Vinya ARIYARATNE

Vinya Ariyaratne, M.D., is president of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement of Sri Lanka, an NGO founded by his father in 1958 and inspired by Buddhist principles. He was also the founding chairman of Deshodaya Development Finance Company (DDCC), Sarvodaya’s microfinance arm. Ariyaratne has been a Visiting Fellow at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and a Lecturer at the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, and Brandeis University. He is currently involved in conflict resolution and peacebuilding also acted as the lead facilitator for the One Text Initiative and as a member of the Council of the Arigatou Foundation’s Global Network for Children. He holds a doctorate in medicine from De La Salle University in the Philippines, a doctorate in community medicine from the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine of the University of Colombo, and a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University.