Supported by a French Travel Agency, the Lanka Tongs Challenge 2025 is an innovative and unique initiative that combines art, ecology, and sustainable tourism. It offers young people, particularly Sri Lankan students, the opportunity to take part in a project that blends environmental commitment with creativity. As a local French-speaking agency, Aloka Sanna and our Sri Lankan partner Donga are proud to lead this initiative on the ground, respecting local challenges while promoting the values of solidarity, environmental awareness, and social innovation.
This competition encourages Sri Lankan students to use abandoned flip-flops found on the beaches of Sri Lanka to create works of art. The aim is not only to raise awareness among participants about environmental issues but also to highlight the central role of art in fostering discussions about sustainability, recycling, and responsible tourism development. This project merges French values of environmental responsibility and solidarity with the local reality of Sri Lanka, while also creating an opportunity to promote responsible tourism.
Through this initiative, we encourage participants to become aware of current environmental challenges, particularly plastic pollution affecting Sri Lanka’s beaches. The main objective is to transform abandoned flip-flops into genuine works of art through recycling and upcycling processes. This approach helps reduce marine pollution while promoting a more responsible use of natural resources.
Galle, a historic city located on Sri Lanka’s southern coast, provides an exceptional setting for the Lanka Tongs Challenge 2025, blending cultural and natural heritage. The recycled artworks will be displayed in Galle, a coastal city in Sri Lanka’s Southern Province, known for its rich history, culture, and seaside location. This city is particularly suitable for the project, as it directly faces marine pollution issues, especially due to plastic waste accumulating on its beaches. Like many other coastal regions in Sri Lanka, Galle’s beaches are often overwhelmed by plastic waste. By choosing Galle as the focal point of this project, the Lanka Tongs Challenge 2025 aims to create a direct impact on the local community by raising awareness among younger generations and proposing creative solutions to reduce marine pollution.
This competition is not limited to promoting art and environmental awareness in Galle; it also aims to educate tourists about the importance of preserving natural resources while discovering a unique destination. It highlights Galle’s natural beauty, with its beaches, historical sites, and cultural heritage, while integrating these attractions with eco-friendly initiatives. This project plays a key role in promoting sustainable tourism, creating a link between the region’s tourist appeal and the necessary actions to preserve its environment. It allows visitors to fully enjoy nature and cultural heritage, while ensuring the conservation of natural resources for future generations.
By choosing Galle as the setting, we aim to directly address pollution issues, engaging local younger generations in a creative and positive approach. The goal is also to reconcile tourism and environmental protection, proving that it is possible to discover a destination’s natural beauty while actively contributing to its preservation. As a local French Travel Agency, we are committed to a responsible approach, promoting high-impact actions on the ground while fostering a spirit of respect and dedication to protecting our environment.
Students participating in this competition will have the opportunity to win various prizes. These awards are designed to encourage participation and provide winners with resources to further their studies or projects in fields related to art, sustainability, or environmental sciences.
This project serves as a true catalyst for spreading eco-conscious values, encouraging collective awareness of the importance of preserving our environment. Through this initiative, Aloka Sanna builds a symbolic bridge between foreign visitors, particularly French tourists, and the local Sri Lankan community, fostering rich and respectful exchanges. Beyond this, the project delivers a powerful universal message: protecting the environment is essential for the future of all generations.
We aspire for the Lanka Tongs Challenge 2025 to become much more than just an event—it should serve as a model for future sustainable and responsible tourism initiatives, both in Sri Lanka and worldwide. This is our way of actively contributing to creating a greener, more inclusive, and forward-thinking destination, rooted in respect for our planet
