Welcome to Venasa News & Events
Stay updated with community activities, advocacy actions, trainings, and key milestones of Venasa Transgender Network.
Community Events
Advocacy Actions
Trainings & Workshops
Emergency Updates
2024
2024 DEC 02
HIV Day Walk
This community awareness walk was organized to promote HIV prevention, reduce stigma, and encourage inclusion and understanding. The event brought together community members, advocates, and partners to stand in solidarity and spread accurate information about HIV.
2024 OCT 03
Breaking Barriers Empowering Transgender Individual Identity Documents
Breaking Barriers Empowering Transgender Individual Identity Documents .The Final Event in The Series Of Awareness Program For Government Officials .Generously Funded By The Us Embassy Of Sri Lanka With The Partnership U.S. Embassy Colombo, Sri Lanka SDJF
2024 AUG 16
moderated the "We’ve Been Here" panel discussion
Our Executive Director Thenu Ranketh was the moderator of the “We’ve Been Here” panel discussion on the LGBTIQ+ history of Sri lanka which was conducted by Delete Nothing.
2024 JUL 16
National French day
Vensa transnetwork our organization received an invitation from French embassy of Sri Lanka to celebrate National French day. Our executive director thenu Ranketh has participated to it on July (date) 2024.
2024 AUG 16
moderated the "We’ve Been Here" panel discussion
Our Executive Director Thenu Ranketh was the moderator of the “We’ve Been Here” panel discussion on the LGBTIQ+ history of Sri lanka which was conducted by Delete Nothing.
2023 / 2022
2023 DEC 03
HIV day Walk
A message for parents with a child who has a developmental disability.
2023 NOV 01
Awareness session at Thibirigasyaya DS office organized by H2H organization
We Heart to Heart Sri lanka Organization have organized an awareness programme adjoining with GRC and Circular Presided over by Mrs Priyatha Disanayaka, Divisional Secretary Thimbirigasyaya to make aware about Gender equality without any inequalities to be seen to their area Grama Niladhari individuals.
2022 MAR 28
The metamorphosis of transsexualism in Sri Lanka : Will the butterfly soar?”
2022 SEP 27
Paper article by Thenu Ranketh
A message for parents with a child who has a developmental disability.
2021
2021 MAR 09
Progressive Women's Collective Women's Day
2021 MAR 09
For the rights of women
A message for parents with a child who has a developmental disability.
2023 MAR 08
Training for Community Based Organisations
2020
2020 JUN 19
Pride Event
FemCon Pride 2020 is a Town Hall–style discussion event that brings together activists, researchers, legal professionals, journalists, and community leaders to openly discuss issues related to gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, media, law, and social justice.
This Town Hall creates a safe, inclusive space for:
Open dialogue and community voices
Sharing lived experiences of women and LGBTQ+ communities
Discussing social, legal, and cultural challenges faced by marginalized groups
Exploring solutions, advocacy strategies, and policy-level change
Overall, FemCon Pride 2020 Town Hall aims to strengthen understanding, solidarity, and collective action by connecting different voices and experiences, and by encouraging meaningful conversations that promote equality, dignity, and inclusion for all.
2020 JUN 20
Beign Human
Welcome to FemCon Pride 2020! This is our Town Hall event with Ephraim Shadrach (Women and Media Collective / Chathra / Community Welfare Development Fund) | Thenu Ranketh (Venasa Trans Network) | Pasan Jayasinghe (independent researcher) | Radika Gunaratne (lawyer, journalist) | Kasro Thurai and Moli Margaret (Jaffna Sangam)
2020 JUN 18
Support for the community at Covid Period
The event is organized to support people who are going through a very difficult period, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It recognizes that many individuals are facing emotional pain, stress, and various hardships, and often do not have someone they feel comfortable talking to.
The focus is especially on members of the transgender and broader LGBTQ+ (sexual and gender minority) community, who may be experiencing additional pressure, discrimination, or isolation during this time.
The purpose of the event is:
To offer a listening ear
To provide emotional support and comfort
To let people share their pain, problems, and feelings freely
To remind them that they are not alone
People who are feeling distressed are invited to call the provided phone numbers and speak confidentially with someone who is ready to listen with care and understanding.
2020 JUN 20
Beign Human
This event focuses on family, acceptance, and the lived experiences of transgender individuals within the family system. It highlights the idea that the family is the first and most important social institution a person encounters in life—a place traditionally associated with safety, trust, understanding, acceptance, love, care, and support.
However, the event raises a critical social question:
Do transgender people truly get the opportunity to experience these values within their own families?
The purpose of the event is to:
Create awareness about the challenges transgender individuals face inside their families
Encourage open discussion and reflection on rejection, misunderstanding, and lack of acceptance
Promote empathy, understanding, and inclusion within families and society
Advocate for families to become safe, loving, and supportive spaces for transgender members
Through discussion, storytelling, or awareness activities, the event aims to remind society that family support is essential for personal development and mental well-being, and that transgender individuals deserve the same love, dignity, and acceptance as anyone else.
2020 FEB 22
A public awareness video on transgenders in Sri Lanka
2019/2017
2019 NOV 13
Speaker at the Kandy Society of Medicine Annual Scientific Sessions
2019 FEB 15
ආදරය සහ ලිංගික අවයවය නිසා සමාජයේ කිසි කෙනෙකුට ලේබල් ඇලවීමට කිසි කෙනෙකුට අයිතියක් නැහැ
2016 SEP 16
Issuing Gender Recognition Certificate for Transgender Community
Amendment of Name and Gender on Birth Certificates of the Transgender Community
Transgender people is a broad term used to refer to all individuals whose internal sense of gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. In order to minimize the social difficulties faced by them, the intervention of the Human Rights Commission is highly appreciated. Through this, transgender individuals will be able to enjoy the right to live equally, just like all other citizens of the world, without being stigmatized or labeled merely as “transgender.”
