The armed conflict in Sri Lanka and the end of the war in 2009 impacted the lives of all citizens and left a society deeply divided along ethnic, religious, language and economic lines. Since the end of the war, Sri Lanka and its citizens continue to face many events that have been religiously and ethnically motivated, which have all impacted the country’s ability to experience peace. To move forward as one nation, to restore conflict-affected communities and shattered lives, Sri Lanka made a strong commitment through various efforts and allocated significant resources to social cohesion and reconciliation.
Share
Share
SL Barometer
About Us
SL Barometer
Sri Lanka
Barometer
The “Sri Lanka Barometer: Our Voices, Our Choices” aims to deepen the understanding of reconciliation and social cohesion in Sri Lanka to inform the public discourse and help decisionmakers to work towards its realisation.
By capturing the diverse views held by people on reconciliation and social cohesion, it recognises that, reconciliation is multi-faceted, it is context specific and encompasses a wider range of experiences, efforts, and opportunities. It is crucial to know how Sri Lankan citizens see progress since the end of the war in 2009, regarding important issues as well as towards reconciliation overall at a moment in time/periodically. It helps gain public perception on reconciliation and in turn indicates how policies and programme interventions may have affected reconciliation and social cohesion in Sri Lanka.
Attitudes and perceptions of citizens are systematically captured, analysed and disseminated. Awareness of public perceptions on reconciliation is created using multiple platforms and outreach activities. Engaging in dialogue creates a better-informed public discourse that helps to influence actions towards reconciliation.
The Sri Lanka Barometer comprises of four key components:
- An annual, island wide public opinion survey measuring public perception.
- Thematic studies using largely qualitative methodologies to explore related issues on reconciliation and social cohesion in more depth.
- A set of discussion papers and concept notes on reconciliation and related issues.
- The evidence-base feeds into an outreach component to inform public discourse
As part of conceptualising The Sri Lanka Barometer, community consultations were held across Sri Lanka and expert discussion, which showed that people’s thoughts and experiences on reconciliation are diverse, dynamic and very personal. These efforts resulted in a decision to explore reconciliation and social cohesion through eight domains, which seen collectively comprise these concepts as well as explore barriers and persisting gaps to achieving these in Sri Lanka. These domains are not considered to be mutually exclusive but interlinked.
All the material produced from the Barometer has multiple uses. The results from evidence generation will be used to stimulate public debate on critical issues in the context of the reconciliation process and within the 8 domains in the context of Sri Lanka in the short and long term. Beyond this, the evidence can be used by a broad range of stakeholders. Stakeholders who may use the results include those working in government institutions, development sector organisations, the private sector as well as the general public.
The Sri Lanka Barometer was initiated through “Strengthening Reconciliation Processes” (SRP), a four-year programme supporting government, non-government, and grassroots-level initiatives in their efforts to work towards reconciliation. Under the guidance of the Ministry of Justice, SRP is jointly funded by the European Union and the German Federal Foreign Office and implemented by German Technical Cooperation (GIZ) in Sri Lanka and the British Council.
The implementation of the Sri Lanka Barometer includes the formulation of a Consortium that aims to engage multiple stakeholders in Sri Lanka to support evidence generation on deepening the understanding and expectations towards reconciliation and social cohesion and progress towards them.
The Consortium also enables linkages to international experiences and similar initiatives, drawing particularly from the reconciliation experience in South Africa and the use of public perception in this engagement. This includes the implementation of the South Africa Reconciliation Barometer over two decades implemented by the Institute of Justice and Reconciliation in South Africa. The Centre for Poverty Analysis, Sri Lanka and the Open University of Sri Lanka (in progress) are other partners in the Consortium presently.
FAQ
What are the reasons for doing the Sri Lanka Barometer? What is the objective of this survey?
Is there a definition for reconciliation used for the Sri Lanka Barometer?
The Barometer has been designed to represent all the important issues in the context of reconciliation that can be measured through a quantitative survey. The survey does not attempt to define reconciliation. Conceptually and as an experience, reconciliation is multi- faceted, and thus no single definition is possible. Further, it is context specific and encompasses a wider range of experiences, efforts and opportunities. This is evident from the international and local literature on reconciliation, peace building and social cohesion.
How are the results/findings/data used by SRP? Who can use the results? Are the results available to the general public? Is this data valid/available for academic purposes and further study?
The results/findings/data from this survey will be used by SRP to stimulate public debate on critical issues in the context of the reconciliation process in Sri Lanka in the short and long term.
Beyond this, the survey results can be used by a broad range of stakeholders. Stakeholders who may use the results include those working in government institutions, development sector organisations, the private sector as well as the general public.
The results will be available in the form of a written report and various online resources including on social media and via the SRP website together with the questionnaire. These resources will be made available in all three languages.
The raw dataset will not available for external use given the sensitivity of the issues. However, inquiries to use the data will be considered on a case by case basis.
Can some groups use the results to justify their standpoint/position?
In this age of fake news and completely unfounded untruths, the survey would allow for the voice of citizens who have no avenues at all to express their views and be heard. The survey will contain people’s views on a broad range of issues in the context of reconciliation and shed light on how people truly feel on these issues. As with any news and information that is available in the public domain it can be misused to further political agendas. However, we will ensure that usage is tracked and use of results is continuously documented.
What difference does the survey make to the day-to-day lives of the people? What can people gain from the Sri Lanka Barometer?
The implementation of the Sri Lanka Barometer is an opportunity to obtain inputs from the public on issues and actions related to reconciliation. These inputs can be used to inform processes that have been set up by a range of stakeholders, including government stakeholders to improve reconciliation efforts in Sri Lanka. People can share their opinions on a range of issues related to reconciliation including experiences of engaging with various institutions and individuals within reconciliation processes.
For instance, people who have been affected by the conflict and war may find it thought-provoking to find that people across the ethnic divide have similar/diverse views on the growth of inequity in our society. Or that most people in the areas that have not been directly affected by the war believe that if not for politicians we would all get along very well with each other.
