Chandula to speak at Leadership Summit in USA

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.