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In an effort to unlock a human-first future, Sri Lanka’s Professional Coaching Conference was held recently for the second time, with a focus on keeping people at the centre of progress in a technology-driven world.

The conference, hosted by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), was themed ‘Humanity 5.0 – Unlocking a Human-First Future’. It was a two-day event of transformative conversations, interactive experiences, and global perspectives, with a curated lineup of local and international speakers who shared insight into emerging industry trends and opportunities.

Speaking virtually at the event, ICF CEO and Forbes Coaches Council Member Magdalena Mook said, ‘Humanity is what makes technology useful, not the other way around. As we embrace technology and other AIs, we must remember that the purpose of existence is to support human connection and development.’

She highlighted that against the rapid and incomprehensible state of the world, coaching brought clarity, measurable results, and a human-first approach to navigating complexity. The conference was therefore aimed at exploring how coaching could further empower teams and strengthen communities, while staying grounded in empathy, purpose, and connection.

The sessions were designed around three key impact areas:

The evolution of ‘Me’ – Coaching for personal growth.

Fostering excellence in others – Coaching for collaborative, high-impact teams.

Shaping stronger communities – Coaching for local and global change.

Delivering the keynote address, National University of Singapore Department of Computer Science Associate Professor Suranga Nanayakkara urged participants to rethink the relationship between humans and technology. He outlined three barriers that prevented people from harnessing the full potential of technology.

The first was that digital technology did not match human behaviour. He recalled how he had once mistaken a Yahoo Messenger notification sound for a knock, making him question his capabilities. ‘But I realised what I did made sense. What do you want me to do when you hear a knocking sound? Look at the screen, or look at the door? Technology did not take my human natural behaviour into consideration.’

His second critique was that digital devices often purposefully demanded attention to the screen, distracting and disconnecting people from the world around them. As an alternative, he described proprioception experiments using the ear as a natural interface, allowing users to control devices with a simple touch while remaining present in their environment.

Finally, Nanayakkara reminded the audience that nearly everyone had some form of disability, whether it was a permanent impairment or situational limitation. Using his research on wearable technologies, like insoles that improve gym posture and devices that enabled deaf children to experience music, he highlighted how tech could empower rather than exclude.

Humanity 5.0 was a future where technology helped people become better versions of themselves, he noted, highlighting that, ‘It’s a subtle but significant shift of thinking technology not as a separated tool, but as an integrated extension of our body, mind, and behaviour.’

ICF Global Enterprise Board Chair Shweta Handa-Gupta was also a keynote speaker for the conference. She highlighted that the rapid evolution and development of technology brought opportunities as long as it ensured humanity remained at its centre.

‘We are shaping a future where humanity itself will be the most important innovation. It will be our augmenter, it will be our tormentor,’ she said, emphasising that the challenge was not to compete with machines, but to deepen what made us human. Urging the event’s participants to reflect on their role, she pointed to three qualities that technology could not replicate, which were human intelligence, emotional depth, and ethical leadership.

Handa-Gupta also warned against reducing human potential to mere efficiency, a trap seen too often in workplaces. ‘You can’t beat the machine at efficiency and productivity. Don’t even try that. But is that the goal? Do you want to be a better parent or a more efficient parent? Do you want to be a better lover or a more efficient lover?’

‘The future depended on embracing technology without surrendering the essence of being human. The evolutionary goal was to become more magnificently human, supported by the machine,’ she said.

Day 1 of the conference also featured other speakers like Coaching 5.0 Creator Jazz Rasool, Coach Masters Academy Founder Dr. Ben Koh, and Berlot Group CEO and CRR Global Faculty Executive Team Coach Linda Berlot.

Day 2 included a live coaching demo by EMCC Accredited Team Coach, ICF Mentor Coach and Regal United Founder Subash CV. The event also featured speeches by You’re Not Alone Founder and Back to THAT Author Asmaa Alkuwari and Foundation of Goodness Founder Kushil Gunasekera.

Panellists included Leadership Coach and Hult Ashridge Adjunct Faculty Dr. Mihirini De Zoysa, Shweta Handa-Gupta, Brandix CEO Ashroff Omar, and Deloitte Sri Lanka and Maldives Growth Office Leader Mayura Malagala.

Sri Lanka is set to make a strong impression at the upcoming Asian Youth Games (AYG) 2025 in Bahrain, as the nation fields one of its most promising junior golf teams in recent years. The contingent will depart Colombo on 20 October, with the golf competition scheduled from 23 to 25 October, marking a crucial opportunity for the island’s young golfers to show their talent on a continental stage. All arrangements have been finalised by the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL).

