1999-2019 : Twenty Years of Conversation

‘The Neelan Tiruchelvam Memorial Lecture – 1999-2019: Twenty Years of Conversation’ looks back on the history of the Neelan Tiruchelvam Memorial Lecture Series.  An annual public forum, the Neelan Tiruchelvam Memorial Lecture convenes leading thinkers to examine questions of democracy, justice, and pluralism. This volume commemorates two decades of lectures, capturing a wide range of perspectives from scholars, activists, and practitioners. In these two decades, across contexts and disciplines, the speakers engaged with conflict, identity, governance, and social transformation in Sri Lanka and beyond. Some challenged, others provoked, many reflected. Together, they formed a body of work grounded in critical inquiry and open dialogue, underscoring the enduring value of ideas in shaping just and inclusive societies, the very values that Neelan espoused.