Mrs. D. K. Renuka Ekanayake
Director

Mrs. D. K. Renuka Ekanayake was a senior officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service and has a long-standing experience in the Public Service.

She completed her primary education at St. Anthony’s Girls’ School Panadura and secondary education at Lumbini College, Colombo.

Mrs. Ekanayake holds a BSc Honours Degree in Public Administration from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Post Graduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in Public Administration from the University of Malaysia.

She also holds a Diploma in Gender and Women in Development from the International Women’s University, Germany, a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) Degree in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Malaysia, and two postgraduate Diplomas in Sociology and International Relations from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Mrs. Ekanayake has also professionally qualified as a Licentiate from the Sri Lanka Institute of Charted Accounting.

Mrs. Ekanayake has multi-faceted experience serving in various government Departments and Ministries such as the Department of Cooperative Development, Divisional Secretariat Moratuwa, Divisional Secretariat Kalutara, Rural Development Training & Research Institute, Ministry of Samurdhi & Parliamentary Affairs and Ministry of Technology & Research.

She served as the Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs & National Heritage and worked towards the conservation, promotion and propagation of literary, arts and cultural elements of Sri Lanka.

She also held permanent Secretary positions in a number of Ministries such as Secretary to the Ministry of Social Services & Livestock Development, Secretary to the Ministry of Rural Economy and Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries, Aquatic Resources Development and Rural Economy

Mrs. Ekanayake has obtained foreign training from a number of countries such as Germany, Korea, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Kenya in diverse areas including Poverty Alleviation, Management of Natural Disasters & Rehabilitation and Rural Governance Empowerment & Participation.

She has international exposure having represented Sri Lanka as the Head of Delegation at various international conferences related to areas of National Heritage and SAARC.

Mrs. Ekanayake has published several research papers on areas of cultural affairs, gender equality, poverty alleviation, rural economy, environment and technology and research.

Mrs. Ekanayake assumed duties as the Director of the SAARC Cultural Centre in April 2023.

Sikder Md Zulkernine
Deputy Director – Programmes

Sikder Md. Zulkernine, a well-known museologist and Professor of Archaeology at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and joined the SAARC Cultural Centre on deputation for three years on 01 August 2024 as Deputy Director (Programmes). He completed his Bachelor’s (Hons.) and Master’s degrees in Archaeology at Jahangirnagar University. He then pursued advanced studies with a research Master’s in Archaeology and Ancient History at M.S. University of Baroda, Gujarat, India, supported by the ICCR Scholarship from 2004 to 2006. His M.A. thesis focused on the “Typo-technological analysis of ceramic assemblage from Wari-Bateshwar,” an early historic site in Bangladesh. He further obtained a Master’s degree in International Museum Studies from Goteborg University, Sweden, from 2006 to 2008, where he completed a thesis on “Museums and their communities in Bangladesh”.

In 2007, he worked on an exhibition on Bangladesh Archaeology at the Guimet Museum in Paris. From 2008 to 2009, he interned with the Education Department at the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, at Smithsonian Institutions in Washington, DC in 2009. He later returned to the Smithsonian in 2013 as a Research Scholar, where he focused on developing new methods for evaluating exhibitions and educational programs.

In addition to his academic work in Bangladesh, Zulkernine served as a research fellow at the Department of Visual Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong in 2019. He has attended various conferences and seminars, presented papers in various countries such as India, Thailand, Japan, Czech Republic, and worked on several projects as the Principal Investigator related to archaeology, art heritage, culture, and museum studies in Bangladesh. As an Executive Board Member of the ICOM Bangladesh National Committee since 2020, Sikder Zulkernine has played a vital role in advancing museum development in Bangladesh. His career is marked by a deep commitment to archaeology, cultural studies, and museum studies, with notable contributions to both academic and practical aspects of the field on an international level.

Dr. Bina Gandhi Deori
Deputy Director – Research

Dr. Bina Gandhi Deori holds Ph.D from Deccan College, Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune . She was teaching in the Department of Ancient Indian History Culture &Archaeology, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan (India) before joining SCC on deputation.

Dr. Deori was awarded Nehru Trust for the Indian Collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum, UK Visiting Fellowship 2014-15 and the CRASSH Charles Wallace India Trust Fellowship to study the collections from Northeast India at the Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology (MAA) and at the Centre of South Asian Studies, Cambridge University in 2016.

