Udesh Fernando

Udesh is the Director of the Sarvodaya Institute of Higher Learning (SIHL). He holds an M.Sc (International Relations) from Royal Holloway, University of London. His M.Sc. dissertation was titled ‘Reparations for Historical Injustices: Addressing Colonial Injustices in the Twenty-First Century’. He has read for a B.Sc. (Hons) International Relations from the University of London under the academic direction of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He holds a Diploma in World Affairs & Professional Diplomacy from the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute of Sri Lanka (BIDTI). Prior to his appointment as Director, he managed and coordinated a national baseline study on post war Youth attitudes, he managed an International Fellowships programme and several other initiatives at SIHL. He is also a content developer and a visiting faculty member for several higher education institutions. He embarked into the professional field of International Relations through the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations & Strategic Studies. He has managed a formal internship programme for local and international interns. He was also a member of the Kadirgamar Institute strategic planning team. After a satisfactory completion of his tenure at the Kadirgamar Institute, he joined the One-Text Initiative Guarantee Limited as a Programme Promotions Consultant which is an NGO mandated to conduct dialogue on reconciliation and constitutional reforms in Sri Lanka.
He is currently a Vision Council Member for the Global Eco-Village Network (GEN) GENOA Network. He is also a board member for GEN. He has engaged in different leadership and volunteer programmes locally and internationally. He engaged with the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community and held the office of Deputy Curator and subsequently the Curator of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Colombo Hub. He represented Sri Lanka at the Annual Curator’s Meeting and strategic planning workshop at the World Economic Forum headquarters in Geneva- Switzerland. Udesh has diverse local and international experience in representing his organisations. He has also been national coordinator for several faith-based initiatives in Sri Lanka and beyond.
His key scholarly and professional interests are:
Complex Emergencies & Humanitarian Responses, International Human Rights, International Migration, International Security, Decolonisation, Reparations, Diaspora Engagement, Global Environment, Civil Society Transformation, Feminism and Gender studies,