Aritha Wickramasinghe Keynote Speaker

Aritha Wickramasinghe, an international finance lawyer by profession, is a pioneering activist in the field of diversity and inclusion.  He has spearheaded a number of initiatives and pro bono projects promoting diversity, equality and human rights – specifically LGBT rights – globally.

He advises lawyers across the Commonwealth challenging laws that criminalise homosexuality, was instrumental in lobbying for the Transgender Equality Inquiry by the Women and Equalities Committee of the British Parliament through his work for Non-Gendered, and is currently advising the UN Human Rights Office on introducing a global curriculum based on equality and human rights. He is also running a campaign to promote LGBT equality and has advised the British government on using business to promote human rights.

Aritha was ranked #1 in the Financial Times 2015 Top 30 Global LGBT Future Leaders list. He was ranked alongside Inga Beale, head of Lloyds (who topped the Business Leaders list), and Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook (who topped the Allies list).

Prior to becoming a finance lawyer, Aritha worked at the Chambers of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Tanzania.