The Routes We Take Marks Milestone for Sri Lanka’s Creative Economy

The Routes We Take (TRWT) concludes its EUNIC Sri Lanka partnership phase at the end of 2025, marking the close of a multi-year collaboration while the project continues under the stewardship of Good Life X. TRWT remains committed to advancing sustainability-led innovation and cross-regional collaboration within Sri Lanka’s creative sector.

Building on its 2024 launch — the digital Creative Green Map now holds 210+ listings, showcasing creatives working across visual arts, performance, design, homeware and interdisciplinary practices, and the multi-regional TRWT programme adoption across Central (Kandy), Northern (Jaffna), Eastern (Batticaloa) and Southern (Ahangama) provinces has led to the subsequent set up pocket collectives.

Speaking with Emma DeSilva, CEO Good Life X and TRWT Project Director, stated: “TRWT was initiated in response to the growing role of creative industries in addressing environmental and social challenges, while recognising that sustainability-led creative practices in Sri Lanka often remain under-acknowledged despite deep roots in traditional craftsmanship and resource-conscious cultural heritage.”

Throughout 2025, the project delivered exhibitions, talks and workshops that strengthened cross-regional collaboration and highlighted demand for platforms linking creativity with sustainable economic models beyond Colombo. In the Southern Province, collaboration between creatives and tourism stakeholders demonstrated new opportunities for community-rooted tourism development.

Concluding, Emma DeSilva stated: “A notable success emerged from the Southern Province, where engagements bridged creative practice with tourism — opening pathways for more community-rooted and sustainable tourism experiences.”

Mahesha Kariyapperuma, a multidisciplinary artist from Kandy, who first exhibited at the Kandy engagement and then again at the Jaffna engagement, shared her experience, noting: “The stagnant cultural landscape was one of the reasons why I really hoped to exhibit in Kandy, and through TRWT we were able to exhibit in our home city for the first time, leading to the set up of our own artist collective in Kandy. Having the opportunity to then be a part of the Jaffna engagement allowed me to see the cultural similarities, and experience modern, cultural art and design - learning from the Jaffna artists..”

Organised by EUNIC Sri Lanka — comprising Alliance Française and the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Goethe-Institut, British Council, Swiss Embassy, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Embassy of Italy — with the support of the EU Delegation, and implemented by Good Life X Pvt Ltd, TRWT responded to the growing role of creative industries in addressing environmental and social challenges. While sustainability and circular principles are deeply rooted in Sri Lanka’s traditional craftsmanship and cultural practices, they often remain under-recognised within formal creative and economic narratives.

In 2025, the project was delivered in partnership with Beyond Rhizome: Artistic Exploration (Kandy), Yarl IT Hub, Olai and the Sri Lanka Archive of Contemporary Art, Architecture & Design (Jaffna), Dreamspace Academy (Batticaloa) and Sarana Sri Lanka (Ahangama), with Good Life X providing strategic oversight and coordination across regions.

As its legacy, The Routes We Take leaves behind a publicly accessible Creative Green Map - which remains open for new additions, and newly launched capacity-building video modules (also available for public use via the TRWT  website https://therouteswetake.com/). 

About GLX

Good Life X (GLX) designs regenerative solutions for South Asia's transition from extractive to regenerative economies. Since 2018, the organisation has partnered with over 200 businesses across multiple sectors to create strategies where profit and purpose aren't trade-offs. Through programmes, frameworks, and cross-sector collaboration, GLX guides businesses to operate in ways that restore rather than extract.

About EUNIC

EUNIC – European Union National Institutes for Culture – is Europe’s network of national cultural institutes and organisations, with 36 members from all EU Member States and associate countries. EUNIC Sri Lanka - consisting of Alliance Française and the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Goethe-Institut, British Council, Swiss Embassy, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Embassy of Italy, with the support of the EU Delegation, adopts an integrated approach to building cultural relations and creative collaborations and supporting diversity.