Sri Lanka 2048: Imagine the Next 30 Years

The Arthur C. Clarke Trust is organising a public forum on the future of Sri Lanka to mark the birth centenary of Sir Arthur C. Clarke which falls this month. 

Titled ‘Sri Lanka 2048: Imagine the Next 30 Years’, the event will be held on Friday, 15 December from 3.00 p.m. to 5.30 pm at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute Auditorium, Horton Place, Colombo 7.

The forum will see four mid-career Sri Lankan professionals imagining future scenarios for four key sectors: Future of Data by Sriganesh Lokanathan - Team Leader of Big Data Research at LIRNEasia think tank; Future of Media by Shamindra Kulamannage - editor, publisher and media entrepreneur; Future of cities by Sunela Jayewardene - environmental architect, environmental conservationist and author; and Future of Energy by Nanda Abeysekera - sustainability engineer. The event will be moderated by Smriti Daniel, feature writer and communications consultant.

“On the occasion of Sir Arthur’s birth centenary, the Arthur C. Clarke Trust invites Sri Lankans of all ages and from all walks of life to imagine what Sri Lanka might be in 2048 – when the country marks the centenary of independence. These visions can be utopian, dystopian or anything in between,” says science writer Nalaka Gunawardene, who is curating the event.

The public forum is expected to inspire this imagination process that will continue online at the official Arthur C. Clarke website, to be launched this month at www.arthurcclarke.org. The forum also marks the beginning of the Arthur C. Clarke Future Forum, which the Trust hopes will become a regular event for discussing the future prosperity and sustainability of Sri Lanka, where Sir Arthur C. Clarke lived from 1956 to 2008.

The event is free and open to the public, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.  The Arthur C. Clarke Trust, a private entity set up by the late author in 2001, now manages his literary estate and diving company. The Colombo event is one of several academic, media and industry events being organised worldwide to mark Clarke’s birth centenary.