The AYG, held every four years under the Olympic Council of Asia, serves as a launchpad for Asia’s future sporting stars. For golfers, it mirrors the pressure and prestige of the Asian Games and the Youth Olympic Games, offering an elite platform where emerging players gain invaluable international exposure.

Sri Lanka will be represented by Reshan Algama, Jevahn Sathasivam, Adhithya Weerasinghe, and Kaya Daluwatte.

Algama is the country’s highest-ranked junior golfer and is among the top 500 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). He has set new benchmarks in local junior golf through his disciplined approach and technical precision, inspiring a new generation of golfers across the island.

Joining him is Jevahn Sathasivam, a dynamic and powerful striker of the ball who has excelled both locally and abroad. Known for his aggressive yet composed style, Sathasivam brings a competitive edge to the side, combining raw strength with growing tactical maturity on the course.

Adding depth to the team is Adhithya Weerasinghe,

a young golfer originally from Anuradhapura, now studying at Ananda College. Weerasinghe rose through the ranks of the HSBC Junior Golf Program.

On the girls’ side, Sri Lanka’s flag will be proudly carried by Kaya Daluwatte, the nation’s only world ranked junior golfer. At just 17, she has already won the Sri Lanka Amateur Ladies Championship twice consecutively and continues to balance her academic life in India with a busy international playing schedule and studying overseas. She is WAGR 522 at present.

Dialog Axiata PLC, on Wednesday hosted the Dialog Schools Rugby League Awards 2025 at the BMICH.

The prestigious event honoured the champions and runners-up of the Dialog Schools Rugby League 2025, bringing together young athletes, coaches, school officials, and passionate supporters for an evening of celebration.

The Dialog Schools Rugby League was widely recognised as the most competitive schools’ sporting event in Sri Lanka, spanning three divisions, uniting over 90 Schools and 2700 plus players from across the island. This year’s tournament was a showcase of extraordinary talent, skill, and sportsmanship, reaffirming the enduring passion for rugby in Sri Lankan schools.

In Division I, Segment A, Trinity College, Kandy emerged as Cup Champions following a spirited campaign, while Wesley College, Colombo finished as runners-up. The Plate title was secured by D.S. Senanayake College, with St. Joseph’s College taking second place. In the Bowl category, St. Anthony’s College, Katugastota triumphed ahead of Mahanama College, who settled for runners-up honours.

Adding to the fiercely contested battles in Segment A, schools such as S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia, Royal College, Isipathana College, and St. Peter’s College made significant contributions, keeping fans on the edge of their seats throughout the season.

In Division I, Segment B, the Cup was lifted by Prince of Wales College, while Richmond College secured the Plate and St. Aloysius College walked away with the Bowl. Over in Segment C, Maharagama Central College celebrated Cup glory, with Thalduwa Buddhist School clinching the Plate and St. Anne’s College winning the Bowl.

The Division II encounters also produced memorable rugby. Madeena National School, Madawala were crowned Cup champions, S. Thomas’ College, Bandarawela emerged as Plate winners and Nalanda College claimed the Bowl.

The competition extended into Division III, where rugby champions emerged from all corners of the island. Among the winners were Zahira College, Mawanella, Sir John Kotelawala College, Mahiyanganaya National School, Orubendiwewa Secondary School, and Badulla Central College. Spirited runners-up such as Hewaheta Central, Rangiri Dambulu College, Haddaththawa Secondary School, Dehigolla Maha Vidyalaya, and Dharmadutha Central also earned recognition for their outstanding efforts.

Adding a unique dimension to the evening, Dialog also presented the ‘Fan Moment of the Year’ award – a special recognition celebrating the moments that captured the hearts of thousands of rugby fans during the 2025 season.

Dialog Axiata’s commitment to sports extends well beyond rugby. Dialog is also a dedicated sponsor of Sri Lanka’s national cricket, volleyball, and esports teams, as well as the primary sponsor of the Sri Lanka Golf Open. The company promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion through sponsorships with the Netball Federation of Sri Lanka and the National Paralympic Committee, enabling athletes to compete in national and international tournaments. Furthering its commitment to Powering the Champions of Tomorrow, Dialog continues to support the President’s Gold Cup Volleyball, national junior and senior netball tournaments, and schools’ rugby.

