Graduate Certificate of Humanitarian Leadership graduate, Amenthi Jasinghe, was awarded Alumni of the Year at the Deakin University 2020 Alumni Awards ceremony on 8 October 2020.
With a marketing background, Amenthi had a breakthrough after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami when she realised she wanted to use her talents for more meaningful work. “I started to work in a small local disability organisation—and it was the most rewarding time of my life.”
Amenthi went on to head World Vision Sri Lanka’s Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs team. She’s worked at World Vision in Mozambique, Nepal and South Sudan, and at Plan International in Sri Lanka and Motivation Charitable Trust in the UK. She is now a consultant specialising in disaster management and grant acquisitions, and with extensive international development and humanitarian program experience.
In 2013, Amenthi enrolled in the Graduate Certificate of Humanitarian Leadership, a ground-breaking program designed by practitioners, academics and leadership experts.
I have to say that the Graduate Certificate of Humanitarian Leadership was the most life-changing leadership course I had ever been on.
The Graduate Certificate of Humanitarian Leadership is an intensive leadership program specifically for humanitarians. The eight-month course is designed by an expert group of humanitarians, academics and leadership specialists to transform the leadership offered by humanitarians and their organisations.
“I’m happy to say the Graduate Certificate of Humanitarian Leadership made me look at my staff differently,” Amenthi explained. “To find out truly where they could go with the strengths that they had.”
In her acceptance speech Amenthi thanked Deakin University and the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership’s Dr Phil Connors and Stephen McDonald for creating such a life-changing course for all humanitarians.
“This award is completely unexpected. I am proud to say that i am an aid worker because I share this platform with so many people who are completely and utterly selfless, and i really want to honour other aid workers out there with this award.”
You can watch Amenthi’s full acceptance video here:
Applications for the Graduate Certificate of Humanitarian Leadership are open. Apply now to become the best humanitarian leader you can be and unlock your potential to transform the aid system.
