Dialog powers National Para Athletics Championship 2024

Dialog Axiata PLC Group Chief Marketing Officer Lasantha Theverapperuma (right) hands over the sponsorship to National Paralympic Committee President Col. Deepal Hearth. Others from left are National Paralympic Committee General Secretary Kanchana Pradeepa De Silva, Vice President Brig. Dhananjaya Aludeniya, Dialog Axiata Group Chief of Risk and Compliance and Head of Sustainability Asanga Priyadarshana and National Paralympic Committee Treasurer Dilini Wariyapola 

Dialog Axiata PLC, has announced its support of the National Para Athletics Championship 2024, organised under the aegis of the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Sri Lanka, the official governing body of disabled sports.

Scheduled to be held from 11 to 12 May at the Diyagama Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium, the premier athletic championship organised in Sri Lanka for para-athletes will bring together over 600 athletes representing more than 45 sports clubs affiliated to NPC from different provinces of the country. The NPC provides opportunities for three disability groups, namely men and women with visual impairments, physical impairments and intellectual disabilities to showcase their talents.

Dialog is the proud sponsor of the NPC and has a long history of more than two decades with paralympic sports in Sri Lanka. The company first sponsored the Sri Lanka Paralympic contingent in the year 2000, followed by 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 including sponsorship of the National Para Athletics Championship. This partnership has been instrumental in fostering a conducive environment for the remarkable success of Sri Lankan Para Athletes on the global stage. Noteworthy accomplishments include securing 1 Gold and 3 Bronze medals at the Paralympic Games, 2 Silver and 3 Bronze medals at the World Para Athletic Championships, and a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games. Moreover, Sri Lankan athletes have demonstrated exceptional prowess at the Asian Para Games, amassing an impressive tally of 9 Gold, 18 Silver, and 22 Bronze medals over the years.

The partnership with NPC aligns with the company’s ongoing dedication to empowering individuals with disabilities through sponsorships such as this, as well as by advancing disability inclusion through assistive technology. Over the years, Dialog has made great strides in realising this vision with initiatives such as the launch of DeafTawk, an on-demand sign language interpretation service, the Ratmalana Audiology Centre, Jaffna Speech Centre and most recently, the revamp of dialog.lk to be more accessible to people with disabilities. 

Dialog Axiata PLC, in collaboration with MAS Holdings, recently launched the Dialog MAS Enabler Program. This initiative is designed to support university students with disabilities by providing them with opportunities to gain valuable experience in corporate environments.