‘Ada Derana Sri Lankan of the Year 2018’, the national awards ceremony felicitating the Sri Lankans who have defied convention and raised the bar of excellence, was held for the third consecutive year at the Hilton in Colombo on Thursday (20).
Awards were presented under 16 categories at this year’s ceremony, which is a respected tribute to those individuals that have displayed exceptional intellectual integrity with ingenious skills, and arts in serving the nation.
Winners were nominated across categories such as Sports, Global Entertainer, Unsung Hero, Popular Entertainer, Global Scientist, Entrepreneur, Global Literary Figure and Global Businessman.
Sri Lankan racing driver Dilantha Malagamuwa and Commonwealth boxing medalist Anusha Kodithuwakku were presented awards under the Sports category while veteran dancer and choreographer Channa Wijewardena received the award for Popular Entertainer of the Year.
Sri Lankan-born singer-songwriter Alston Koch and Tamil radio broadcaster and master of ceremonies Abdul Hameed were presented awards for Global Entertainer of the Year.
Meanwhile celebrated Sri Lankan-born novelists and two-time Booker Prize winner Michael Ondaatje picked up the award for Global Literary Figure.
The Ada Derana ‘Sri Lankan of the Year’ is designed as an exhaustive, rigorous and credible platform to nominate and select Sri Lankans whose dedication and commitment in their chosen fields have inspired pride and patriotism.
In recognising such achievement, it is hoped that fellow Sri Lankans, especially the younger generations, will be inspired to emulate the hard work, passion, and vision of their idols.
The two-tiered selection process is a robust and transparent one with nominees being shortlisted through an editorially driven process, under the supervision of the Ada Derana editorial leadership in collaboration with industry/category specialists.
Ada Derana Sri Lankan of the Year 2018 - Winners:
Sports - Dilantha Malagamuwa / Anusha Kodithuwakku
Popular Entertainer - Dr. Channa Wijewardena
Classical Entertainer - Dr. Rohana Weerasinghe
Global Entertainer - Alston Koch / Abdul Hameed
Global Scientist – Prof. Gehan Amaratunga
Emerging Global Scientist - Dr. Asha de Vos
Global Professional - Ranjan Madugalle
Global Businessman - Ashroff Omar
Global Inventor - Dr. Bandula Wijay
Entrepreneur - M.G. Kularatne
Unsung Hero - Martin Wijesinghe
Bravery Award - Dilan Sampath / H.M. Keerthi Bandara / Tharindu Dilmin Weerasinghe & Sachith Lakshan
Public Servant - Samantha Gunasekara
Special Honourary Award - Johann Peiris / Colonel Rathnapriya Bandu / National Netball Team of Sri Lanka
Lifetime Achievement - Deshamanya Dr. Vajira Chitrasena
The ‘Ada Derana Sri Lankan of the Year 2018’ awards ceremony will telecast on Sunday (September 23, 2018) from 9.30 p.m. onward on TV Derana and Ada Derana 24X7.
