“It is important to make people feel appreciated; it is through this that we enable them to achieve their fullest potential”, Mr. Lalith De Silva, Group CEO of SLT said recently as he stressed on the need for such values to be inculcated in our society, starting from the younger generations.

He made these comments at an awards ceremony held for SLT’s recently concluded art and essay competition on the theme ‘Kalaguna Salakeema’. This competition, held for school children in the country is part of a series of company initiatives undertaken this year, under the very same theme.

The ‘Kalaguna Salakeema’ programme took off earlier this year with a special Wesak programme in May. This was followed by the setting up of a library for patients and staff of the Cancer Hospital in Maharagama. Also under the programme were several book donations made to schools and educational institutes around the island.

The art and essay competition awards ceremony was held recently at the SLT Head Office premises under the patronage of its Group CEO. The judging of the competition was carried out by an external panel of judges. Senior Professor B. Sarath Gunasiri (Senior Lecturer, University of Visual and Performing Arts – Arts Faculty) headed the judging panel for the art competition and Professor Kamal Waleboda (Professor, the University of Colombo – Arts Faculty) led the panel of judges for the essay competition.

Students from around the island took part under the categories of Junior and Senior for both the art and essay competitions. Close to 300 applicants participated in the arts competition, while the essay competition saw a participation of over 100. SLT’s ‘Kalaguna Salakeema’ themed art and essay competition saw 34 winners emerge, being placed first, second and third, while a further seven special awards were made in each category.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. De Silva stated, “The values, the learnings, the empathy these children have shown in their entries to both our art and essay competitions is indeed encouraging and humbling. This is precisely why we have to start nurturing our younger generations, and teach them the value of a just and appreciative society. It is only through them that we can hope to build and grow a better future.”