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The prospect of moving from a divided past to a shared future is an alluring one that needs to be realized on the ground through a more all-encompassing dialogue. With this goal in mind, a group of civil society members met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Dinesh Gunawardene, Minister of Justice Ali Sabry, State Minister of Regional Cooperation Tharaka Balasuriya and Foreign Secretary Admiral Professor Jayanath Colombage at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The group included members of NPC’s governing council and board of directors Bishop Asiri Perera, Hilmy Ahamed, Visaka Dharmadasa, Rohana Hettiarachchi, Professor T. Jayasingam, Dr. Joe William and Dr. Jehan Perera.

To assist people and institutions affected by travel restrictions and lockdowns imposed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, NPC organized the distribution of hand washing basins, disinfectant liquid spray machines and Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) kits to government institutions as well as dry ration packs to low income families who were daily wage earners or traders.

Since 2020, NPC’s National Languages Equality Advancement Project (NLEAP) has held workshops on language rights and second language acquisition in Kandy, Kalutara and Trincomalee to bring people together through language.

NPC’s Technical Assistance to Justice Institutions in Sri Lanka project is conducting a series of campaigns on Countering Hate Speech.

The campaigns will be conducted in three phases:   

• Creating a dialogue against hate speech and violence with government officials, youth and religious leaders
• Educating people in the plantation sector on countering hate speech
• Discussions about the contribution of art and literature to minimize hate speech

"When students participate in debate, they learn to study issues in depth and from perspectives, a skill I use every day in the Senate.” Barack Obama Debate is a valuable activity for students and provides them with knowledge and insight. NPC conducted a two day training programme on improving debating skills for nine Eastern University and
Sabaragamuwa University students.

An online training programme to improve the Non Violent Communication (NVC) skills of the Local Inter Religious Committee (LIRC) members was held for Rakwana LIRC members under NPC’s Collective Engagement for Religious Freedom (CERF) project to familiarize LIRC members with basic concepts and tools of NVC to enhance their effective engagement in reconciliation work.

NPC supplied dry rations, spray machines, washbasins and PPE kits as part of a relief programme funded by Misereor to aid people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in partnership with District Inter Religious Committees (DIRCs) established under the Plural Action for Conflict Transformation project.

NPC supplied dry rations, spray machines, wash basins and PPE as part of a relief programme funded by Misereor to aid people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in partnership with District Inter Religious Committees (DIRCs) established by the Plural Action for Conflict Transformation project.

Under NPC’s project Plural Action for Conflict Transformation (PACT), members of District Inter Religious Committees (DIRCs) have been engaging in relief work to ease the burdens faced by disadvantaged people and charitable institutions brought on by the new wave of COVID-19.

Anojitha Sivaskaran, who works as a project officer at NPC, was one of the winners of the prestigious Diana Award for 2021 that honours young people for their social action or humanitarian work. The award commemorates the life of Britain’s Princess Diana who dedicated her time to improve the lives of others. Congratulating Anojitha on her achievement, NPC’s Executive Director Dr. Jehan Perera said that he was glad that NPC had provided a platform for her success. He said that Anojitha had shown herself as a good team player and contributed to the NPC’s outreach along with other committed staff members in difficult circumstances.

Colombo District Inter Religious Committee (DIRC) is holding a series of online meetings to educate the public and create awareness on issues facing the country under NPC’s project Plural Action for Conflict Transformation (PACT). Various experts are delivering lectures and facilitating discussions and debates that encourage community engagement meetings. Three meetings have been held so far with about 60 participants for each.

Thirty participants attended two online training sessions held under NPC’s Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) project from the districts of Kandy, Kurunegala, Mannar, Vavuniya, Batticaloa and Ampara where the project is being implemented jointly with Helvitas Sri Lanka and funded by the EU.

Four online discussions were conducted Trincomalee, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya under NPC’s Social Cohesion and Reconciliation (SCORE) activity with the participation of Co-Existence Society (CES) members, District Inter Religious Committee (DIRC) members and Local Inter Religious Committee (LIRC) members.

An online training programme on facilitation skills development was held under NPC’s Collective Engagement for Religious Freedom (CERF) project for 61 representatives of 12 regional partners. An online poll identified facilitation as the primary requirement for training as it would benefit them as community level change agents.

An online workshop on countering hate speech for youth in Polonnaruwa was conducted by NPC’s Technical Assistance to Justice Institutions in Sri Lanka project. Project coordinator Nirosha Anthony spoke on the social background of hate speech and the objectives of the workshop. She explained that hate speech is often used in society to create an enemy of the other while consolidating one’s own group. Modern technology and social media made this task easier and more harmful.

With the rising Covid-19 cases and the government imposing travel restrictions to control the pandemic, NPC has halted field activities and has shifted events online via Zoom. The Plural Action for Conflict Transformation (PACT) project organized six project orientation meetings via Zoom in Polonnaruwa, Galle, Matara, Kandy, Puttalam and Kegalle.