The Long Table –Dialogue Forums


SCOPP - UNESCO Release
05 March 2008

The “Long Table” dialogue forums series is an initiative of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO (SLNCU), the Ministry for Mass Media and Information and the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC).

Background

The discourse on peace in Sri Lanka has been dominated by the discourse on power sharing almost to the exclusion/ neglect of other aspects of peace-building, which in the broadest possible terms connotes a range of policies, processes and activities which address political, economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian concerns towards a durable peace.

In an effort to broaden this process a series of dialogue forums will be held to be broadcast over national TV with participation of different stakeholders – government institutions, civil society, academics, business community, cultural community and ordinary citizens on some of these neglected aspects of peace building in Sri Lanka.


Objective of the Forum

  • While emphasizing the need to find a political solution, help broaden the current understanding of peace building beyond the discourse of a political solution

  • Help document current efforts at peace building in Sri Lanka whether by government, civil society, academics, etc

  • Identify gaps, and problem areas

  • find ways to bridge those gaps and address problems

  • create a dynamic, meaningful and non confrontational dialogue on these issues between different stakeholders

  • highlight best practices at the international level in order to learn from those experiences

  • come up with a series of recommendations to strengthen government’s peace building efforts
 

Experience from South Africa

The series has been titled the “The Long Table” citing the terminology widely used with regard to the consultation process in South Africa where the ‘High Table’ was considered a highly conspicuous and visible dialogue consisting of the main negotiators and other key decision makers with the ‘Long Table’ i.e. the political leaders, academics, professionals, trade unions and the business community feeding their ideas to the ‘High Table’. In light of the dialogue process in Sri Lanka on the peace process this series is an attempt to highlight the viewpoints and recommendations of the ‘Long Table’ in Sri Lanka.

The Long Table –Dialogue Forums 1 – APRC


Date:  Saturday 8th  March 2008 on Channel Eye ( 9.30 pm)                                   

Panelists:

  • Hon. (Prof.) Tissa Vitarana,Chairman, All Party Representative Committee (APRC), Minister of Science and Technology,

  • Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, Secretary General, Secretariat for Coordinating  the Process (SCOPP),

  • Mr.  V. Anandasangaree, President TULF, Recipient, UNESCO/  Madanjeet Singh (Prize for Tolerance and Non Violence)

  •  Mr.  Javid Yusuf, (fmr) Secretary General, Peace Secretariat for Muslims.
 

The Long Table –Dialogue Forum 2 – Language Rights and Provincial Empowerment

Date; Saturday 15th  March 2008 on Channel Eye (9.30 PM)

Panelists

  • Hon. (Mrs.) Ferial Ashraff, Minister of Housing and Construction.

  • Mr. Prithiviraj Perera, Secretary General, Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO

  • Mr. Jeevan Thiagarajah, Executive Director,Consortium of  Humanitarian Agencies (CHA)

  • Mr. Samantha Abeywickrema, Secretary General, Business for Peace Initiative, Federation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL)


The dialogue forums will thereafter continue, taking up numerous other issues, such as the roles of Education, Culture, Mass Media and Communication, Constitutional Rights and related issues on peace building in Sri Lanka, which shall be documented. These will provide opportunities for concerned stakeholders to express their views, so that decision makers in government could take them into account, in the process of policy planning and implementation.