May 30, 2022
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4min

 



 

 

 

Dr. Mohammed Rushmi Sacquaff, Group CEO of Kitchen & Bedroom, one of the leading names in interior designing and manufacturing of contemporary kitchenette and bedroom furniture, was recently recognized as an Ambassador for Peace by the Centre for Peace Studies (CPS), an institution engaged in activities such as conflict resolution, mediation, peace keeping, human security and peacebuilding.

Dr. Sacquaff was bestowed with this influential title at the 17th International Educational Tourism Research Conference also coinciding with the seventeenth-year anniversary of CPS. An Ambassador for Peace are individuals whose lives exemplify the ideal of living for the sake of others, indulging in practices that promote universal moral values, interreligious cooperation, national and international harmony, respecting UN Rights Charter, responsible public media, and establishing a culture of peace.

They are also those who contribute to fulfill hope of all ages, aiming to create a unified world of peace harmonizing both spiritual and material dimensions of life. Dr. Sacquaff is one of the most sought-after interior designers in the country, and a leading business personality with a visionary and strategic mindset well-balanced with the utmost need to also be morally and socially responsible.

Under his leadership, Kitchen & Bedroom saw tremendous growth including the establishment of a new state-of-the-art, sustainable-centric manufacturing facility to further strengthen its presence in Sri Lanka and to expand into key export markets and showcase the country’s talent and capabilities in designing and developing modern and impactful furniture to the global stage. Dr. Sacquaff was also instrumental in shortening project delivery timelines, improving operational efficiencies and steering innovation and sustainability in all aspects of the business.

Dr. Sacquaff was named ‘Best CEO of the Year’ under the Platinum- Medium Category at BIO Awards, and earlier this year was conferred the Master Project Manager (MPM) certification and designated as a Fellow of the American Academy of Project Management (FAAPM).

Established in 2004 with the aim of promoting reconciliation and social harmony among communities living in Sri Lanka, CPS is at the forefront of addressing deep and underlying causes of conflict, to enhance the roles of UN peacekeeping operations as conflict resolution interventions and to work in post conflict situations to sustain cultures of peace through peace education and conflict resolution training.

Kitchen & Bedroom continues to grow resilient and stronger, with an expanding portfolio of quality, elegant and functional furniture and accessories backed by professional with a wealth of expertise in interior designing solutions. It was awarded as the Best Manufacturing Business and named Outstanding Customer Service Organization at ADFFA this year.

 



 

 

 


October 30, 2017
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8min

‘ One Youth, One Nation phase 2’ is a Youth Peace Campaign organized by the International Youth Alliance for Peace (IYAP)for the 2nd consecutive year .The Sri Lankan youth is still negligent of the International Peace Day. Not only are they unaware of the exact date, they are also ignorant of its significance. This became the reason behind the initiation of the campaign ‘One Youth, One Nation’.

The campaign was centered around acknowledging and celebrating the peace day as well as creating a stage for open communication, sharing stories and networking amongst the youth. Established in 1981 Unanimously under the United Nations Resolution 36/37, the ‘International Day of Peace’ (Peace Day) is observed worldwide every 21st of September. According to the declaration of the UN general Assembly this day is devoted to “commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples.” (UN). The theme for 2017 is “Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All.”

The One Youth, One Nation Campaign phase 2 in Sri Lanka was initiated in order to share the goals and to educate the youth on how to strengthen the ideals of peace within and in the community. IYAP conducted a nationwide massive cluster of workshops on the same day. These amounted to a total of over 60 workshops across 18 districts of Sri Lanka.

“The Sri Lankan Youth are the backbone for inspiration of the community”, says IYAP. Which is why IYAP took measures to create awareness among the young, of the importance of Peace and the relationship between youth and peace. This also included of how they can contribute to build peace in the community. To drive these facts home and as encouragement to share their own stories of peace, testimonies from a diverse group of speakers were shared in these workshops.

Beginning these valuable two hour sessions with an energizing game on peace, in addition to the above the objectives covered and the topics discussed included the following areas as well.  Promoting intellectual dialog and mutual understanding. Enhancing their imagination and thinking power to come up with innovative peace building processes. Promoting peaceful co-existence. Providing development opportunities to empower the younger generation to create positive change. Teaching the young ones how to develop the community by building peace, protecting human rights, empowering youth, etc.

Rolling out this massive campaign and bringing together the youth of the country to become One Youth, One Nation was no mere feat. This is why IYAP reached out and built a collective of partners, some of which are voluntary organizations working with youth. The organizations who partnered with IYAP in this enormous effort of bringing One Youth, One Nation to life are Jaffna Social Action Centre (Jaffna)Family Well-being Centre(Anuradhapura),Tamil National Youth Club, All University Students’ Development Association, Presidents’ Scout Guild (Vavuniya),Rotaract Clubs of Vavuniya, Chullipuram, Chunnakam,ACBT and EDULINK,Enable Lanka Foundation,Uravugal Sangam(badulla), Warriors Youth Club (Puttalam), Chankanai Youth Federation, Sarvodaya,Saraswathy Community Center(Jaffna) and Mannar Institute of Development, Pokkisham(trincomalee), and international parts Active Citizens-British Council Sri Lanka, World Merit Colombo , and CYPAN Sri Lanka. And International Schools such as Ever Green International School(Gelioya) & Alethea International School(Colombo)

At the end of productive two hours, not only did the participants manage to define peace according to their own beliefs, but also opened up a dialog on the depth of the concept of peace. This proved that the IYAP and the collective of organizations were headed in the right direction. This self-education process led the youth to identify the concept of peace to be ‘Positive Change’. The open discussion also included conversations on how can they help build peace and if they are ‘Agents of Positive Change’.

In their own words, given below are a few testimonials on the workshops from the participants, officials and partners.

“Our, ‘One Youth One Nation’ campaign represents young people from diverse socio-economic contexts across the country. While making an effort to understand their values, ideas and beliefs. this campaign helped us unite the younger generation across various communities in order to advocate peace through various measures. We at IYAP, strongly believe that such an effort would undoubtedly empower the young and create an understanding of the society they live in.”  – Thirukumar Premakumar – Founder President of the International Youth Alliance for Peace.

It was a courageous attempt to instill the message of peace and unity within the future of Sri Lanka- Facilitator, Darshatha Gamage.

“The initiative by IYAP through their program of peace building is a small step in getting all of the youth involved for something far more larger than what meets the eye.”Rtr Afraa Mohamed, RAC ACBT

With such a positive outcome for the 21st September efforts, all IYAP has left is to move forward, because this is just the beginning of One Youth, One Nation. In order to bring about ‘Positive Change’, groom ‘Agents of Positive Change’ and become One Youth, One Nation, IYAP along with their collective of partners has a long way to go.

Until then IYAP leaves us with the message:

Peace is to have inner peace as well as peace among the people and the Youth is the foundation of a Nation. Let’s come together to become One Youth, One Nation for the prosperity of Lanka Matha.

To Learn more about us visit www.iyapsl.org or Like us on www.facebook.com/iyap.org



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