renewable energy.

The Harmony page of Weekend FT is supporting this initiative and will feature a series of interviews and articles connected to this event of the ACBC.

The vision of the ACBC is to establish a dynamic and proactive presence in Sri Lanka and the world through envisioning Lord Buddha’s teaching and the Buddhist philosophy while its mission is translating the Buddhist philosophy and ACBC vision into reality.

Many activities for the benefit of all Sri Lankans, without ethnic or religious bias or distinction have been carried out by the organisation since its inception in 1919.

In the past year several initiatives such as blood donation and traditional medicine related programs providing free service and benefitting thousands of persons have been carried out, in partnership with many institutions. Earlier this year a free medical camp was carried out with the support of the Sinhala Weda Uruma Baraya that pioneered COVID-19 treatment with Sinhala Wedakama (Deshiya Chikitsa).

“Every Sunday we provide free food to countless numbers of persons and we do not ever ask them their beliefs or ethnicity. This is the work of ACBC that we do silently and without any publicity. We wish to increase the spirit of this work as we strive together as Sri Lankans in these challenging times,” the ACBC President Chandra Nimal Wakishta stated.

He said that the focus on renewable energy entrepreneurship is an extension of the ACBC work with the inventors’ commission in the past to promote invention and innovation through many avenues, including by holding competitions. In linking innovation and invention with renewable energy, other macro-economic aspects such as those pertaining to banking support and investments will also be looked at in the upcoming event which expects to cater to inventors, entrepreneurs, students as well as the general public.

The full scope of renewable energy promotion encompassing bio-gas, solar, hydro, dendro and wind based energy will be examined at the ACBC endeavour which hopes to connect and unite Sri Lanka through a national discourse on renewable energy. Sri Lankans who have championed the cause of national self-sufficiency through renewable energy, such as Eng. Harsha Kumara Suriyarachchi, Tissa Abeywickrama, Frances Bulathsinghala and Dr. Harsha Wijewardena, to name a few, are supporting the ACBC endeavour.

(SV)