Project profile — Strengthening Social Cohesion in Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka (100.00%)

• Democratic participation and civil society:
Democratic participation and civil society (15150) (50.00%)
Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions (15170) (50.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)

This project supports women and marginalized groups in community-based efforts to promote social cohesion and community resilience in Sri Lanka. Through small grants, networking and skills development, the Asia Foundation promotes civil society’s role in protecting and maintaining space for inter-communal engagement and local approaches to build trust and confidence for genuine reconciliation.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) strengthened relations within communities, between communities, and between communities and the state through sustainable initiatives led by local civil society organizations (CSO); (2) increased meaningful participation of women and marginalized groups in CSO-led efforts to promote social cohesion and community resilience; and (3) improved collaboration between local and national CSOs, taking tangible actions to address common challenges and share lessons learned.

Results achieved as of March 2022 include: (1) provided strategic grants to improve safety and security, ensure equitable access to local information and services, and strengthen civic education and citizenship. The grant gave particular focus to women and girls. Also, processed eight out of 20 grants at the time of this report; (2) provided challenge grants to support new ideas, approaches, and interventions to re-conceptualize and address persistent peacebuilding challenges; and (3) completed eight capacity assessments for the Strategic grant awardees. The grants allow for the organizations to increase their capacity as an organization to strengthen social cohesion activities in their programming.

• Proactive disclosure