A Befitting Farewell to Mrs Manil Cooray, Deputy Director, AIBD

On the retirement from services as the Deputy Director of the Institute, AIBD held a befitting farewell ceremony to Mrs. Manil Cooray on 20 June 2014. Manil leaves AIBD after serving the Institute for more than two decades. We wish Manil all the best in her retirement that she so rightly deserves.

Mr Yang Binyuan, Director of AIBD presented her with an engraved plaque as a memento which read “in appreciation and in recognition for the invaluable contributions made by you towards the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD)”.

Speaking at the farewell ceremony Mr Binyuan said “your dedication and commitment to the Institute no doubt spoke highly of your professionalism. As a competent professional as you are, is hard to come by and it has therefore always been a unique pleasure to work with you. It is hard to visualize the AIBD without you and you without the AIBD as you will be dearly missed by all of us”.

Thanking the Director and all her colleagues for the sentiments expressed, Manil reciprocated by saying “I am humbled by your words and for this gracious ceremony accorded to me. It was indeed a great privilege and honour to have been able to serve AIBD and through AIBD the broadcasting organisations of its members, its local & international partners across continents and for the opportunity to come across many learned professional and experienced colleagues from far and near”. These she said were her cherished memories that she looks back with great satisfaction.

Prior to joining AIBD in 1991, Manil served in various capacities at the National Radio & Television Corporations (SLBC & SLRC) of Sri Lanka and as the Assistant Director of the Sri Lanka Television Training Institute (SLTTI). At AIBD she served the Institute as Trainer Methodology, Women & Children, Programme Manager, Senior Programme Manager and later as its Deputy Director.

Graduated from the University of Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocational and Adult Education, advanced training in television production and training methodology at Radio Nederland Training Centre in the Netherlands, Manil’s forte was conducting training as AIBD’s consultant in countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Africa and Central Asian Republics during her tenure. She specialises in human resource development, broadcast training that ranged from gender equality, children to fund-raising in collaboration with international agencies while she played a leading role and endeavoured in achieving AIBD’s Quality Management Certification.

With the retirement of Mrs. Manil Cooray, AIBD has lost an experienced and dedicated member of the Institute. We wish Manil all the best in her retirement that she so rightly deserves.

However as the sentiments expressed by the Director and all her colleagues “you leave this job behind, but you will never be really retired, you are reborn as your own CEO”.