Dr Sean Perera was an invited expert expatriate at the inaugural Science and Technology for Society Sri Lanka Forum held in Colombo from 7 to 10 September. The Forum was convened by the Office of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, and the Ministry of Science Technology and Research, and aimed to benchmark national goals for science, technology and innovation that address UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals.

A key theme of the Forum was to promote innovation through bottom-up approaches by wider societal engagement with the culture of scientific research. Sean Perera is pictured here championing, to the Minster and officials of the Ministry of Science Technology and Research, the soon to be implemented interactive science and technology centre in Sri Lanka, that will be instrumental for informal science communication and a much needed venue for challenging dialogue about mainstream societal attitudes to science. Other themes addressed by the Forum included sustainable science and technology for innovation, a national innovation ecosystem, citizen science, and emerging technologies, in particular current nanotechnology research in Sri Lanka. The Forum concluded with the declaration of the Colombo Resolution comprising eight key points for science, technology and innovation for sustainable development of Sri Lankan society.

Further to the Forum, Sean Perera participated on national television in the popular weekly programme Doramadalwa telecast by the Independent Television Network of Sri Lanka. Two consecutive episodes of Doramadalwa on 12.09.16 and 19.09.16 featured a panel of science and science communication experts from the United States and Australia who discussed, from cross-cultural perspectives, social and scientific issues relevant to Sri Lankan audiences.