| Thursday, 19 February 2009 02:55 |
NPC would use a two-pronged strategy in following up its joint pluralism initiative with the Canadian Government
Conduct a series of nine Track II-level educational conferences in 9 selected districts. i.e. informal workshops with Track II level leaders from major sectors, such as government, business, religious, and civil society to foster awareness on the values of pluralism and its application to the Sri Lankan Conflict and
Build a website which will record and advance the educational conferences. This would serve as a forum and information source for the regional initiative in South. Asia.
With the Track Two Educational conferences, NPC will:
• Network, educate, and engage with Track II level religious, business, and political leaders at nine separate conferences at centers of ethnic diversity throughout the island
• Lead a Sri Lanka-specific "community of practice'' of Sri Lankan civil society and business organizations in support of pluralism and minority rights
The reason for engaging the Track II level leaders is that they could influence their constituencies to effect a meaningful change in their systems, organizations, and communities to become more amenable to pluralism. Track II conferences are effective in that they can become productive working groups, build relationships, and could influence public pressure on Track I negotiations. These Track II conferences will be held in selected locations that are considered as district-level centers of diversity in Sri Lanka. The identified locations are Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Ampara. Puttalam, Ratnapura. Gallo, Matara, Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya. These locations contain combinations of large numbers of different ethnic communities, be they Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and Estate Tamils.
The project is scheduled for completion in September 2009. |
| Last Updated on Thursday, 19 February 2009 06:40 |
NPC and Pluralism 