Fourteen secondary school students and three teachers from Paraparaumu College in New Zealand will travel to Sri Lanka in December for a 14-day leadership training programme, beginning on 3 December.
The High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to New Zealand, Prasanna Gamage, hosted the delegation ahead of the trip, the Colombo Gazette reported.
The itinerary
Alongside leadership development activities, the students are to visit Negombo, Galle, Ella, Kandy and Wasgamuwa — a route taking in the west coast, the southern fort city, hill country and a national park.
The briefing
None of the students had been to Sri Lanka before. The High Commissioner briefed them on the country’s history, socio-economic landscape, culture, cuisine and geography, followed by a question-and-answer session in which the group asked about Sri Lanka and its cultural heritage.
The meeting closed with a traditional Sri Lankan tea reception.
Not reported
The report does not say who is organising or funding the programme, whether it is run with a Sri Lankan school or partner institution, or what the leadership training involves in practice.
It does not say whether this is a first exchange between the college and Sri Lanka or part of an established arrangement, and it names no one in the delegation. It gives no departure date from New Zealand and no return date.
Single source. This is a High Commission announcement carried by the Colombo Gazette, which routinely publishes Sri Lankan diplomatic missions’ press material. A search of other verified newsrooms found no independent report.
Note that the Colombo Gazette’s article page appends unrelated archive material below the body — in this case a 2023 Asia Cup cricket item — which is not part of this story.
