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Community Awareness on Conflict Transformation
PPF organises residential workshops designed to raise public awareness of conflict transformation processes in Sri Lanka. Through this they aim to generate public support for a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict.
Description
The initiative is to conduct a planned program of workshops on conflict resolution in 12 selected districts in Sri Lanka, including border areas. Target groups of the initiative are politicians, government servants, religious clergy, community leaders and non-governmental organisations in the respective areas.
These workshops consist of a selected set of sessions that trace the history of the conflict, its impact on the country and possible solutions to it, conducted by acclaimed individuals who have specialised knowledge on each topic.
For each workshop, 50 participants are selected from one district. This program started in 2004.
Aims / Objectives
The initiative aims at raising public awareness on the possible methods of conflict transformation and building a strong opinion for a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict.
How it is Articulated
The initiative primarily holds residential workshops, one conducted for selected participants from each district with the participation of a number of facilitators.
Follow up activities are conducted by the participants after the conclusion of a workshop, at their own district levels. Some groups organised further awareness promoting workshops in their areas while others conducted awareness promoting activities such as rallies, poster campaigns, and printing of leaflets for free distribution for example.
Achievements / Learning Points
At the beginning of most workshops, the participants are strongly resistant towards the points presented, and for a negotiated settlement for the conflict. However gradually during the sessions that take place discussing the history of the conflict, impact of war on the country and possible negotiated solutions, the participants start responding positively; and by the end of the workshop they have transformed their former positions.
This promotes more awareness in individuals and encourages them to be sensitive to these issues in all their work. This is crucial given the context of ethnic misunderstandings and stereotypes. It helps in building ground level inter-ethnic relationships and motivating ground level work to contribute positively to resolving the conflict.
For a lasting ideological transformation, it is important for the people from different ethnicities to get first hand experience of the impact the ethnic conflict has had on the lives of people from other ethnicities. Therefore the effectiveness of the workshop will be enhanced if a field activity that provides the participants with this experience is incorporated into the process.
Geographical Area of Operation
Sri Lanka, island-wide
Funding Resources
FES
Associated Organisations
Our partner organisations; Centre for Policy Analysis; and visiting trainers including Dr. Navarathna Bandara, Prof. Jayantha Seneviratna and Dr. Sumanasiri Liyanage.