South Asian Heritage Month

Amplifying our South Asian Community.

From 18th July until 18th August we're celebrating South Asian Heritage month. This month is dedicated to amplifying our South Asian communities at NEXT.

Across NEXT many of our people have strong connections to South Asia. We're committed to celebrating their heritage and contributions.

This month you can get involved and find out more about South Asian culture and also hear from some of our teams across NEXT who tell us more about their heritage and what they are proud of.

Mini Department
Pack

Join us in celebrating and acknowledging the connections that shape our communities at NEXT.

This mini pack contains activities for you and your colleagues to get involved in to celebrate South Asian culture.

Get Involved

Our South Asian Community Stories

This month we hear from our South Asian employees at NEXT.

We value the diverse backgrounds of our teams, many of whom have strong connections to South Asia.

Click below as we celebrate and learn more about their heritage and what they are proud of.

Stories Here

NEXT Technology Sri Lanka

As we celebrate South Asian Heritage, we're spotlighting an important part of NEXT - our teams in Sri Lanka!

Based in the World Trade Centre in Colombo, this is home to some of our NEXT Technology team, made up of highly talented and diverse individuals who are crucial to our global Tech infrastructure. This month, we celebrate the contributions of our Sri Lankan colleagues and their role in shaping the future of NEXT.

Building NEXT Tech Talent in Sri Lanka

We spoke to Kish, a Recruitment Business Partner at NEXT about the 6 months he worked in Sri Lanka at the Technology Recruitment Centre as part of his role.

Kish also has South Asian Roots, with his grandparents' heritage from Gujarat in India. They then moved to East Africa where his parents were born. He says he is "incredibly proud of the importance of family in my South Asian heritage", expressing the importance of extended family.

As a Recruitment Business Partner, Kish's goal was to help find the best Tech professionals in Sri Lanka who were interested in working at the World Trade Centre office in Sri Lanka with the aim of eventyually moving them to our UK Tech Teams.

Some of Kish's most memorable moments in Sri Lanka was visting the beaches in Mirissa and Weligama. One of his most unforgettable memories was feeding the elephants at the Pinnawala Elephant Sanctuary. He also managed to catch Asia Cup Cricket final too!

Everyone Kish met in Sri Lanka was incredibly friendly and proud of their country. A key takeaway is that the island is truly beautiful!

My Sri Lankan Heritage

"Sri Lanka always welcomes you with open arms, and I hope many will experience its beauty."

Meet Rakitha, a Content Creator for NEXT Technology in Sri Lanka. Rakitha tells us about his Sri Lankan Heritage and all things important to him.

Rakitha was born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka, known as the "Pearl of the Indian Ocean".

Rakitha said, "What makes Sri Lanka special is its people and their vibrant cultures. Despite past challenges, we've united and shared our heritage."

"Unity and togetherness across all cultures are so important to me. Though I'm Christian, my Dad's side is Buddhist. Growing up, I celebrated Avurudu (Sinhala and Tamil New Year) with his family, enjoying games and fireworks. Our neighborhood Christmas events also embraced everyone, regardless of belief. This shared experience means the world to me."

Rakitha wishes that more people understood Sri Lanka's incredible diversity and all it offers. "As an island, we sometimes get overlooked, but there's so much to explore, from coasts to mountains. Sri Lanka always welcomes you with open arms, and I hope many will experience its beauty."

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