Nadine de Klerk played an incredible knock for the ages to get South Africa over the line in their Women’s Cricket World Cup match against host India at Visakhapatnam yesterday.

de Klerk struck 8 fours and 5 sixes in her career best innings of 84* off 54 balls, as South Africa chased down a target of 252 to win by three wickets with seven balls to spare. As soon as the winning hit for six was made, every member of the South African squad, even the senior members, ran out to congratulate her. South Africa were down but not out of it, and it needed something special to register the win and de Klerk produced that. She eclipsed Richa Ghosh’s knock earlier in the day. It was India’s first defeat of the tournament in three matches.

The chase for South Africa started with Kranti Gaud pulling off a blinder in her own bowling to dismiss Tazmin Brits for nought. Sune Luus did not last long and Laura Wolvaardt held one end up as wickets tumbled from the other. South Africa were 81-5 when Chloe Tryon joined her skipper, and they started to get South Africa back into the game, slowly knocking it around and building a partnership of 61 off 97 balls. From there, on it was de Klerk as she added 69 off 60 with Tryon (49 off 66 balls, 5 fours) and a match winning 41* off 18 balls with Ayabonga Khaka (1*) to take the Player of the Match award.

India continued their way of bouncing back from tricky positions to post a more than competitive total of 251. They recovered from 124-6 to 269-8 against Sri Lanka, 159-5 to 247 against Pakistan, and 102-6 to 251 yesterday. That splendid recovery was possible due to Richa Ghosh, who hit the highest score while batting at No. 8 or lower in a Women’s ODI – 94 off 77 balls, surpassing Chloe Tryon’s 74 against Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in May this year.

Ghosh walked in with her team in a spot of bother and opted for an approach, which none of her teammates took. She batted positively and scored at a brisk rate, even while Amanjot Kaur was batting at a snail’s pace. The duo stitched a fifty partnership (51 off 84 balls) before Amanjot (13 off 44 balls) fell to Tryon. Sneh Rana came out with a positive intent and Ghosh was at her power-hitting best as they shared an eighth wicket stand of 88 off 53 balls. The Indian wicketkeeper batter smashed 11 fours and 4 sixes to take her team’s total over 250, which looked almost impossible when she came in to bat. 98 runs came off the last 9.5 overs and India once again found a way to bounce back when their backs were against the wall.

Inserted to bat, India got off to a solid start as they scored 55-0 in the powerplay. They lost seven wickets to left-arm spin in two matches in this tournament. So, there was a lot of focus on how they would fare against the two South African left-arm spinners. Nonkululeku Mlaba was introduced in the 11th over and she struck with her second ball by removing Smriti Mandhana as the latter tried to play a big shot. Post that, the Proteas squeezed the flow of runs and pressure got to India. The home team slipped from 83-1 to 102-6. While Mlaba and Tryon picked two wickets apiece, Sekhukhune and Kapp picked a wicket each. Eventually, it was a whirlwind last 10 overs that brought India firmly back into this game.

Scores:

India Women 251 (49.5) (Pratika Rawal 37, Smriti Mandhana 23, Richa Ghosh 94, Sneh Rana 33, Marizanne Kapp 2/45, Nadine de Klerk 2/52, Nonkululeku Mlaba 2/46, Chloe Tryon 3/32)

South Africa Women 252-7 (48.5) (Laura Wolvaardt 70, Marizanne Kapp 20, Chloe Tryon 49, Nadine de Klerk 84*, Kranti Gaud 2/59, Sneh Rana 2/47)

Jason Thayaparan with his acrobatic defensive play enabled Sri Lanka to notch up a close 1-0 win over mighty Turkmenistan in a key Asian Cup Championship 2027 (Saudi Arabia) group stage game played at Racecourse Stadium yesterday.

Even though the solitary goal was scored by a teammate, Thayaparan became the cynosure of all eyes when he headed away two certain kicks at goal to save his team from defeat and keep their hopes alive in the tournament.

The 138 ranked Turkmenistan had never tasted defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka, but this time around, they were given a torrid time until the last 20 minutes of the game, where they made some teasing moves looking for the equaliser which was foiled by the Lankan defence spearheaded by Thayaparan, who put a swashbuckling performance.

After a barren first half which had some anxious moments of play by both sides, yet no side was able to break the deadlock. After the short whistle it was the hosts who put pressure on the rival camp and took control of the game. In the 68th minute, Manimeldura Leon sneaked through the defence to score a well-executed goal. From there, the game turned out be a ding-dong battle for supremacy as both sides fought hard looking for scoring opportunities, and when referee Tam Ping Wun blew the full time whistle, it was the Lankan camp who walked away with a well-deserved victory.

