Wadah Khanfar, co-founder of the Sharq Forum and the former Director General of the Al-Jazeera Network, will be in Sri Lanka to deliver the annual Deshamanya M.A. Bakeer Markar memorial lecture to be held on September 10.
Widely regarded as one of the most influential intellectual in the Arab world, Mr. Khanfar will speak on “the Arab Awakening: The Birth of a New Political Paradigm” – a topic that has generated wide interest across the world.
Mr. Khanfar is being invited and hosted by the Bakeer Markar Centre for National Unity [BMCNU], an organisation that promotes the vision of late Bakeer Markar, former Speaker and Governor of the Southern Province. Every year the Board of Governors of the BMCNU organise a commemorative lecture highlighting a significant societal topic and note the continuous steps taken by late Bakeer Markar to bring about national unity.
During his visit Mr. Khanfar will be meeting President Mahinda Rajapaksa, attending a forum co-organized with the Sri Lanka Press Institute with heads of media institutions and meeting several key decision makers.
Until September last year, Mr. Khanfar had been the Director General of the popular satellite network. He now devotes much of his time to Al-Sharq Forum, an independent international network with a mission to develop long-term strategies to ensure the political stability and economic prosperity of the Arab world and greater Middle East.
