ARC highlights importance of professional diaspora youth in Sri Lanka’s reconciliation process
Saturday, 16 November 2013 00:01
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Shares their experiences at the Commonwealth Youth Forum 2013
Supported by International Alert, representatives from the UK based group Achieve Real Change (ARC) conducted a capacity building session at the recently held Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF) 2013 in Hambantota, Sri Lanka. The session focused on ‘Diaspora Youth’s Role in Promoting Reconciliation and Social Cohesion’, which was well received by the participants.
ARC is formed by a group of young professionals of British-Sri Lankan origin, from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The group uses their skills to support professional development activities in Sri Lanka which foster social cohesion.
During the session at CYF, members of ARC introduced tools for designing and implementing activities which are need-based and context sensitive. They also discussed the role of diaspora and local youth in supporting communities post-war. Also participating were young Sri Lankan parliamentarians who have been involved in International Alert’s reconciliation and diaspora program; they shared their experience of engaging diverse communities for peace-building.
Addressing the session Jayan Perera of ARC said: “Before I came to Sri Lanka, I used to think I knew a lot about the country, through what I have read and heard on media. Once I came here I understood how different things were.
“There’s a need to change perceptions, and we want to influence this change. We need to open up and look at issues that need to be addressed. There are gaps that we can fill using our collective knowledge and skills. However, we can’t do this by ourselves. We need support. We should all get together to bring about a change, that can affect all communities in a positive manner.”
ARC was created following an exposure visit to Sri Lanka in March 2012, when they met with parliamentarians and policymakers, civil society organisations and community groups to explore post-war recovery.
Social cohesion
During the session ARC spoke about their experiences of implementing projects, highlighting that reconciliation and social cohesion can be worked on with different actors, including at the political and the grassroots levels.
The participants in the workshop discussed the important role that civil society can play in community development and social cohesion, and the involvement of youth in this process. ARC emphasised the necessity of understanding the needs of all communities and designing context-specific projects in order to ensure positive and sustainable impacts, sharing some of the tools they have used in analysing context and designing projects.
Addressing the gathering Dr. Maynaha Indrakumar of ARC said: “Our aim is to create positive links between the UK and Sri Lanka, and we believe, that as the diaspora we can play a constructive and role in creating these links. So far we have been working with likeminded professionals from various ethnic backgrounds, in both countries to engage, and bring about social cohesion. This has been a very challenging yet positive experience.”
The young parliamentarians participated in a panel discussion focused on their experiences as young policymakers supporting post-war recovery and development. The parliamentarians discussed how they have done this through the engagement of diaspora communities in the UK, Sri Lankan civil society and senior policymakers in the UK and Sri Lanka. These young parliamentarians and ARC have been, and intend to continue, supporting each other in the successful implementation of their complementary initiatives.
Sharing his experiences UPFA Parliamentarian Shehan Semasinghe said: “Before our first visit to the UK through the project, I had a negative impression of the term diaspora, which changed after meeting the individuals from the diaspora community.
“We met the diaspora from different ethnic backgrounds and shared our side of the story, and listened to their side of the story. This was a positive interaction. From our end, we also have a group representing multi-ethnic backgrounds, from different political parties. We don’t want any more fractions within the country or abroad, what we all need is one voice as Sri Lankans to take this country forward.”
