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Department of Philosophy

University of Peradeniya


Dr.Charitha Herath

Head of the Department
B.A (Hon's)(Peradeniya), M.A.(Ohio), PhD (Kalaniya)

charith9@yahoo.com
Twitter
+94 812 392 815, +94 812 392 650
Personal Website


BIOGRAPHY


Senior Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Areas of Specialization:
  • Social and Political Philosophy, Ethnic Studies, Cultural Psychology
  • Political Theories: Philosophy of Marxism
  • Methodologies of Social Sciences
  • Contemporary Analytical philosophy
  • Social and Political Philosophy
  • Later - Wittgenstein Philosophy

Currently I am working as a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Philosophy & Psychology, at University of Peradeniya. In year 2012, I was appointed to the public office of Permanent Secretary position by the H.E. the President and I had been working as the Secretary to the  Ministry of Mass Media and Information (www.media.gov.lk) till 2015. Prior to that appointment, I was heading the  Central Environmental Authority  as the Chairman from May, 2010 to July 2012 www.cea.lk

As the secretary to the Ministry of Media & Information, I had been engaging (a) policy formulations and implementations in media sector, (b) mediating and facilitating the public-private partnership in the sectors of electronic and print media, and (c) reforming the policies and institutions of public broadcasting in the country. I was instrumental in implementation the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting (CHOGM 2013) in Colombo. I was heading the sub-committee of media & communication in CHOGM which was supported and co-organized by the commonwealth Secretariat. Further, as the secretary to the ministry, I have initiated the special scholarship program for journalist training and was fortunate to be part of establishing the Sri Lanka Media Training Institute.

Local and Foreign Representations
Internationally, I have attended and participated in multiple conferences. International Solid Waste Association World Congress 2011 in Daegu, Korea from 17th -20th October, 2011, in which he delivered the keynote address. The 10th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 10) to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan from 18th – 29th October, 2010. The 5th meeting of the Conference of Parties serving as the Meeting of Parties for the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety (COP-MOP 5) in Nagoya, Japan from 11th – 15th, October, 2010.

The 3rd South Asia Economic Summit in Kathmandu, Nepal from 17th – 19th December, 2010 in which I served as a commentator; and the 5th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in internation Trade in Geneva, Switzerland from 20th – 24th June, 2011.


BOOKS


  • 2000 ‘a’ nature of ‘the’ nature Swabhawaye Swabhawayak (translations of historical Chines text, Tao Te Ching) Co-editor W. M Gunatilake Nipuna Enterprises, Gangodawila, Nugagoda (ISBN 955-9133-22-5).

INTERVIEWS


  • 2015 (Cover Story) “Whether Sri Lanka is ready for Digital Infrastructure Transform in Television Sector” main interview on the DIRIMAGA (Lanka Monthly Digest (LMD) Sinhala magazine. Media Service Private LTD. Colombo
  • 2013 (Cover Story) “Issues and Challenges in Cinema Digitalization” on the Agenda 14 Edited by Anoma Rajakarunanayake Agenda 14 Horton Place Colombo 07 PAPERS
  • 2016 “Wittgenstein in Tagore’s Dark Chamber:An Examination of the influence on Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Tagore’s The King of the Dark Chamber inAesthetics Today Contributions 39th International Wittgenstein Symposium. (ed) Stefan Majetschak and Anja Weiberg (Hrsg.). Kirchberg am Wechsel. ALWS, Austria.
  • 2000 “Buddhist Humanism : Analysis based on Buddhist Concept of Reality” in Anveeksana, Annual Academic Journal of Post Graduate Institute of Buddhist Studies, University of Kalaniya, Sri Lanka

ABSTRACTS


  • Identifying the Role of Radical Buddhist Movements on Economic Development in Sri Lanka : The Caseof Policy Reform in 1977, will be presented to the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS5 ) at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Luala Lumpur, MALAYASIA (2007)
  • The Role of Media in Indo-Lanka Relations for Sri Lankan Ethnic Conflict, Presented at the British Association for South Asian Studies at the St. Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge, UK (2007)
  • Dharmadeepa: Sinhala Nationalism in Sri Lanka, presented at the International Convention of South Asia (ICAS3) at Singapore National University, SINGAPORE. (2003)
  • Angarika Dharmapala’s Modernist Movment in Sri Lanka. Presented at the 31st Annual Conference on South Asia, at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, USA. (2002)
  • Green Buddhism: A Buddhist Foundation for an Environmental Movement. Presented at the American Academy of Religion (AAR)/ Midwest Region, DePaul University, Chicago, USA (2001)
  • The Role of Religion in Ethnic Conflict: Sri Lankan Experience Presented at the conference on Religion and Ethnic Conflict” by Sri Lanka Association for Advancement of Science (SAAS) at BMICH, Colombo, SRI LANKA. (2000)
  • Religious Mind and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka presented at The Third Conference on Traditional Knowledge and Modern World” at Gandhi Institute, Varanasi, INDIA. (1998)
  • Hua-Yen Reality: An Inquiry in to Concept of Identity and Interdependency of Hua-Yen Tradition Presented at the “Buddhism, Science and Realism” Conference at the Institute of Fundamental Studies (IFS), Kandy, SRI LANKA

WORKSHOPS / SEMINARS.MEETINGS


  • 2014 Capacity Building Workshop on How to think about Internet Policy at Yangon, MYANMAR. Chaired session on ‘How Social Media can be Used Effectively by organizations’
  • 2014 13th Asia- Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development Executive Board Meeting and 32nd AIBD Strategic Plan team (SPT) Meeting at Phnom – Penh, CAMBODIA
  • 2014 International Business Seminar on ISDB-T Standard for Digital Terrestrial Television (DTTV) in Quito, ECUADOR
  • 2014 Meeting on Negotiations on the Agreement Between Belarus and Sri Lanka in the Field of Mass Communications in Minsk, BELARUS
  • 2012 Meeting on Negotiations on Global Legally Binding Instrument On Mercury, at the 4th Session of Inter-governmental Negotiating committee in URUGUAY
  • 2012 17th Session of the Conference of Parties to the United nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) and 7th Meeting of the KYOTO PROTOCOL,Durban, SOUTH AFRICA(2012)
  • 2012 Participating in the Bi- lateral Ministerial Meetings in Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC
  • 2011 5TH Meeting of the Conference of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade in Geneva, SWITZERLAND
  • 2010 Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 10) in Nagoya, JAPAN
  • 2010 Participating to the International Environmental Engineering Forum in Seoul, SOUTH KOREA

KEYNOTE ADDRESS


  • Keynote Speaker – At the INTERNATIONAL SOLID WASTE ASSOCIATION’S (ISWA-2011) World Congress – 2011, held in Daegu, SOUTH KOREA

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