5th Annual :

Sujata Jayawardena Memorial Oration

The Alumni Association of the University of Colombo is once again organising the Annual Sujata Jayawardena Memorial Oration. The 2008 Oration will be delivered by Vidya Jothi Professor A. P. R. Aluwihare, Emeritus Professor of Surgery, University of Peradeniya on Thursday, December 4 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) Auditorium, no. 100, Independence Square, Colombo 7 at 5.45 pm on the topic, ‘Universities, Doctors and Society.’

‘Universities, Doctors and Society’, these words and the linkages between them, make an interesting subject in the context of Sri Lanka, comments Prof. Arjuna Aluwihare. Universities ‘educate’ and generate knowledge. Doctors heal and prevent illness. Society, Universities and their output and doctors have obligations to, and expectations from, each other.

A few of the Universities in existence in the world today are many centuries old. We have had University type institutions and doctors in this country for over 1,500 years. Should Universities (past and present students and all levels of staff) have and articulate a social conscience? Have they done so right or wrong? Can Universities be politically active without being politicised?

Research workers and doctors and the public at large have codes of ethics. Have they to bear any responsibility for the consequences in society of their discoveries or actions? The relationships between doctors, universities and society the world over make for interesting comparisons that will be of assistance in enabling our Universities to contribute even more to peace and harmony, stability, development and moral rectitude in society at large.

These are some questions which will be examined by Prof. Aluwihare at the Sujata Jayawardena Memorial Oration.

Prof. Aluwihare has held many concurrent posts in Sri Lanka, England and Kuwait. He is currently Chairman of Pugwash - Sri Lanka. He was at one time Vice Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya, Chairman of the University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka, a member of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, and member ACHR- WHO, Chairman, Board of Study in Surgery of the PGIM, Colombo, Founder President of the SAARC Surgical Care Society and Past President, Medical Section of the SLAAS, South East Asian Regional Association of Medical Education, College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka, and National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka, amongst many other positions he has held.

As there is limited seating capacity, those interested in attending the Sujata Jayawardena Memorial Oration are requested to please email [email protected] or telephone 2585616/ 0777607772 for invitations.