Sri Lankan Students take part in High School Students Islands Summit on World Tsunami Awareness Day in Japan
2017/11/13
November 13, 2017
The Government of Japan hosted the High School Students Islands Summit to commemorate the World Tsunami Awareness Day that falls on 5th November as declared upon by the resolution adopted at the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. The Summit was held on the 7th and 8th November 2017 at Okinawa, Japan with the participation of 150 students around the world. Six students from Galle District had the opportunity to participate in this Summit, representing Sri Lanka.
The purpose of the summit was to foster future leaders who will commit themselves in building the resilience of their regions and minimizing the impacts of damages to people’s lives caused by natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis. As the main organizer of this event, Okinawa Prefectural Government and Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education invited high school students from island countries, which have similar natural environments across the globe to participate in the Islands Summit. The summit provided the opportunity for students to discuss and make presentations on the theme of disaster prevention and mitigation, as part of the World Tsunami Awareness Day enlightenment activities.
Sri Lankan representatives consisted of six high school students and a teacher-in-charge, representing four national schools in Galle District. Tharusha Liyanagamage and Thisara Rukmal from Richmond College, Irosh Withana from Mahinda College, Dileesha Thisarangi and Kaori Hettiarachchi from Southlands college and Devdini Rathnayake from Sanghamita Balika Vidyalaya as well as the teacher-in-charge Ms. Madushika Ranasinghe were the members who represented Galle District. In parallel with the summit theme, the Sri Lankan team made a presentation on “replanting of mangroves in the coastal area along the Gintota Bridge in Galle district, Sri Lanka”. The presentation emphasized the importance of protecting coastal belt as a measure of preventing and mitigating the coastal erosion that might occur due to tsunami and other natural disasters. Also, the students took part in a commemorative tree planting ceremony and a cultural performance event representing Sri Lanka.
The purpose of the summit was to foster future leaders who will commit themselves in building the resilience of their regions and minimizing the impacts of damages to people’s lives caused by natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis. As the main organizer of this event, Okinawa Prefectural Government and Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education invited high school students from island countries, which have similar natural environments across the globe to participate in the Islands Summit. The summit provided the opportunity for students to discuss and make presentations on the theme of disaster prevention and mitigation, as part of the World Tsunami Awareness Day enlightenment activities.
Sri Lankan representatives consisted of six high school students and a teacher-in-charge, representing four national schools in Galle District. Tharusha Liyanagamage and Thisara Rukmal from Richmond College, Irosh Withana from Mahinda College, Dileesha Thisarangi and Kaori Hettiarachchi from Southlands college and Devdini Rathnayake from Sanghamita Balika Vidyalaya as well as the teacher-in-charge Ms. Madushika Ranasinghe were the members who represented Galle District. In parallel with the summit theme, the Sri Lankan team made a presentation on “replanting of mangroves in the coastal area along the Gintota Bridge in Galle district, Sri Lanka”. The presentation emphasized the importance of protecting coastal belt as a measure of preventing and mitigating the coastal erosion that might occur due to tsunami and other natural disasters. Also, the students took part in a commemorative tree planting ceremony and a cultural performance event representing Sri Lanka.