Financial Times

Second Community Leader Awards
Recognising corporate Sri Lanka for education initiatives
Children and their needs in education are the focus of this year’s prestigious Community Leader Awards to be presented on Tuesday, February 28 to socially-responsible companies in Sri Lanka’s corporate community.
Bigger and with greater responsibility, the awards this year shifts from managing waste in the community to enriching education in schools through private sector initiatives.

Governments in Sri Lanka over the years have had limited resources for key sectors like health, education and social needs of the people. Nevertheless, Sri Lanka has excelled in the social sphere being among the few countries in Asia to spend as much as it has done on social development.

Yet a lot more needs to be taken care of, particularly in education and health, and this is where UNICEF has played a key role in helping governments across the world including Sri Lanka in progressing towards achieving many targets including “achieving universal primary education” under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

In recent years attention has been placed on the importance of the business community and civil society helping the government and UNICEF in guiding children through formal and non-formal education.

CSR is not only about writing blank cheques but a giving that comes from the heart and soul of a company and its staff. A lot of this was seen during the tragic tsunami that cost the lives of thousands of people across Asia. That tragedy triggered one of the most powerful exercises of philanthropy with the corporate world chipping in not only with money but also volunteerism to a never-before level.

CSR awards are a recent phenomenon in Sri Lanka and in most cases corporate recognition for such awards covers CSR taking the entire gamut of activities of all companies. The CIMA-The Sunday Times Business Club contribution in recognizing companies over their achievements in CSR is more unique because we narrow down CSR to a specific issue – every year - that concerns society in which corporate performance would be measured.
That brings us back to Tuesday’s awards organized and presented by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and The Sunday Times Business Club, where companies would be recognized for supporting schools and other education initiatives. Awards are being presented in the large, medium and small sectors with a set of special category awards also being made at the discretion of the judges.

And to hand in those awards would be a distinguished list of guests headlined by Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister Sarath Amunugama, renowned Indian Film director Mahesh Bhatt - a special UNICEF envoy who has flown down from India especially for this event -, and UNICEF country director Jo Anna Van Gerpen.

The Community Leader Awards launched in 2004 is aimed at bringing the private sector and the community at large together in a long-term partnership that would steer responsible business ethnics and future development of the country.

Last year the awards scheme sponsored by John Keells Holdings (JKH) focussed on Waste Management and selecting private sector companies that provided benefits and leadership to communities in this field. The intention was to recognize Sri Lankan companies that have excelled in efficient waste management and reward them in 2005.

Nine winners were picked and the awards presented at a gala ceremony in May 2005 during a 2-day international gathering of professionals that included a keynote address by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed.
The 2005 winners were Unilever Sri Lanka Ltd winning the gold in the large category segment, David Pieris Motor Company Ltd, American & Efird Lanka Ltd, Kandalama Hotels Ltd, Brandix Finishing Ltd, Royal Fernwood Porcelain Ltd, Club Palm Garden Hotel and Union Chemicals Lanka Ltd.

Ironically Unilever, last year’s big winner, has come forward to sponsor this year’s event, driven by the desire to be a part of a new CSR initiative that recognises private sector involvement in specific areas of social development.
The Community Leader Awards theme – so far dealing with waste management and education - is set to deal with another, interesting area of social activity vis-à-vis the private sector next year.

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