Southampton University Sri Lankan Society

Southampton University Sri Lankan Society (SUSS) is a student society at the University of Southampton.
Having been founded in 2003, the society has grown in strength, and it's mission is to provide the opportunity for people from all cultures to meet, interact and learn about Sri Lankan culture and heritage .
The society represents the Sri Lankan community at the University of Southampton, giving the chance for Sri Lankans and other societies to unite and work together .
Events organised by the society, such as the annual cultural show, have gained popularity amongst students and others around Southampton, the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka. Members are from a variety of nationalities, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Singapore, Egypt, Mauritius, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Kuwait, Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Canada and the United States of America, to name a few.
History
The society was founded in 2003, with the first presidents being Sharmalene Silva and Gehan Soosaipillai. Past presidents include Nandhaka Pieris, Nilika Perera, Luckni Sellahewa, Jayashanki Perera, George Chellapa and Wibodha Dhanik Alkegama. Notable past committee members include Praveen Ranjit, Prasenna Shanthakumar, Thushe Joseph and Ransika De Silva. The current committee includes a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate students from the University of Southampton.
The Logo
The new society logo was designed by Indika Obeysekara on 20th August 2008. The design of the logo has been influenced by the flag of Sri Lanka as well as the representative animal of the University of Southampton, the stag. The lion represents the Sinhalese race, the orange of the stag represents the Tamil race, the green represents the Muslim (Moor) race, the yellow border represents other races in Sri Lanka, the white represents Roman Catholicism, the maroon represents all other religions in Sri Lanka, and finally the four Bo leaves represents Buddhism (standing for 'Kindness, Friendliness, Happiness and Equanimity').
Committee 2008-2009
The current society Presidents are Buddhika Ranasinghe and Sajith Dissanayake. Other society members include Shamarli Mendis (Secretary), Meliza Cyril (Treasurer), Shevan Algama (Events and Publicity), Kaushi Arulpragasam (Events and Publicity), Indika Obeysekara (IT Representative), Aruni Makuloluwa (Undergraduate Representative), and Panchali Kumarasinghe (Undergraduate Representative).
Events
The events begin with the annual Kottu night held at the University of Southampton. Other events are planned throughout the academic year which include social nights out in Southampton and trips to London. There is also an Annual Cultural Show, which involves traditional Sri Lankan games, food, live performances, dancing, and a fashion show. Money raised from these events will be sent to charities in Sri Lanka .
The last society event, 'Yo Machan', which was joint with Southampton University Tamil Society, was held at the Bridge Bar on Saturday November 1st 2008.
The next Sri Lankan Society event, which will also be in collaboration with Southampton University Tamil Society, will be the Annual Cultural Show, celebrating the cultural heritage of Sri Lanka. Acts will include exotic Eastern and Western dances, live performances by numerous artists (including a surprise guest singer), a dramatic comic play (featuring dance and musical performances), among other acts. The Cultural Show will be held in the Turner Sims Concert Hall at the University of Southampton on Saturday 28th February 2009 .
The University of Southampton has been invited to compete in the prestigious annual dance competition, Face Off, hosted by Kings College London Sri Lankan Society. The event will be on 8th March 2009 in the O2 Arena, London .
Contact
#Address: Southampton University Sri Lankan Society, Students’ Union Building, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
#Email: srilanka@soton.ac.uk

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