Advocata Institute will be hosting an insightful discussion on the 08th August 2024 on the theme The Case For Privatization Of State Owned Businesses

The topic of State Owned Enterprises has been one of the Advocata Institute’s core projects from its inception and we have always done our best to bring public awareness to State Owned Enterprises and how they impact the economy. The main aim of this event is to launch our latest report on State Owned Enterprises, titled “Getting the State Out of Business: The Compelling Case for Privatizing State-Owned Businesses’. 
The event agenda includes a panel discussion covering the topic of State Owned Enterprise restructuring, the steps taken to implement restructures and the challenges faced in doing so. 

The event details are as follows:
Date - 08th August 2024 | Venue - BMICH Tulip Hall | Time - 6:30 PM onwards.

Advocata Institute is hosting an event titled ‘Deep Dive on the Market Competitiveness of Ceylon Tea’ to launch the report on "Market Competitiveness of the Tea Industry of Sri Lanka" authored by Sudaraka Ariyaratne (Research Consultant, Advocata Institute) The conference will consist of a panel discussion on Land & Labour Reforms : Efficiency Through Liberalisation and Quality Control & Premiumisation : Unlocking the True Potential of Ceylon Tea

Session on 'Land & Labour Reforms : Efficiency Through Liberalisation

The session will commence with a presentation by Sudaraka Ariyaratne, followed by a panel discussion with Jeevan Thondaman (Cabinet Minister, Water Supply & Estate Infrastructure Development), Dr Roshan Rajadurai (Managing Director, Hayleys Plantation Sector), Dr Romesh Bandaranaike (Former Director, Plantation Management Monitoring Division) moderated by Murtaza Jafferjee (Chair, Advocata Institute)

Session on 'Quality Control & Premiumisation : Unlocking the True Potential of Ceylon Tea’

The session will commence with another presentation by Sudaraka Ariyaratne, followed by a panel discussion with Niraj de Mel (Chairperson, Sri Lanka Tea Board), Dilhan C. Fernando (Chief Executive Officer, Ceylon Tea Services PLC), Dasarath Dassanayake (Former Head, Manufacture High Grown, John Keells PLC Consultant) moderated by Rehana Thowfeek (Research Consultant, Advocata Institute)

The tickets can be purchased through here

The agenda for the event can be found here

The Advocata Economic Freedom Summit 2024 brings together leading thinkers and doers to deliberate on the state of economic freedom in Sri Lanka. In two separate events, in two different locations they will discuss, debate and contemplate on ideas on how to improve levels of economic freedom in Sri Lanka and to provide audit of Sri Lanka's ratings on the acclaimed Economic Freedom of the World Index.

The Advocata Institute's Economic Freedom Summit 2024, will commence on January 29th, with a forum on 'Economic Freedom & its Pathway to Prosperity' and a panel discussion in Sinhala on 'ධනවත් රටක් හදන ආර්ථික නිදහස'.

Session on 'ධනවත් රටක් හදන ආර්ථික නිදහස'

The session will commence with a presentation on Economic Freedom by Dhananath Fernando (Chief Executive Officer Advocata Institute )

The key note will be addressed by Dr.Harsha de Silva (Member of Parliament & Chairman, Committee on Public Finance).

The panel for the session include Tharaka Balasuriya (State Minister,Foreign Affairs) and Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne (Advisor, Advocata Institute) and moderated by Hasalaka Thushara (Content creator).

Register now for event updates. https://forms.gle/ukmTHYXZHZH8BETp9

The construction industry in Sri Lanka and neighboring regions is hindered by rampant anti-competitive practices, threatening the construction sector. This distorts markets, inflates prices, and limits choices. In light of this issue the Advocata Institute is hosting a half day conference on “Housing for All: The Role of Competition Policy in Construction”

The conference will consist of a panel discussion focusing on the Sri Lankan experience, followed by a panel discussion on the experiences of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. 

Session 1

The Trade and Competition Policy: Impact on Affordable Housing in Sri Lanka

The panel for this session includes Prof Prema-chandra Athukorala (Emeritus Professor of Economics, Australian National University (ANU)), Eng.Thilak Premalal (Chief Executive Officer , National Construction Association of Sri Lanka NCASL) and Athula Amarasekara (Director of Design Team 3, Singapore)

The moderator of the session will be Dr. Roshan Perera (Senior Research Fellow, Advocata Institute)

Session 2

Regional Housing Crisis: The Role of Competition in Construction Markets

The panel for this session includes Omar R. Chowdhury (Research Associate, South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM)), Anu Anna Jo (Senior Associate, Research, Centre for Public Policy Research), Joseph Wilson (Independent Consultant), Dr. Malathy Knight (Project Director, Templeton).

This session will be moderated by Rehana Thowfeek (Research Consultant, Advocata Institute)

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Here is a link to the agenda.

