By Roy Denish
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — South Asia’s leading media voices will converge in Colombo to explore the future of journalism, digital innovation, AI, and audience engagement at one of the region’s most anticipated media conferences.
Prominent journalists, tech leaders and media executives from across South Asia will gather in Colombo next month to discuss the future of journalism and digital transformation at the second annual Media Fest.
The event, organized by the Sri Lanka-India Media Friendship Association, will take place July 11 at The Grand Marquee inside the Taj Samudra hotel. This year’s festival is themed “Staying Relevant in a Changing World.”
Palki Sharma Upadhyay, managing editor at Network18 and host of Firstpost’s “Vantage,” headlines the speaker lineup. Joining her from India are Shailesh Shekhar, chief synergy officer at the India Today Group; Sidhant Sibal, assistant foreign affairs editor at WION; and L.V. Krishnan, chief executive of TAM Media Research India.
The line-up of Sri Lankan speakers includes investigative journalists Dilrukshi Handunnetti, co-founder of the Center for Investigative Reporting, and Shihar Aneez, consultant editor at EconomyNext.
They will be joined by Amal Jayasinghe, Colombo bureau chief for Agence France-Presse; Yuwaraj Athukorala, director at Ada Derana 24; and Romesh Ranawana, group chief analytics and artificial intelligence officer at Dialog Axiata.
Panels on independent digital growth and online video strategy will feature Newswire co-founders Umair Wolid and Azzam Ameen, alongside Bruno Divakara, chief executive of Sri Lanka Vlog.
Santosh Menon, president of the Lanka India Business Association and the festival’s director, said the sessions will focus on audience engagement, newsroom automation, fact-checking and media sustainability.
The daylong conference runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Registration is open for professionals and students, with limited seating available.