This is the first instance that Sri Lanka was able to notch up a win over Turkmenistan, who were undefeated until this game. They will travel to Turkmenistan to play the second leg on 14 October.

Employee engagement refers to one’s emotional and intellectual involvement in unique value creation. It is a positive attitude held by employees towards the organisation and its values. This becomes evident when an employee demonstrates a business sense supported by the right competence to perform the job, along with timely commitment. Employee engagement is a crucial factor in establishing a customer experience culture in any organisation.

When service quality drops, leaders often look at training, systems or policy. Too often, they overlook the human factor – employee engagement. The truth is simple: disengaged employees create disengaged customers.

Purpose drives performance

A feeling of psychological connection with the organisation generates Positive Energy Transformation (PET) across the entity. This creates a positive atmosphere in the workplace, where even the most routine tasks are performed with enthusiasm. When staff have a clear understanding of the real purpose for which the business exists, they demonstrate engagement. Thus, employee engagement drives performance.

Staff should be given clear directions and made to feel that they are a vital part of the business. When employees are clear about their mission and understand the bigger picture of the organisation’s existence, they put their heart and soul into delivering outputs that achieve stakeholder delight. Engaged employees experience positive emotions which broaden their thinking, leading them to become more focused and absorbed in their work. This means there is a direct correlation between employee engagement and employee performance.

How can we achieve employee engagement?

Employees are the bloodstream of any business and its most valuable asset. They are the custodians of the company’s brand value. Training is one of the vital human resource management practices that positively affects the quality of workers’ knowledge, skills and attitudes. It can make a significant impact on performance. Employees demonstrate engaged behaviour when they are given training and development opportunities.

The right training is an investment in an employee’s career because it creates higher job satisfaction, enhances performance and increases loyalty to the organisation. The end result is the creation of a positive and productive culture. When an organisation has a highly motivated set of employees, they tend to work with the least amount of supervision.

Constructive training on employee engagement is a primary role of managers. The following are a few steps managers can practise:

1.Identify specific and actionable training requirements of staff

The respective line manager should assess the current level of employee engagement and identify the gaps to be fulfilled, whether they are technical or soft skills development. Staff should never be sent for training merely for the sake of doing so or to tick a box. Every training initiative must have a constructive end in mind.

2.Offer programs tailored to meet the exact needs of staff

Design appropriate learning programmes with specific objectives that align with organisational goals and employee career aspirations. Different programmes may need to be designed and facilitated depending on the level of stakeholder interaction each employee has. Remember, no trainer is effective until he or she understands the exact requirement and current status of the trainee.

3.Obtain a realistic action plan written by the participant

After completing a training programs, the participant should immediately agree with their line manager on specific action points to implement in their current role. These should fall broadly under three areas:

(a) New initiatives – start practising new learning.

(b) Stop doing – discontinue activities realised to be of no value.

(c) Continue doing – maintain practices that continue to add value to stakeholders.

4.Demonstrate line managers’ involvement in progression

Monitor the behavioural changes of staff following their participation in the programme. Demonstrate the line manager’s willingness and involvement in any policy modifications and process improvements that facilitate smoother performance for participants. For example, empowering staff to take immediate decisions may require a policy modification. Similarly, enhancing delivery speed may require process improvements supported by staff and systems.

5.Recognise, reward and publicise best practices

Humans need recognition, and it is a powerful source of inspiration. Employees’ efforts in achieving specific tasks should be genuinely noticed and recognised. Staff must be assured of a career path and given confidence that performance alone will be considered for progression within the organisation. All achievements and best practices should be shared across the organisation.

6.Get regular feedback from staff

Managers must believe that the best ideas do not necessarily come from the top. Those closest to the fire feel the heat the most. The best source of innovation is the people who serve customers daily. They know the sticking points and hear the complaints first. Holding regular friction audits – short sessions where front-line staff identify common pain points – can reveal opportunities that management may not see. These can be treated as valuable learning opportunities.

7.Maintain work-life balance

Managers should walk the talk in emphasising the importance of work-life balance. Employees who feel overwhelmed by their workload or who lack balance may struggle to stay engaged. Training on work-life balance and stress management can help employees prioritise their responsibilities, set boundaries and maintain a healthy balance between professional and personal life.