Past life

Just after graduating from University of Moratuwa as a Chemical and Process Engineer, I knew inside that I am capable and passionate about something else: Information and communication technology.

I was fascinated by the endless possibilities it could bring in to all walks of life. I wanted to work on that could until it became a reality, especially for rural Sri Lanka.

I understood in my 13 year run so far, as a social entrepreneur, that working alone or even working with a team who are more passionate than me is not enough. Even with wonderful support from Government, private sector and development agencies is not enough either. The challenges we are facing is too much of a force to be tackled in ad-hoc manner. We need a social revolution in our thinking and action, and I found it is not just relevant for Sri Lanka, but for the whole world. As the African saying goes,

“If you want to go faster, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”

My mission in this life is to “Inspire communities to reach out to new opportunities using IT: especially to get educated, find jobs, and maybe ( what I love to see !) starting their own thing. Also co-create spaces for harmonious innovation, so that each person can harness their own unique potential, not what the mainstream society wants them to be”

Appearing in press/media certainly helps a lot to spread the message. Here are some of the highlights.

Talk by Isura at Facebook Safety Summit, New Delhi – Oct 29, 2018

Isura speaking at Gamata Technology. ( with English subtitles) – Oct 14, 2018

Interview : Isura On Sirasa TV “Gammedda” program ( In Sinhala) – Oct 2017

#ngage talk at Dialog – Being relevant in the age of the inevitable.

Expert Panel Discussion at the launch of UNICEF’s landmark study on Sri Lanka’s digital landscape : “Keeping Children in Sri Lanka Safe and Empowered Online”. ( Press Release)