Sri Lankan communications professional Meleeza Rathnayake has received the Youth Media & Humanitarian Communications Leader Award at the 7th Youth Top40 Awards 2026, held at Shangri-La Colombo.
The awards, organised by the New Generation Chapter of Sri Lanka, part of Women in Management, recognised 40 young professionals for contributions in leadership, innovation and integrity under the theme “Future Forward – Integrity First.”
Rathnayake was recognised for her work in strategic communications, media relations and humanitarian advocacy. She serves as Media Outreach Officer for South Asia at Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Her previous roles include positions at The Sunday Times, Ogilvy Public Relations and the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society.
The ceremony was attended by Türkiye’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Semih Lütfü Turgut, as chief guest, alongside Sri Lanka Cricket Chairman Eran Wickramaratne and representatives from the diplomatic, corporate and non-governmental sectors.
Rathnayake holds postgraduate and undergraduate qualifications in digital marketing, communications, law and business management from universities in the United Kingdom and is currently reading for the Attorney-at-Law qualification at Sri Lanka Law College.