Project profile — Building a Culture of Peaceful Pluralism in Myanmar and Sri Lanka

This project seeks to address the social and political factors that contribute to ethnic and religious intolerance and cycles of violence in Myanmar and Sri Lanka. The project works to influence public opinion on issues of religious freedom and ethnic diversity in support of peaceful pluralism, by supporting civil society organizations and journalists. Project activities include: (1) increasing the production of high-quality, inclusive media content; (2) enhancing the flow of trusted, non-inflammatory information within and between communities, with an emphasis on social media and online content; (3) increasing awareness and understanding of ethnic and religious rights; and (4) promoting a culture of accountability that gives a voice to communities directly affected by discrimination and violence.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved capacity of journalists and civil society organization (CSO) activists (both women and men) in Myanmar and Sri Lanka to report on issues of religious freedom, human rights and ethnic and religious diversity; (2) improvements in the beliefs and attitudes of journalists and CSO activists in Myanmar and Sri Lanka to be more supportive of inclusion (including greater gender inclusion) in the media and information space; and (3) improved capacity of CSOs to track and report on cases of human rights violations regarding ethnic/religious diversity.

Results achieved at the end of the project (September 2019) include: (1) collected 297 stories by capacity building recipients to increase access for journalists and civil society organizations (CSOs) to content and information about religious freedom, human rights and ethnic and religious diversity in Myanmar and Sri Lanka; (2) 98% of journalists and CSOs participating to trainings stated improvements in their beliefs and attitudes toward religious and ethnic diversity improved as a result of their engagement in the project; and (3) improved capacity of CSOs in tracking and reporting on cases of human rights violations regarding ethnic and religious diversity by training 63 activists, CSO representatives and journalists to increase skills in advocacy and practical reporting skills.