Sri Lanka’s State Owned Enterprises have placed a significant burden on public finances. They are also a major source of inefficiency to the economy. Therefore the present economic crisis along with Sri Lanka’s current debt crisis make SOE reforms a priority of national importance, to emerge from present economic challenges.

With this aim of creating further awareness and public debate on the urgency of implementing SOE reforms, the Advocata Institute is hosting a press briefing on October 10th at 10.00AM which will also be live-streamed on Advocata Institute YouTube Channel & Facebook page.

The press briefing will commence with a ten minute presentation by Ms. Rehana Thowfeek (Research Associate, Advocata Institute), followed by statements from Professor Rohan Samarajiva (Advisor, Advocata Institute), Mr. Dhananath Fernando (Chief Executive Officer, Advocata Institute) and Mr. Ravi Rathnasabapathy (Independent Consultant). Thereafter, the event would move on to a question and answer session dedicated to the media and journalists.

Join us for "Empowering Women: A Future-Ready Workforce Force" hosted by the Women's Policy Action Network on Tuesday, the 29th of August, 2023 at 4PM live on WPAN and Advocata Institute's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

In the wake of the worst economic crisis since its independence, Sri Lanka is moving rapidly on much needed reforms. Social infrastructures that cater to unburden women's disproportionate care work will be one of the areas of focus at this conference. Further women's access to digital devices and the internet can increase their participation in economic activities, particularly in relation to digital entrepreneurship will also be discussed.

The Key note speaker for this conference is Lakmini Wijesundera (Co-Founder & CEO of IronOne Technologies & BoardPac)

The conference will facilitate two separate discussion sessions on improving Social infrastructure and digital infrastructure, with panelists who are experts in the relative conversations.

This WPAN event is supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and facilitated by the Advocata Institute

Event Agenda
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The digital policy brief ‘Unlocking Women’s Potential in the Economy’ can be accessed here

The social policy brief ‘Social Infrastructure for Gender Equality and Empowerment’ can be accessed here

Join us for the launch of the Women's Policy Action Network on Thursday, the 30th of March, 2023 at 6.30PM. The event will be live-streamed on Advocata Institute's Facebook and YouTube Channel.

The Women's Policy Action Network aims to bring about policy reform through advocacy for the economic empowerment of women. It will be a network run by individuals who are committed to women's empowerment. Harnessing advocacy, collating research, and identifying key problem areas that will impact the lives of women are a few of the targets to be achieved. The group will comprise representatives from Civil Society Organizations, policymakers, and women leaders to generate strong conversations advocating for women.

In light of the disproportionate impact of both the pandemic and the economic crisis on women , enhancing women’s participation in the workforce is even more critical. Therefore, the launch of WPAN will be followed with a panel discussion on the thematic area of “Reforms to Empower Women During an Economic Crisis”. 

The keynote speaker is Ms.Shiromal Cooray, the Chairman and Managing Director of Jetwing Travels. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Roshan Perera, Senior Research Fellow, Advocata Institute.

Speakers      

Shan Yahampath - Advisor to the Labour Ministry and the Foreign Employment
Sampath Thrimawithana - Director at Virtusa
Anarkali Moonesinghe -  Board Member at Lankan Angel Network
Sumini Siyambalapitiya - Senior Research Analyst Verite Research

This WPAN launch is supported by the Kingdom of Netherlands and facilitated by the Advocata Institute

Event Agenda

You can access our policy brief here

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With the current economic crisis, the upcoming budget is critical to setting the fiscal direction of the country. How will the government tackle reducing the budget deficit, what tax and expenditure reforms will be brought in, and how will they commit to tackling the rising socio-economic issues such as poverty and malnutrition 

Advocata is hosting its latest online discussion post-budget 2022, with Prof Rohan Samarajiva (Founding Chair, LIRNEasia | Advisor, Advocata Institute), Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne (Professor in Economics | Department of Economics, University of Colombo), moderated by Pasan Wijayawardhana (Economic Research Analyst, Advocata Institute) on Thursday, November 17th at 6.00PM

Short presentations on government expenditure and revenue trends will be done by Udahiruni Atapattu (Research Analyst, Advocata Institute) and Thashikala Mendis (Data Analyst, Advocata Institute)

The discussion will be conducted in Sinhala and will be livestreamed on Advocata Institute Facebook and Advocata Institute YouTube.

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Advocata is hosting its latest Roundtable discussion on ‘The Role of Tax Administration in Enhancing Tax Revenue’ with Suresh Perera (Principal, Tax & Regulatory KPMG Sri Lanka), Ranjith Hapuarachchi (Commissioner General Inland Revenue) and Dr Roshan Perera (Senior Research Fellow, Advocata Institute) this Thursday on ZOOM, live at 6.00.P.M.

Register for ZOOM link and for future updates