ADIC: Sri Lankan "NGO of the Year"

ADIC presents itself as a well-recognized resource centre, promoting demand reduction of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs nationally and internationally. This was indeed confirmed when the national newspaper The Nation named ADIC The Sri Lankan NGO of the year on the 29^th of December.

The Nation comments that Sri Lanka has thousands of non-governmental organizations (NGO) and the activities of some of them have brought a balk mark on the term “NGO.” But not all NGOs are of the same category. “There are some NGOs which strive for the wellbeing of the people of the country in different ways”, says The Nation and continues: “Last year, Alcohol and Drug Information Center (ADIC) stood out for its campaign for pictorial warnings on cigarette packets. “

Read the article in The Nation here.

The Director of ADIC, Mr. Pubudu Sumanasekera (picture right), says in a comment that the appreciation from The Nation is a motivation to all who have been working with ADIC over the last more than 25 years. “This is a great achievement of ADIC Sri Lanka and great news for every one working for a better world. All at ADIC are thrilled, all board members, staff and all our volunteers… I cannot image a greater way to start the new year”.

At the same time the ADIC Director is well aware of challenges facing NGOs which are working for the prevention of alcohol, drug and tobacco problems: “In the year 2013 we faced many challenges. It is obvious as we work against multinational companies and individuals who have huge vested interests. The success of ADIC shows that the power of people can go beyond the power of money and profit.”

Read Sumanasekera’s blog post here.

ADIC was launched in 1986 as a national resource centre with a view to enhance the documentation, advocacy and campaigning on alcohol and drug issues in Sri Lanka. The initiative was taken by FORUT, which for many years served as the main funding partner of ADIC. This role was later shifted from FORUT to IOGT-NTO Sweden.

The Alcohol and Drug Information Centre in Colombo has over the years developed and implemented many innovative and effective prevention programmes and campaigns. At the ADIC web site - http://www.adicsrilanka.org/ - you can see examples from some of them.

You can follow ADIC on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/adicsrilanka