The Ambassador of the United States of America to Sri Lanka, The Honorable Julie J. Chung, Public Diplomacy Officer, Ms. Kelly McCarthy, and Political Officer Mr. Dan Monson visited the University of Peradeniya on the 14th of March 2022. The Ambassador was welcomed by Prof. M.D. Lamawansa, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Peradeniya. Prof. Terrence Madujith, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Peradeniya, Deans of the Faculties, Directors of Postgraduate Institutes, and the Director, International Relations Office. The Vice-Chancellor discussed possible collaborations between the United States of America and the university. Progress of ongoing collaborations, possible future collaborations including research and academic collaborations and exchange especially in the fields of Arts and Culture, Engineering, Health, Management, and Agriculture were discussed at the brief meeting. Honorable Julie J. Chung conveyed her greetings to the University of Peradeniya and expressed her interest in consolidating strong collaborations with the university in various fields discussed.

As the second half of the event, Prof. Arjuna Parakrama and Dr. Manoj Alawathukotuwa from the Faculty of Arts introduced the project “Preservation of Endangered Traditional &Indigenous Ritual Music & Dance Forms, Related Oral Expression and Craftsmanship That Cut Across the Ethnic Divide in Sri Lanka” funded by U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP). Honorable Julie J. Chung officially launched the website of the project which contains the main communities and cultural practices of Upcountry Kandyan dance form Kohomba Kankariya and related oral expression and craftsmanship, North-Eastern Tamil Kooththu dance-drama tradition, and related practices, Adivasi (Indigenous) rituals, cultural activities, the relatively neglected areas of the Polonnaruwa and Batticloa district, and Southern dance- drama ritual performance in the Kolam tradition.