Jevanee Sri Lanka

Jeevanee Kariyawasam, 38, is an Attorney at Law and an independent consultant. In her own words, "The concept of 'peacebuilding' is continuously evolving due to its correlation with 'conflict,' which plays a significant role in our day-to-day lives. 'Conflict' has enabled humankind to cultivate empathy, forgiveness, kindness, and friendship. In a way, 'conflict' has made humankind strive for 'peace' and the process of achieving peace.

The success of building peace is hinged on factors such as effective negotiation, fairness and collective decision-making. This should begin at an individual level, through positive reinforcements starting from families, nurtured through schooling, and harnessed by nationwide efforts aimed at strengthening communities. 

Therefore, peacebuilding to me is a beautifully complex yet intricate process that brings out the best in people, regardless of their differences. Having worked with diverse communities in Sri Lanka, I have witnessed the promising changes brought through peacebuilding efforts, especially the untapped potential of women as peacemakers."

"I have been fortunate to be a direct influencer of peacebuilding through the UN Secretary-General's Peacebuilding Fund's project in Sri Lanka. In consultation with UN Women, I have developed a pioneering model of Multi-Party Dialogues. This model brings together community leaders, local officials, and elected women representatives at the local government level across 16 out of 25 districts in Sri Lanka. The project focuses on promoting women's leadership and participation to strengthen their role in decision-making processes to develop a peacebuilding agenda that is inclusive, open, and transparent.

 The multi-party dialogues are unique and the first of its kind because it brings together women from various political parties, backgrounds, and ethnicity to achieve consensus on governance and peacebuilding issues at the local level. Our aim through these dialogues was to address conflict drivers and foster reconciliation at the local level, by focusing on shared solutions that would benefit all. There is massive potential to generate significant peacebuilding results when we engage with female elected officials and help them with the skills and resources they require. Through the course of the dialogues, I have witnessed the abilities of women, especially their potential, towards creating harmony within their communities. 

 These dialogues brought forward a range of issues common to each district. Women were able to develop constructive solutions to complex problems including inefficient waste management, drug and alcohol abuse, violence against women and girls. The dialogues provided these women with the realization that the common problems faced in their communities can be resolved with effective networking, collective discussions, and negotiation. 

 For example, after our dialogues for the Kandy District, which had previously experienced communal riots in March 2018, several Sinhalese participants noted that they had visited mosques within their constituency areas and better understood their Muslim constituents and Islam as a result. Some had formed Women's Committees within their Pradeshiya Sabhas (local government authorities) while others had submitted proposals and conducted programmes on women's employment, waste management, substance abuse, and affordable housing. In some instances, they manged to secure funds for these programmes and initiatives. I believe such dialogues are a good example where communities work together for a common cause – irrespective of political party affiliation, religion, ethnicity or other differences. 

Being elected as the first female council member of the Chilaw Urban Council (Puttalam District), it has been my honour to serve and create positive change, not only in my home community of Chilaw, but at the sub-national and national tiers across Sri Lanka. I believe that change comes by connecting with people, and my work as an urban councilor enabled me to reach out to and help individuals, families and communities across social and ethnic divides.

As the former deputy director of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation, I also worked on creating inter-faith cohesion by developing national-level programmes on multi-cultural harmony, and creative initiatives to build unity, reconciliation and peace through art and culture.

Moreover, as a wearer of many hats - a lawyer, activist, trainer and lecturer - I have worked across a spectrum of initiatives that have helped me to support ongoing peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts in Sri Lanka."