The belief that development must be owned and driven by partner-country stakeholders and beneficiaries underpins the Pathways to Peace project. The project has worked closely with State Partners to define goals and indicators for achieving Inclusive Governance and Social Cohesion, and will continue and strengthen this collaboration throughout the project lifecycle.
We will work as a catalyst between the national machinery , local government and civil society. Collaborating closely with duty bearers and rights holders alike, our activity will pivot on three key pillars that we see as pathways to promoting sustainable peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.
In collaboration with MoPA and MoW, we will work with 15 sub-national public institutions in 7 districts and 5 provinces. We have intentionally selected these institutions because they serve bilingual communities with diverse demographics that have in the past fuelled ethnic tensions. These institutions also have the distinct advantage of having developed language plans under the National Languages Equality Advancement Project (NLEAP). NLEAP, a previous project funded by the Government of Canada and implemented by Alinea, supported the Government of Sri Lanka to implement its Official Languages Policy.
Our Key Pillars
Inclusive
Governance
Improved delivery of inclusive, equitable and accountable public services Women, Peace and Security
Women, Peace and Security
Increased leadership and participation of women in addressing conflict, fragility and insecurity
Empowered Communities
Strengthened communities to advocate for inclusive, equitable and accountable public services
Pillar 1 - Inclusive Governance
Buy-in from national and sub-national leadership as well as front-line officials is essential to integrating diversity and inclusion (D&I) in policymaking and delivery of public services.
Pathways to Peace will work with varied strata of the Public Service to make the GoSL’s commitment to social cohesion and reconciliation seen and felt by people at subnational levels. Through policies, plans and service delivery that intentionally consider the differential impacts on women and girls; men and boys; and non-binary individuals, as well as intersecting identities, duty bearers will be empowered to address long perpetuated discrimination.
Establishing buy-in for diversity and inclusion amongst duty bearers and supporting policy frameworks that cultivate a culture of diversity and inclusion will pave the way to Inclusive Governance.
Establish Buy-In to Diversity and Inclusion by Duty Bearers
Evidence-based Strategic Support
Community perceptions surveys and functional reviews of public services conducted in areas where targeted institutions are located
Inculcate Institutional Priority of Inclusion
Leadership at central and sub-national levels trained on principles of inclusive, equitable and accountable public service delivery
Build Diversity and Inclusion Champions
Frontline officials from targeted institutions trained on inclusive public service delivery
Promote a Culture of Inclusion
National and sub-national awareness campaigns delivered to government officials on inclusive, equitable and accountable public services
Policy Framework for Inclusive Governance
Inclusive, Equitable and Accountable Policies
Leverage existing policies and laws, and develop Diversity Plans, to promote delivery of inclusive, equitable and accountable public services
Sustainable Institutionalisation of the Official Language Policy
Technical assistance to the Official Languages Commission to monitor implementation of language plans and Sri Lanka’s Official Languages Policy
Gender-responsive Policymaking and Service Delivery
Support the Ministry of Women with Gender and diversity mainstreaming tools, guidelines, and training curricula developed for Gender Focal Points
Pillar 2 - Women, Peace and Security
When women are involved in inclusive governance and social cohesion efforts, solutions are more resilient because they reflect what a community needs to recover from conflict.
Recognising the pivotal role women play in reconciliation and peace building efforts , we will work with the Ministry of Women to accelerate implementation of the Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan. Removing barriers and enhancing access to gender-responsive services will lead to increased participation and leadership of women . We will support National Action Plan activities that align with inclusive public service delivery, in the areas of language rights; gender-responsive service delivery; and social cohesion.
Local women and WROs are best placed to know their community context and dynamics to deliver projects responsive to local needs. Their advocacy, leadership and competency are crucial to the effective implementation of the Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan(WPS-NAP). Therefore, we will also increase the ability of Women’s Rights Organisations to promote and advocate for the implementation of the WPS agenda through a granting mechanism called the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Fund.
Access to Gender-Responsive Services Through Implementing the WPS NAP
Dismantling Language Barriers
Empowering public officials in targeted institutions to build language parity and promote language rights
Training Public Officials on Gender Responsive Services
Selected institutions strengthened to provide gender sensitive services to their diverse target groups
Promoting Social Cohesion
Enhanced competency of targeted institutions to strengthen social cohesion amongst their target communities
The Women Peace and Security Fund - WPS Fund (CAD $500,000)
Amplify Voices of Women’s Rights Organisations
Increase women’s leadership and participation addressing conflict, fragility, and insecurity, in their communities by providing small grants for locally led projects.
Training on WPS Project Design
Training WROs to design projects aligned with national and international WPS framework
Improve Implementation of WPS Projects
Ongoing mentoring and capacity building of WROs to implement WPS projects
Pillar 3 - Empowered Communities
Strengthening rights-holders to demand for inclusive, equitable and accountable public services is crucial to building inclusive governance and promoting social cohesion. The challenge to empowering civil society, communities and individuals to advocate for their constitutional rights is two-fold. The knowledge and skills of CSOs to identify the differential needs of women & girls and other marginalized communities to access public services must be enhanced. The organisations serving women & girls and other marginalized communities must be strengthened to advocate effectively for inclusive governance and human rights.
Pathways to Peace will work with CSOs in the communities where the 15 targeted institutions are located. In the firm conviction that the CSOs will play a vital role for communities and individuals in preventing conflict; endorsing reconciliation; and influencing policy-making and public opinion, we will strengthen their efforts through the Inclusive Futures Fund.
Capacity Building of CSOs
Community Engagement in Diversity and Inclusion
Awareness and competency of CSO’s in promoting gender equality, language rights, diversity, and inclusion
Sustainable, Effective Project Management
CSO’s upskilled in Project management to develop or improve systems for financial management, M&E, reporting, communications, and safeguarding
Amplifying Community Networks for Conflict Transformation
CSO network developed, including Co-Existence Societies where the targeted institutions are located, to advocate for conflict transformation and inclusive, equitable and accountable public services
Inclusive Futures Fund (CAD $500,000)
Empowering Rights Holders
Increased capacity of CSOs to assist diverse communities and individuals to demand inclusive, equitable and accountable public services
Engaging Rights Holders
Grant recipients identified, and grants distributed to CSOs for implementation of projects that increase engagement of diverse communities to demand inclusive, equitable and accountable public services
Enhance Competency of CSOs to Implement Peacebuilding Projects
Ongoing mentoring and capacity-building delivered to CSOs to support implementation of projects