Dr. Deori was granted the Erasmas Mundus NAMASTE Consortium Grant for academic staff mobility to spend 1 month at the Institute of Ethnology & Cultural Anthropology, University of Warsaw, Poland and Erasmus Mundus-Euphrates scholarship-academic staff mobility at the Dept. of Anthropology, Vilnius University, Lithuania in the year 2015 and 2017 respectively.

In 2019, Dr. Deori was selected to participate in capacity building workshop on Nature-Culture linkages in heritage conservation in Asia and the Pacific, at the University of Tsukuba, Japan in cooperation with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, IUCN, ICCROM and ICOMOS.

Dr. Deori has presented papers in several national as well as international conferences and worked in several projects documenting the cultural heritage of the indigenous communities of Arunachal Pradesh as the Principal Investigator.

Sonam Tenzin
Culture Specialist (Programmes)

Sonam Tenzin has served in various capacities under the Royal Government of Bhutan for 19 years. His previous engagements are Deputy Chief Archivist, National Library and Archives, Bhutan; Head, National Museum of Bhutan, Paro; Cultural Officer, Archeology Technical in the Archaeology Section, Division for Conservation of Heritage Sites, Department of Culture and Dzongkha Development, Ministry of Home Affairs; Program Officer, Department of Culture; Archivist in the National Library and Archives of Bhutan. He is the recipient of Royal Civil Service Bronze medal from His Majesty the King of the Bhutan for 10 years of service as a civil servant. Currently, he is being deputed as Cultural Specialist (Programmes) at the SAARC Cultural Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka from July 2024.

Apsara Karunaratne
Culture Specialist (Research)

Apsara Karunaratne holds BA degree (Second Class Upper) in English, International Relations, Demography and Master’s in International Relations from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Her previous engagements are Operational Manager, Social Scientists’ Association (February 2023-May 2024); Research Assistant, SAARC Cultural Centre (2011-2023); project coordinator, University of Colombo (2008-2011); Visiting Lecturer, Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (2016-2022); Assistant Course Director and Course Director, Diploma in Advanced English (DAE) for Administration and Academic Purposes, Extension Courses in English, Dept. of English, University of Colombo (2014-2019); Member of the Editorial Board (2016-2021), Defence and Security Journal, Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC), Batalanda, Sri Lanka. She has contributed to more than 30 publications as editor, copy editor and translator. She joined the SAARC Cultural Centre as Culture Specialist (Research) in June 2024.

K. Keerthi Gunathilaka
Administrative Officer

K. Keerthi Gunathilake obtained his Bachelor of Arts Special Degree (Second Class Upper) in Fine Arts in 1997 and his Master’s Degree in Mass communication in 2005 from the University of Kelaniya. He first joined Korea Ceylon Co-operation Pvt Ltd as a senior executive officer and thereafter joined the Ministry of Education as a development officer from 2002 to 2008. Then he joined the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as cultural promotion officer and consequently was transferred to Foreign Cultural Relations unit in 2009. He joined the SAARC Cultural Centre as the Administrative Officer in 2010.

K. A. Sanjaya Rasika
Finance Officer

Sanjaya Rasika is a dedicated accounting professional with over 12 years of experience. Throughout his career, Sanjaya has worked with a range of clients, from small businesses to large corporations in Accounting and Finance. He has previously worked with leading brands such as Prima Group Sri Lanka. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and is a Member of AAT Sri Lanka. He is currently reading for the strategic level exam at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.

Mahinda Sumanasekara Bandara
Documentation Officer/Librarian

Mahinda Sumanasekara Bandara obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Special Degree in Languages and Culture from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and Master of International Relations (MAIR) from the Colombo University. He also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Information Management (PGDIM) at National Institute of Library and Information Sciences (NILIS), University of Colombo.  He started his career as the Cultural Promotion Officer at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and subsequently joined the Ministry of Cultural Affairs to handle the International Cultural Relations including UNESCO and SAARC affairs.  He joined the SAARC Cultural Centre as the Documentation Officer and Librarian in 2012.  He is responsible for the SCC Resource Centre, media and publicity.

Harishnath Nadarajah
Programme Assistant

Harishnath Nadarajah obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Madras, India and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.  As part of his MBA industrial training component, he went on a study tour to the Yunan Normal University of China in 2017. He also holds a Diploma in Human Resource Management from Madras Christian College, India.  He worked as Operations Executive in the private sector prior to joining the SCC in 2017.

