Sri Lankan peace builder awarded ‘Rotary Alumni Global Service Award’

Pushpi Weerakoon has been awarded the ‘Rotary Alumni Global Service Award’. The achievement is sure to contribute to the many international accolades achieved by Sri Lankans this year

This is the very first time a Sri Lankan has received this award. Weerakoon has been invited to address the Rotary International Convention. The convention will be held this year from June 21-25 in Calgary, Canada. This award is the highest honour presented by Rotary International to an outstanding Rotary alumnus whose achievements have enriched their profession and whose services to humanity exemplifies the spirit of Rotary. The award is intended to highlight the positive impact of Rotary programmes and to inspire others worldwide to pursue service and leadership as the recipient. 

Upon receiving the award, Pushpi will address the convention gathering together with other distinguished speakers such as Tawakkol Karman, the first woman from the Arab world to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Isabel C. Scarinci,  a behavioural scientist with a deep commitment to the elimination of cancer disparities in low- and middle-income countries, and Scott Simon,  host of National Public Radio who has reported from five continents on ten wars, winning every major award in U.S. broadcasting. 

Pushpi began her peace building career in Sri Lanka, training grassroots leaders in mediation to especially resolve conflicts risen due to the Tsunami as the Director/Registrar of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute, a journey which also introduced her to the peace building field since she had to travel to the security zones at the height of the civil war. Since then, as a front liner, she uses the legal knowledge gained at the University of Buckingham, UK, to assist survivors and victims of manmade and natural disasters. She managed the ‘Learn & Lead’ programme which was the first scholarship scheme in Sri Lanka to bridge the gap between and north and south schools. 

As the head of the legal unit of International Development Law Organisation, she provided technical support to draft emergency laws and managed social cohesion and livelihood projects. During the aftermath of the conflict, Pushpi was with the Reconciliation Unit at the Presidential Secretariat. Sri Lanka’s first Open Government Partnership National Action Plan was written and received cabinet approval under her coordination. 

Continuing her services with IOM, Pushpi was in Iraq, Bangladesh, Geneva, Bahamas, Central America, Haiti, Pacific Islands and Pakistan. She also served with UNDP and UNSLM in New York. A sought-after expert guest speaker, she’s shared her technical learnings and experiences in Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, The Philippines, India, Singapore, USA, France, Mongolia, and UK. 

From the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, she studied at Eastern Mennonite University, receiving a Master of Conflict Transformation from the Center for Justice and Peace building. Her other degrees include a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, as an Edith Stokey Scholar in the Mason Programmes, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Wales. Currently,  she is a doctoral candidate as a UN scholar in the Peace and Conflict Studies programme at the UN University for Peace, Costa Rica. Pushpi is a past pupil of St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo. For the humanitarian services provided by Pushpi, she won the ‘Rotary National Peace Award’ given to a prominent peace builder (none Rotarian) in Sri Lanka in 2011.