A program should be prepared to encourage industries through school education – Minister of Industries
All successive governments after independence have made public investments on a large scale for the development of education, health, agriculture, social infrastructure, etc., but the investment made for the development of the industries is very little. Minister of Plantation and Industries Dr. Ramesh Pathirana pointed out that these are the causes of the present economic crisis.
The minister revealed this while participating at the Sri Lanka Packaging Awards Ceremony, organized by the Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging, held yesterday (November 3) evening at the Galadari Hotel in Colombo. This festival presents awards for excellence in Sri Lankan packaging and was organized by Sri Lanka Packaging Institute established in 1967 and is an active member of the Asian Packaging Federation and the World Packaging Organization.
For the promotion of the packaging industry in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Packaging Institute carries out many activities such as organizing international packaging exhibitions, conducting conferences, conducting workshops, foreign trips, and providing consultancy. Simultaneously with the 17th Asian Packaging Congress in 1987 and Lanka pack 87 packaging exhibition, this institute started Sri Lanka Packaging Awards Ceremony in the country. Later, a student competition for excellence in packaging was started in 2001 to evaluate students engaged in packaging design activities in their educational institutions and universities. In the past years, Sri Lanka Packaging Award winners have also been able to participate in the prestigious Asia Star and World Star competitions held annually in various countries.
Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards were granted at the festival held in 2022 for excellence in packaging for three years, including 2020 and 2021, which could not be held, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. There, awards were presented for several creative, environment-friendly sectors, and many leading organizations in the packaging industry in Sri Lanka, as well as the Election Commission as a government institution also received awards. The Asia Star and World Star winners were awarded by the minister.
This festival demonstrated that the Sri Lankan packaging industry is very vibrant, ready, and equipped to support the country’s industrial development. In this award ceremony, the minister further pointed out the importance of vocational education for the development of industries in a country and the promotion of all industries-related fields technologically for the necessity of economic progress.
Deshmanya Rohan Wijesinghe, Chairman of Sri Lanka Packaging Institute, Mr. Chaminda Pathiraja Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Industries, Dr. Saranga Alahapperuma, Chairman of Sri Lanka Industrial Development Board, Ministry officials, and heads of organizations in the packaging industry were present at this occasion.