D. Kalpani M. Gunathilaka
Research Assistant

Kalpani Danangalage obtained her Bachelor of Arts (Special) in Economics from Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, graduating with a Second Class Upper Division. She has served as Executive Research Analyst at Arithmos (Pvt) Ltd. (August 2021-April 2022) and as Research Assistant at the Institute of National Security Studies (INSS), established under the Ministry of Defence (April 2022-July 2024). She is an alumna of the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies, USA, and has participated in several seminars and workshops, both in-person and virtually, representing Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Defence. She has published numerous research papers, articles, and abstracts on various local and international platforms. Her research interests include economics, labour economics, microeconomics, economic security, and cultural economics. She joined the SAARC Cultural Centre as Research Assistant in August 2024.

Himasha Mendis
Computer Operation Officer

Himasha holds Bachelor of Technology in Multimedia & Web Technology from the University of Vocational Technology in Ratmalana, Sri Lanka. She has completed two-year Diploma in Information Communication Technology in 2018 from the College of Technology in Maradana, Department of Technical Education & Training (DTET) of the Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training of Sri Lanka. Prior to joining the SAARC Cultural Centre in 2024, she worked as an intern video editor (news) at Swarnavahini media channel, ICT trainee at Ceylon Electricity Board Ratmalana, Office of the Regional Director of Health Services – Kalutara and Sri Lanka Air Force Colombo 02.

Chandana Hiththatiyage
Administrative Assistant

Chandana Hiththatiyage holds BSc in Business Administration from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He has also obtained intermediate level qualification from the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) in Sri Lanka. He started his career as a Trainee Accounts clerk and Computer Operator at the Rural Development Bank Head Office in Matara. Subsequently he worked as an Accounts Clerk and Computer Operator at the Vocational Training Authority District Office in Matara and as an Underwriter at the Ceylinco Insurance PLC. He joined the SAARC Cultural Centre as Office Assistant in 2010 and worked as Cover-up Administrative Assistant (February-May 2024). He was appointed as Administrative Assistant in June 2024.

K.G. Madusha Lakmali Samarasinghe
Finance Assistant

Madusha Lakmali obtained her BSc in Business Administration as an external candidate from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. She has obtained her Chartered Accountant Intermediate Level certificate from the Institute of Chartered Accounts of Sri Lanka and now working towards her Business Level Certification. She has obtained her Diploma in Accounting and Business Studies from the Institute of Certified Management Accountants.  She had worked for 11 years as an Accounts Executive in the private sector prior to joining the SAARC Cultural Centre in 2017.

Mass Kumala Mass Aron
Documentation Assistant

Mass Kumala Mass Aron holds a three-year Higher Diploma in Library and Information Science at University of Kelaniya. She has completed a Certificate in Computer Applications at Lumbini College and a Certificate Course in English Language at University of Colombo. She has completed a practical training program conducted by the Library and Information Service in National Institute of Education. Prior to joining the SCC, she has worked as Librarian and Assistant Librarian at Lyceum international school (2011-2020), Librarian at Giggles International School (2009-2011), Assistant Librarian at Lyceum International School (2004-2007).

Uvini Kithma Diyawadana
Computer Operator

Uvini completed a diploma in web designing at IDM Nations Campus, Galle in 2012. She has also obtained certificates in “English for Job-seekers” and “Information & Communication Technology” and a two-year Diploma in Information & Communication Technology in 2015 from the College of Technology in Galle, Department of Technical Education & Training (DTET) of the Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training of Sri Lanka. She is currently pursuing Bachelor of Technology in Software Technology at the University of Vocational Technology in Ratmalana, Sri Lanka. Prior to joining the SCC, she has worked as Computer Trainee at the Department of Education of the Southern Province, Sri Lanka, Computer Trainee at Sri Lanka Telecom PLC Sri Lanka, and Information Technology Assistant to the Information Technology Department of Grace Cosmetics Sri Lanka.

Sadeema Kasthuriarachchi
Receptionist

Sadeema holds Bachelor of Arts degree (Economics, Sociology & Sinhala) from the University of Kelaniya and Certificate Course in Computer Science at National Institute of Business Management (NIBM). Prior to joining the SAARC Cultural Centre in 2024, she worked at the Board of Investment as clerk (Clearing & Forwarding) from 2010-2011 and as senior executive (Underwriting, Claims and Finance) from 2013-2017 at the Sanasa General Insurance Company.

Nalin Siribaddana

Ajith Jayawickrama

Priyantha Deepal

Saman Lakmina

K.M. Malki Anuradha