YOUTH FOCUS CORPORATE AWARD OF THE YEAR 2021 WIJEYA NEWSPAPERS LIMITED

The Youth Focus Corporate Award of the Year 2021, was won by Wijeya Newspapers Limited, and the award was received by Rishini Weeraratne, Head of Social Media, Editor HI!! Online, The Weekend Online and WNow. The Social Media Team at Wijeya Newspapers is the youngest team in the organization with eighty percent of all team members being below the age of twenty-eight years, and the three youngest team members being eighteen years of age.

At Wijeya Newspapers Limited, the total percentage of employees below the age of 35 years is 70.85%. The organization believes in empowering the youth of Sri Lanka and practices a zero-discrimination policy within the organization; equal employment and growth opportunities are provided irrespective of Age, Race, Religion, Gender or Sexual Orientation. The company consciously invests in content in both Print, Electronic and Digital Media that will motivate and inspire the youth, and also content that helps create a positive social media ecosystem in Sri Lanka.

POSITIVE SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER OF THE YEAR 2021

Hirushi Jayasena, Associate Editor, HI!! Online and popular Talk Show Host; In Conversation with Hirushi Jayasena on Daily Mirror Online and Lankadeepa Online, is a Sri Lankan Musical Artist active in the local and South Indian music industry. She is a Graduate in Psychology and Medical Studies from the University of Central Florida, and Postgraduate Intern at Harvard University, USA. She pursued her Masters in Business from University of Wales whilst pursuing her career in media and music. 

BLOGGER OF THE YEAR 2021

Conceptualised in October 2020, Food for Thought (@foodforthoughtlk) is an online platform that is co-owned by Humaira Azeem and Zara Esufally. Having graduated with bachelor’s degrees in Nutrition and Food Science and Psychology respectively, they were struck by the rampant spread of misinformation in both fields upon their return to Sri Lanka. Realising that the public was growing increasingly concerned with their mental and physical health in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, they started this venture in the hopes of spreading education and awareness regarding the importance of taking a holistic, sustainable approach to wellbeing. The duo share posts and stories with regards to nutrition, exercise, mental health, and other related areas. Their aim is to build a national and international community of like-minded people in order to facilitate real, progressive change with regards to the discourse surrounding nutrition and mental health. In December 2020, Humaira and Zara were recruited to produce weekly videos for Daily Mirror’s social media channels; Daily Mirror Online, which was then expanded upon in January 2021 to include weekly print articles that were published in the Daily Mirror newspaper’s Saturday lifestyle section, The Weekend Online.  Since September 2021, they have both returned to the UK to pursue their Masters in Obesity and Clinical Nutrition (Humaira) and Clinical Psychology (Zara) in order to expand their knowledge in their respective fields. They continue to curate content for the Food for Thought video series on Daily Mirror Online from UK. 

ACTIVIST OF THE YEAR 2021

Ninuri Asalya De Silva, Social Media Executive, Wijeya Newspapers Limited, Event Host, HI!! Online and Author of popular Column, Pet Talks on the Daily Mirror Newspaper (The Weekend Online), is also the Founder of Adoptees LK. Adoptees LK, run by a volunteer team led by Ninuri, connects fosters who find abandoned animals to loving adoptive homes islandwide. Evoking a community effort to reduce and control the stray animal population in Sri Lanka, it relies on social media to achieve a smooth, prompt and hassle-free adoption. Whilst, it primarily focuses on the importance of "Adopt, Don't Shop", it routinely raises awareness regarding local animals and promotes education materials on neonatal care and animal welfare. On the field, Ninuri conducts consecutive rescue rounds, where she regularly provides shelter and care for abandoned litters till they secure their forever homes.

Trailblazing Youth of the Future Award

Gehan Cooray is a Hollywood based Actor, Classical Baritone Singer, and Independent Filmmaker, who is the 2021 recipient of the Trailblazing Youth of the Future Award. At the dawn of 2021, Gehan’s first Hollywood feature film THE BILLIONAIRE was cinematically released in Sri Lanka. The film won the Best Comedy Feature Award at the 2020 Burbank International Film Festival. Whilst visiting Sri Lanka to release and promote the film, Gehan was invited by Daily Mirror Online to host his very own talk show, GEHAN COORAY’S MEETING OF THE MINDS, in which he discussed topics ranging from Cinema, Drama and Music through Psychology, Education and Social Issues, to Spirituality and Religion. This talk show has been enjoyed immensely not only by Sri Lankan viewers, but also by American viewers and others around the globe. As soon as he returned to the United States this summer, Gehan portrayed the leading man in a production of Massenet’s opera CENDRILLON (the French version of Cinderella), at the prestigious Miami Classical Music Festival. Gehan also released his first Vocal Album, CLASSICAL & COOL, which he had recorded in Los Angeles with Grammy Award Winning Musicians Russell Ferrante and fellow Sri Lankan American, Hussain Jiffry. The album is now available on all major music platforms including Spotify, iTunes / Apple Music, and Amazon. Gehan also recently launched Season Two of his talk show for Daily Mirror Online; the premiere episode of which featured the esteemed Golden Globe Award Juror, Patricia Danaher. As the rest of the season unfolds, Gehan will continue to feature other distinguished American guests on the show, including one or two fellow Sri Lankan Americans who have made it big in Los Angeles and New York. Gehan is a proud alumnus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2009 with B.A degrees in Dramatic Arts and Psychology.