The Certificate Awarding Ceremony and Exhibition of the Second Certificate Course in Nonviolent Communication and Media

The certificate awarding ceremony and exhibition of the 2^nd Certificate Course on Nonviolent Communication and Media organized by the Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Management, Social Sciences, and Humanities was held on the 30^th of January 2023 at the Main Auditorium of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS).

The occasion was graced by the Chief Guest Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, the President of the Sarvodaya Shramadhana Movement, the Guests of Honour Mr. Lars Bredal, Deputy Head of Mission and the Head of Political, Press and Information Section of the European Union Mission to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and the Vice-Chancellor Major General Milinda Peiris RWP RSP VSV USP ndc psc.

The awarding ceremony was also participated by university administrators, academia, and media representatives including Rector (Metropolitan Campus) Major General Lal Gunesakara, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Defence and Administration) Brigadier Chinthaka Wickramasinghe, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Prof. KAS Dhammika, Director of MTV Channel Pvt Limited and MBC Networks (Pvt) Limited – Sirasa TV Mr. Ashoka Dias,  Digital Editor of Maubima Newspaper Mr. Kumudu Jayawardena, Film Director Sanjaya Nirmal, Reconciliation and Peace Building Team representative from UNDP Mr. Fahim Aslam, Dean of the Faculty of Management, Social Sciences and Humanities Mr. Kithsiri Amaratunga, Deans of other Faculties, Directors, Heads of Departments, Senior Academics, Senior Military Officers, the Panel of Lecturers of the Certificate Course, and Certificate Recipients from a variety of fields, including media and journalism, news production, law enforcement, the military, medicine, engineering, banking and students from a variety of disciplines.

The first certificate course was funded by the UNDP and EU in the year 2021. The Department of Social Sciences continued this initiative in 2022 for the second consecutive year with the main objective of promoting peace and nonviolence among group practitioners and users of media in an effort to generate congeniality throughout the course.

Certificates were awarded to 35 students who successfully completed the Certificate course by the chief guest Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne. Parallel to the certificate awarding ceremony, an awareness exhibition was organized by the participants of the certificate programme. The students incorporated their learning from the course into exhibits which were displayed at the FGSS lobby. To appreciate their effort, best exhibit awards were given to the best video, best poster / banner, best poem/ story, and best art for their exemplary creations.

The chief guest, the guest of honour Mr. Lars Bredal and film director Mr. Sanjaya Nirmal shared their valuable insights at the ceremony. The Department of Social Sciences takes pride in being able to continue disseminating knowledge to the important domain of nonviolent communication and responsible and ethical use of media, which is intrinsically interwoven with peace and harmony and thus with  the national security as well.