Date:
21 July 2016
Time:
14.00 hrs – 18.00 hrs
Venue:
Auditorium of Sri Lanka Institute of Local Governance (17, Malalasekara Mawatha, Colombo 07)
Introduction to the forum:
The adverse effects of climate change are increasingly gaining visibility in the form of frequent natural disasters and the destruction of eco systems. If Sri Lanka as a country doesn't accept the seriousness of climate change and fails to adapt, it would imperil the lives and its citizenry and the overall progress of the country.
In retrospect, so far natural disasters have been dealt with and responded to in an overall top-down, command and control approach, where there have been very limited space for affected communities to be engage in any decision making process with the government. This approach has been proven unsuccessful and ineffective as it has caused civil unrest among communities. It is evident that a single centralized authority is capable of responding to disasters in an inclusive, sustainable and effective manner.
Undeniably, local government structures have played a significant role in responding to disasters. As they are much more closely linked with affected communities, they are able to identify real needs of affected communities in order to respond in an effective and efficient manner.
This raises concerns on if the aforementioned local governance structures possess the capacities, resources and overall space in disaster prevention and response. What legal and policy barriers need to be overcome to ensure a higher level of effectiveness in serving affected communities? To which extent are affected communities, especially vulnerable groups as women, ethnic minorities and disable people have the space to engage in decision making processes of disaster relief responses? Are we ready to accept affected communities as dignified citizens rather than mere beneficiaries, who have the right to receive support to rebuild their lives? The better we get at answering the above questions, the more effectively we would be at responding to natural disasters through stable participatory governance structures.
Sri Lanka Institute for Local Governance (SLILG) in collaboration with
Participatory Governance Forum is organizing a forum -
Rebuilding Together – People's participation on disaster prevention, preparedness and response' to initiate this discussion.
The key objectives of the workshop are,
- To identify the role of local governance structures in disaster risk reduction and the challenges they are facing
- Share the best practices, learning and experiences of various actors in locally owned disaster prevention and responding initiatives
- Develop guidelines to influence policy and program changes at national and provincial level
During the forum various stakeholders will present their experiences, challenges and success stories in local government and community governance structures in disaster risk reduction and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be signed between the Ministry of Local Governments and Provincial Councils and Kerala Institute of Local Administration on knowledge and experience sharing on local administration and participatory governance.
About the organizers
Sri Lanka Institute of Local Governance (SLILG), which was established in 1999 under the purview of Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils, is the mandatory organization to facilitate the enhancement of institutional and managerial capacities of provincial councils and local government institutions.
Participatory Governance Forum (PGF) is a collective of government and nongovernmental organizations, research think-tanks and individuals who are involved in researching, piloting and implementing innovative approaches of participatory governance.
