The National Public Relations Summit 2026 (NPRS 2026), organized by the Department of Mass Communication, University of Kelaniya, was successfully held on 18 June 2026 at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya. The summit brought together a diverse group of stakeholders from across Sri Lanka, including communication and public relations scholars, public relations practitioners, corporate communication professionals, media managers, government representatives, researchers, and other industry experts.

The summit was organized to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the introduction of the Public Relations and Media Management degree programme to Sri Lanka’s state university system and to facilitate discussions on the future development of the public relations profession in the country.

The event was graced by Senior Professor Nilanthi de Silva, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, as the Chief Guest. Among those present were Senior Professor Patrick Ratnayake, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities; Professor Chaminda Abeysinghe, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences; Senior Lecturer Dr Manoj Jinadasa, Head of the Department of Mass Communication; members of the academic staff of the department; and academics and professionals representing the field of public relations and media.

The summit was structured around four thematic sessions. The first session, titled The Evolution of Public Relations Education in Sri Lanka and Beyond, featured Senior Lecturer Dr Manoj Jinadasa, Head of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Kelaniya, and Mr Nimal Gunawardena, Founder, Leader and Strategist of NGage Goodvocacy, Reputation, Branding & Training Consultancy. The second session, titled Practice in the Sri Lankan Public Relations Industry, featured Mr Ashan Jayatilaka, General Manager, Group Corporate Communications, Hayleys PLC; Mr Thanzyl Thajudeen, Managing Director, Mark and Comm (Pvt) Ltd.; and Mr Laksiri Wickramage, Deputy Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Derana Media Network. The third session, titled Government Public Relations in Sri Lanka, featured Dr Roshini Dissanayake, Additional Secretary for Regional Administration Reforms, Ministry of Public administration, Provincial Council and Local Government; Assistant Superintendent of Police F. U. Wootler, Media Spokesperson, Sri Lanka Police; Mr Chathura Weerasekara, Director, Public Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment & Tourism; and Brigadier F. Joseph USP, Director Media and Military Spokesman, Ministry of Defence while the fourth and final session, titled The Future of Public Relations and Media Management Education and Research in Sri Lanka, featured Mr Mushthak Ahamed, Chief Operating Officer, HardTalk (Pvt) Ltd; Ms Shehara De Silva, Chairperson, Optima Design International; and Mr Susara Dinal, Group Chief Executive Officer, EAP Broadcasting Company Limited.