AOD’s role as South Asia’s creative epicentre celebrated with visit from Maldivian Ambassador

• Over a decade’s work in educating the region’s creative young minds was recognised by Omar Abdul Razzak during his recent visit to AOD at the Colombo Innovation Tower

Strengthening the bilateral ties between Sri Lanka and the Maldives, particularly the two island nations’ evolving creative economies, Maldivian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Omar Abdul Razzak paid a special visit to AOD. With a growing Maldivian student community studying at AOD, it is currently one of Colombo’s most active hubs for young Maldivian creativity. 

The ambassador’s visit included meetings with AOD’s Maldivian students, allowing the young designers to share their ideas, work and aspirations with the senior diplomat. The meetings also gave the young AOD designers an opportunity to discuss the career opportunities they see for themselves in Sri Lanka, Maldives and even the rest of the world, and share their viewpoints on how their skills can contribute to the Maldives’ emerging creative economy. 

AOD, where students are constantly pushed to channel their creative thinking to link with industry needs, new business opportunities and consumer market trends, has been a South Asian champion for connecting young design talent with careers, entrepreneurship and investments. Under this education vision of making talent industry-ready, AOD has already created a generation of Maldivian designers who have a deep understanding of where their design know-how and creative talent fits into the market, and the business world. 

The work and careers of these graduates have already influenced the Maldives significantly, leading to several of the country’s ‘firsts’ in design, and the beginnings of its modern creative economy. The young designers who met with Razzak at AOD recently, in a way, are the emerging leaders of this evolving creative economy for the Maldives; therefore, sharing their ideas with the diplomatic and governmental circles was seen as a strong indicator of the growing interest in the power and influence of design, creativity and innovation for South Asian nations.

Razzak personally spoke to several young AOD designers at the campus and welcomed their ideas as important representations of contemporary Maldivian creativity. He took time to understand their work, and the relevance of each project to the needs and trends in business, consumer markets and in some cases, prevalent social topics and issues. 

AOD CEO Robert Meeder thanked the diplomat for recognising AOD’s Maldivian talent and their work, and underlined the importance of solid regional relationships in moving South Asia forward. “The close relationship we maintain with the region’s partner nations like the Maldives is very important for AOD as a pioneering creative industry catalyst within South Asia. As a fellow island nation, we often see common themes, issues, opportunities and interests that Sri Lanka and Maldives share, making it very important for us to work together, as partners, collaborators and neighbours,” he said. 

He added that AOD sees the Maldives not only as a partner for Sri Lanka, but also as a valuable talent resource for South Asia, with the ability to contribute something unique to the region, and even beyond. 

“Maldives is important to AOD and Sri Lanka in our collective journey to establish design as a major supporting power for our regional economy. It gives us great pleasure to know that AOD played a significant role in educating the next generation of Maldivian design talent, and we look forward to seeing how their work changes the Maldives. It is in this context that His Excellency, Omar Razzak visited us, and we were truly honoured to have this connection recognised by him,” Meeder concluded. 

For more information on AOD, its Maldivian student body, international partnerships, current enrolments and 2019 intake, call Charlene on 0115867772/3 or log or email the International Student Council Office on [email protected].