The Sri Lankan Association in Norway (SLAN) was established on 8th December 1984. About 30 Sri Lankans who lived in Oslo and the surrounding area at that time, participated at the inaugural meeting. There was no doubt that all the participants yearned for a common ground to share their native and cultural interests. They decided to establish an association and the Sri Lankan Association in Norway
was born! From the very beginning, it has been clear that the association should be politically neutral, and that membership would be open to all, regardless of ethnic or religious background. The association has always reflected the ethnic and religious diversity in Sri Lanka. Through out history Sri Lanka has been an important trading center in south East Asia, where travelers and businessmen gathered and also has been occupied by foreign powers. Sri Lankans from their side, have openly welcomed and accepted new cultures, which is clearly reflected in the adherents of many different religions living side by side: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Today the membership of SLAN and the executive committee embrace all ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, and we are proud of it. The association's primary purpose is to provide a common ground for the members to gather and learn, share, use, cultivate, or promote Sri Lankan culture, language, sports, etc. In addition, the association should undertake some humanitarian and volunteer work in Sri Lanka, initiate arrangements to strengthen the cooperation between Norwegians and Sri Lankans as well as support diversity and integration work in Norway. In 2009 there was an article in the newspaper, Aftenposten titled "Integration without forgetting the roots", written by a guest who attended the SLAN Christmas party. She described succinctly how SLAN balanced the celebration between Sri Lankan and Norwegian culture, and how it promoted the integration towards Norwegian society while enhancing and promoting Sri Lankan culture. We all should admire the SLAN for its ability to focus on the individual, regardless of background. The SLAN Christmas party, celebration of New Year evening and Sri Lanka's Independence Day, Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April, are among its annual activities. Mother tongue teaching, mainly for second generation Sri Lankans in Norway is another useful arrangement SLAN has undertaken for several years, with successful results. SLAN during her 25-year history has held many cultural events to promote Sri Lankan culture - dance, drama, song and music. SLAN has also initiated and maintains a scholarship program for poor children in Sri Lanka. Cricket is one of national sport in Sri Lanka and popular in many countries in Asia, England and Australia. SLAN Cup of Cricket is a popular sport tournament which it organizes each summer. Each year 10-12 teams play for the SLAN Cup. It is a sporting event that brings together young people across national boundaries and group identity. In addition, SLAN arranges activities like walk in Norwegian woods, skating and skiing which counts as typical Norwegian winter activities. We know that our members appreciate these arrangements as the activities cause physical exercise as well as strengthen the integration process in the Norwegian society. SLAN has approximately 200 members, most of them are from Oslo region, but also scattered all over Norway. The volunteer spirit of SLAN makes the association in a position to carry out many activities that create pleasure, promote health, strengthen integration and most of all cultivate a sense of belonging. Some members do more than others, but over the last 25 years we have together spent thousands of hours, and other resources to achieve all these. Everybody who provides volunteer efforts for the success knows how difficult these engagements are! But the pleasure and the positive results make the efforts worthwhile and totally fulfilling!
