Sri Lanka Foundation (SLF) the National Centre for Leadership, Education and Training, is a state entity directly under the purview of the Presidential Secretariat, registered under the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission as a certificate awarding institute. The Academic Arm of SLF operates under five academic units which strive for excellence in their chosen academic area namely, Social and Institutional Development, Business and Enterprises Development, Psychology and Counseling, Language and ICT, Tourism and Hospitality Management. SLF also has two other units the Well Being Centre which provides programmes related to the improvement of both physical and mental health of individuals and cooperate wellness and the Digital Film Academy which provides professional courses and experiences in the fields of Cinema and Television. SLF is also enriched with infrastructure and facilities to be sighted as a premier Educational and Training Centre.
The Psychology and Counseling Unit of SLF has an eminent resource panel consisting of both inhouse and visiting psychologists. The academic arm of the PCU conducts the National and Higher National Diploma in Counseling and Psychology, customized workshops for different categories of professionals and also counseling sessions at the Well Being Center. These programmes are conducted by professionals in the field of Psychology, Clinical Psychologists and Counselors.
Experienced Researchers, Consultants, Social Workers, Professionals and Experts in relevant fields conduct research, national and international level projects as well as training programmes with the Research and Project arm of the Psychology and Counseling Unit of SLF. The Unit has successfully carried out a project recently “Capacity Building Training Programme for Divisional Social Workers from the North and East” in collaboration with UNICEF. The field officers from the Divisional Secretariats such as Social Service Officers (SSO), Early Childhood Assistants (ECDA), Child Rights Promotion Officers (CRPO) and Women Development Officers (WDO) were trained under this programme. The above two phased residential training programme was evaluated by Experts in the relevant fields.
Currently the Research and Project arm of the PCU is involved with two projects the “Capacity Building Training Programme for Field Officers of the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs” in collaboration with the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs and the project “Sri Lanka : A Society that values Human Dignity” in collaboration with the Family Rehabilitation Centre.
The Research and Project arm of SLF with its well trained and experienced Academic Team has the capacity to conduct national and international level training programmes, research studies and also to monitor and evaluate projects.
SLF has had extensive experience in conducting national level training and advocacy programs of national significance for the past almost 40 years of its existence and has been working with a number of national organizations such as the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs, Ministry of Social Services and other Ministries and international organizations such as UNICEF, UNDP, UNESCO, ILO, Oxfam America, European Union, CIDA, Save the Children Sri Lanka, SIDA, Plan Sri Lanka, Family Rehabilitation Centre and several other UN and International Organizations.
Article by
Ms.Tharani
Ratnavel ( Psychology and Counselling Unit of Sri Lanka Foundation)