Three leading Sri Lankan academics represented the country at a regional SAARC seminar on shared cultural heritage held in Nepal.
Professor Rohitha Dasanayaka of the Department of History at the University of Peradeniya, along with Professor Priyanka Virajini Medagedara Katunarathne and Professor Gayathri Madubhani Ranathunga of the Department of Textile and Apparel Engineering at the University of Moratuwa, were nominated by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs to participate in the SAARC Regional Seminar on “Interpreting Shared Heritage: Cross-Cultural Narratives in Museums in the SAARC Region.”
The seminar was organized by the SAARC Cultural Centre Sri Lanka in collaboration with Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
The Sri Lankan delegation presented a joint research paper titled “Establishing the Ehelepola Walawwa Wax Museum in the UNESCO Heritage City of Kandy, Sri Lanka: The Nation’s First Wax Museum as Repository and Communicator of Royal Costume Heritage.”
The seminar was held from September 30 to October 1, 2026, at Hotel Square in Lalitpur, Nepal, with a post-seminar museum visit organized on October 2.
The participation provided an opportunity for Sri Lankan academics to contribute to regional discussions on the interpretation, preservation and communication of shared cultural heritage through museums.
The researchers expressed their appreciation to the Diyawadana Nilame, the lay custodian of the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy, for providing sponsorship for the initiative.
They also acknowledged Dr. Kaushalya Kumarasinghe, Director of the SAARC Cultural Centre, and Apsara Karunaratne, Culture Specialist (Research), for convening and hosting the seminar.
