Neville Jayaweera was born to Robert and Constance Jayaweera in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 23 October 1930; the third of four siblings – Stanley, Sheila and Beryl. He had his secondary education at St Thomas's College, Mount Lavinia, and at St Peter's College, Colombo. He took an Honours Degree in Philosophy from the University of Ceylon in 1953 and passed into the prestigious Ceylon Civil Service in 1955. In 1949, his brother Stanley had also taken an Honours Degree in Philosophy from the same university and in 1953 had passed into the elite Ceylon Foreign Service, within which he held several senior diplomatic positions and retired in 1988 as Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Germany. At University, Jayaweera met Trixie Jayasekera, who was educated at Bishop's College, Colombo, and took a General Arts Degree from the University of Ceylon and worked for several years as a Library Assistant under the Bromley Council in Kent. Neville Jayaweera and Trixie Jayasekera married in 1958 and had a daughter, Manohari, who married Edmund Glynn. Manohari died on 2 February 2017.
Career
For a short period after graduating from the University of Ceylon Peradeniya in 1953, Jayaweera was an Assistant Lecturer in Philosophy at the University until he passed into the Civil Service in 1955. Neville Jayaweera served in the Ceylon Civil Service between the ages of 25 and 42, i.e. from 1955 to 1972, before taking early retirement. During those 17 years, Jayaweera held several senior positions in the government. Among the posts he held while serving the Sri Lankan Government between 1955 and 1972 were:
Government Agent of the Administrative Districts of Badulla Jaffna, Trincomalee and Vavuniya
Chairman and Director General of the Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation
In 1974, accepting an invitation from the World Association of Christian Communication in London to work as their Director of Research and Planning, Jayaweera relocated to London with his wife Trixie and daughter Mano and served in that capacity till 1989. He resigned from the WACC in 1989, and resumed his career with the Government of Sri Lanka in 1990, serving as:
Between 1980 and 1989 Jayaweera was the WACC’s permanent representation to UNESCO as well as to the ITU in Geneva.
During 1975 and 1989 Jayaweera travelled the globe lecturing on New Communication Technologies and the CommunicationRevolution, subjects on which he has written extensively. Jayaweera has also written extensively on Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict and on spiritual matters. After his final retirement in 1994, Jayaweera settled down with his wife Trixie in a village in Kent, UK, where he led a contemplative life, meditating, praying and writing on spiritual subjects.
Publications
Folk media and development communication - myths and realities : a report on experiences in people's communication in Mexico, India, and the Philippines by Neville Jayaweera. Published in 1991, Asian Social Institute
Some reflections on the theme of continuity and change in Indian culture by Neville Jayaweera
The role of the churches in the ethnic conflict by Neville Jayaweera, Marga Institute, 2001
Jaffna: Exorcising the Past and Holding the Vision. An autobiographical reflection on the ethnic conflict by Neville Jayaweera, Government Agent of Jaffna 1963-1966. Published in 2014, Ravaya Publishers, Sri Lanka.
'''The Vavuniya Diaries. Ravaya Publishers, Sri Lanka. 2017
