Chandula to speak at Leadership Summit in USA
Chandula
Abeywickrema |
Chandula Abeywickrema in his capacity as the Lanka Financial Services
for Underserved Settlements (LFSUS) Chairman, which is an initiative of
the UNHABITAT is invited to speak at the annual leadership conference.
The conference will take place from 16 - 18 June in Omaha, Nebraska,
USA. The City Mayors, elected Officials of private and state sector and
Chief Executive Officers would come together to access new knowledge
about the emerging new challenges and interlocking problems facing their
cities.
The Leadership Summit “Meeting of the Minds”, which focuses on
innovations that are needed for more sustainable cities is jointly
hosted by US based UrbanAge Institute and the Joslyn Institute for
sustainable communities. It will bring together over 150 opinion
leaders, policy makers, leading thinkers and innovators from every
sector that touch city and urban life.
“Meeting of the Minds” is two and a half days of intensive exchange
for leaders creating more sustainable cities using smarter design tools,
sounder environmental practices and cleaner energy systems. Meeting of
the Minds is where innovators scaling-up practical urban innovations in
infrastructure meet innovators in technology, energy, transport, water,
finance-all are building more livable cities. At Meeting of the Minds,
leaders from multiple sectors and diverse geographies share ideas and
shape a common agenda.
The meeting 2010 is important and timely because there are
“Communities of Interest”, which are community concerns. The emerging
principles of urban and community sustainability require independent
action among and between environmental, social-cultural, technology,
economic and public sectors - that are often disconnect. Chandula, the
Deputy General Manager (Marketing and Retail Banking) at Hatton National
Bank, is the Chairman of Lanka Financial Services for Underserved
Settlements (LFSUS), which is a unique credit guarantee initiative of
UNHABITAT, now operating independently as a credit enhancement facility
encouraging both public and private institutions for housing finance and
microfinance institutions in Sri Lanka will link commercial banks to
lend to microfinance institutions who are involved in creating
opportunities for low income groups, construction, re-construction and
housing in urban areas of Sri Lanka.
The LFSUS in the last two years has embarked on successfully linking
three commercial banks and five unique upgrading facilities to low
income housing in Colombo. |