Immersia Panel with Sri Lankan High Commissioner

This Immersia Panel Discussion, supported by the ANU South Asia Research Institute, brings together four ANU PhD researchers for an engaging afternoon with the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Australia. The discussion promises to offer contemporary insights into Sri Lanka’s evolving society, its people, institutions and the relationships shaping its future.

Moderated by Dr Sean Perera, Academic Sub Dean and Program Convenor at ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, the panellists will converse with the High Commissioner to bilaterally transverse Sri Lanka’s economic, social and cultural landscape. The discussion will explore entrepreneurial resilience among Sri Lankan small businesses, gender identity navigation within evolving workplaces, Sri Lanka’s Tamil Catholic heritage, and community-making efforts by women in postwar Sri Lanka.

About the speaker

HE Ms Yasoja Gunasekera serves as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Australia, with concurrent accreditation to Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu.

She has served as the Ambassador to Indonesia and Permanent Representative to ASEAN; High Commissioner to Bangladesh; and Sri Lanka’s inaugural Consul General in Guangzhou; at Sri Lanka’s Mission to the UN in New York; at the Sri Lanka High Commission in New Delhi; and in the Legal Affairs, South Asia, United Nations, West and Economic Affairs Divisions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka.

Ms Gunasekera holds an LLB (Hons) from the University of Warwick and a MA in Foreign Affairs and Trade from Monash University.

Panellists:

Ravini Abhayarathne, PhD student, ANU Research School of Management
Viyanga Gunasekera, PhD student, ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance
Nadine Vanniasinkam, PhD student, ANU School of Culture, History and Language
Subashini Weerakotuwa, PhD student, ANU Research School of Management

Light refreshments will be provided at 4pm.

This event is a collaboration between the ANU South Asia Research Institute (SARI) and the ANU School of Culture, History & Language for 2026 Immersia.

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Contact the host of Immersia Panel with Sri Lankan High Commissioner