I first stepped into the lecture hall of the BIDTI with a lot of excitement and eagerness for as it was the first time I was learning in detail, things outside the borders of our island that mattered to the country. Every day was a new topic, a new expert and obviously a whole sea of information, ideas and food for thought that triggered our minds. The quality and standard of the course was such that, the syllabus was updated constantly. It was definitely not the traditional classroom where age old theory is taught out of a text book. In fact, within the walls of the BIDTI, we learnt the significance of a firm hand shake. We learnt that we should tilt the soup bowl away from us to sip the last bit. We learnt how transitional justice helps to develop our island in the North and East. We learnt how to make use of Sri Lanka’s strategic location to be a leader in emerging Asia. At the convocation, apart from being officially declared a diplomate, I was honoured to be the recipient ...