IPM and OPA jointly organize ‘Work-Life Balance’ seminar

From left: Ruchira Gunasekara - Vice President of OPA and Chairperson of the Seminars and Workshop Committee, Ken Vijayakumar – Secretary of the Council, IPM SL, Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri – President of the Council, IPM SL,    Ruwan Gallage – President of the OPA, Lalith Wijetunge – President Elect of the OPA and Past President of IPM SL, Rohitha Amarapala- Immediate Past President of IPM SL, Chairman of the External Affairs Committee of IPM SL

IPM Sri Lanka together with the President, OPA and Seminars & Workshops Committee organized and hosted the seminar ‘Work-Life Balance’ held at the Auditorium of the Organization of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka (OPA) on 18th January. 
The session was conducted by Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri – President, IPM Sri Lanka in his inimitable style. He argued that the ‘myth’ associated with the so called ‘work-life’ balance should be replaced by work-family –society ‘harmony’. 
With a philosophical base and practical basics, he elaborated the need to have such a harmony in pursuing a purpose. Chris Obeysekera, past President of IPM moderated the Q&A session and many interesting and intriguing questions were posed to Prof. Dharmasiri by the members of the audience. IPM hosted all participants to fellowship and dinner at the OPA premises at the conclusion of the seminar.
“I was delighted to conduct the seminar for the professionals in the OPA who are in the forefront of the business community in Sri Lanka. Knowing how to have harmony in life is very important for a professional to be efficient as well as successful” said Prof. Dharmasiri.  
The ‘Work-Life Balance’ seminar was initiated by the Chairman of the External Affairs Committee of IPM Sri Lanka and Immediate Past President – IPM Sri Lanka Rohitha Amarapala and the Deputy Chairman of the External Affairs Committee, Council Member Group Captain Kumar Kirinde and the External Affairs Committee Members. 
Lalith Wijetunge, the President Elect of OPA, who is also a past President of IPM played a key role in initiating the event. The resource person for the seminar Prof. Dharmasiri is also the Director and Chairman of the Board of Management of the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He serves as the Adjunct Professor in International Human Resources Management at the Price College of Business - University of Oklahoma, USA. Dr. Dharmasiri was the recipient of the prestigious IPM Lifetime Gold Award 2014, the highest honor for an HR professional in Sri Lanka. 
IPM Sri Lanka keeps pace with the new trends and concepts in HR by engaging continuously with the business community to share experiences, thoughts and insights in order to enrich and enhance the HR profession.     
IPM was founded in 1959 and was subsequently incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1976. IPM is affiliated to the Asia Pacific Foundation of Human Resources Management and also to the World Federation of People Management Association. 
IPM, being a professional institute is also a constituent member of the Organization of Professional Associations [OPA] Sri Lanka. Currently IPM comprises of over 900 professional members who serve in both public and private organizations.