Cultural diplomacy in UK

Refreshingly Sri Lanka

Manjula Fernando

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan cultural and trade extravaganza titled, "Refreshingly Sri Lanka" will be inaugurated in London's famed Trafalgar Square on June 17, to project the country as a destination for tourism, trade and investment.

The mega event will be held coinciding with the tour of the Sri Lankan cricket team in UK. "The event will demonstrate the best Sri Lanka has to offer while retaining the rustic, traditional and exotic allure of the country," said Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera addressing a press briefing at the Foreign Ministry yesterday.

Organised as a private-public sector partnership the event has raised Rs.50 million as sponsorship pledges. This accounts for about 75 per cent of the total cost of the programme.

Minister Samaraweera expressed confidence that the event will be a major boon to restore the country's image. 'It will help show that things here are not the same as it is depicted in certain media,' he said.

The Minister noting cultural diplomacy has been a very important aspect in international relations, specially in the areas of bi-lateral relations of a country said they have planned promotional programmes like these in India, China and Japan in 2007 and 2008.

The Tokyo event will be held from January 16 to 23, 2008 while the other two will be held in 2007. The Indian program will mark 50 years of bilateral relations between the two countries.

The event in UK which is organised by the Foreign Ministry, together with the Ministries of Tourism, Trade and Industrial Promotion and the Sri Lankan High Commission in UK has been generously funded by the private sector, with regard to the arrangements.

Convenor of the Financial Committee of the event Deva Rodrigo said "Trafalgar Square attracts around 7,000 visitors a day and with the Sri Lankan festival they expect up to 10,000 visitors."

An open air festival at Trafalgar Square on June 17, included in the programme line up, will turn the place into a mini Sri Lanka to let the visitors to savour many facets that the country has on offer. The venue has been provided free of charge for the Sri Lankan festival by the London Mayor.

The event would take the form of a street festival comprising stalls selling traditional Sri Lankan food, local handicrafts, jewellery, tea, Ayurvedic remedies and fabrics, etc.

A trade exhibition titled 'Serendib' will be opened from June 21 to 23 at Covent Garden. Around 70 local exhibitors will showcase their products and services including apparel, gem and jewellery and software solutions.

There will also be an investment round table at Marlborough House, Pall Mall on June 22 organised in association with the Commonwealth Business Council to allow UK companies to learn about the business and investor friendly environment in Sri Lanka.

The line up of programmes also include a Sri Lankan food festival held from June 15 to 25 at the Royal Garden Hotel and a film festival screening contemporary and award winning Sri Lankan films from June 20 to 24.

The film festival will coincide the UK Premiere of 'The Garden' (Sakman Maluwa). Other films to be screened are Wekanda Walauwa, Flying with one wing, Mille Soya and Samanala Thatu.

Final component of the programme will be a Sri Lankan book festival at Foyles Book Shop in Charing Cross, in memory of Nihal de Silva a well known local writer and pluralist who was killed by a terrorist mine in Wilpattu National Park recently.

A photographic exhibition showcasing the work of renowned Dominic Sansoni and Jagath Dheerasekera will also be on display during the festival.

Principal and major sponsors of this novel promotional programme include Sri Lanka Telecom plus Mobitel, SLT, Bank of Ceylon, People's Bank, Sri Lanka Ports Authority, SriLankan Airlines and Sri Lanka Tourist Board.