Vinoth Ramachandra

secretary, International Fellowship Evangelical Students

Vinoth Ramachandra, the Secretary for Dialogue and Social Engagement with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), speaks widely in universities, seminaries, and conferences on issues of social, cultural, and political challenges in multicultural contexts in Asia and around the world. He is the author of several books on issues such as modernity, secularism, and pluralism, including *Gods that Fail*, *Subverting Global Myths*, and *Faiths in Conflict*. Speaking from the Southeast Asian context in Sri Lanka, Ramachandra provides a thoughtful and important perspective on some of our most serious contemporary issues. Ramachandra was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he lives with his wife Karin. He received his bachelor's and doctoral degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of London. But instead of pursuing his initial career path in academia, Ramachandra returned to Sri Lanka in 1980 and helped develop a Christian university ministry there. In 1987, IFES, a partnership of over 130 autonomous student movements, invited him to serve as the South Asian Regional Secretary. In 2002, Ramachandra took up the position he holds today.