South-South Experience Sharing: Study Tour of Sri Lanka Preparedness Partnership (SLPP) to Pakistan 2023

Sri Lanka Preparedness Partnership with the support of Janathakshan under the Asia Preparedness Partnership (APP) organized an exposure visit to Pakistan from 23rd – 28th January, 2023. The visit to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) led to exchange of ideas and experiences of disaster risk reduction policies, strategies and practices adopted by the National Disaster Management authorities of both countries and to identify the innovative partnership models adopted by both countries. The SLPP team also attended one session of the Second National Assembly of the National Humanitarian Network (NHN) held at the hotel Hillview, Islamabad and interacted with the Chairperson and NHN officials.

Officials from Disaster Management Centre, The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Janathakshan GTE Ltd, South Asia Partnership Sri Lanka, PALM Community Development Foundation, and Aitken Spence PLC participated in the tour to gain knowledge and experience and study about best partnership models in the other APP countries.

Status Report on Preparedness for Disaster Response in Sri Lanka

Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) were organized from 01-03 February by Disaster Management Centre (DMC) to obtain inputs from different stakeholders for the draft status report on preparedness. The drafted report was revised to streamline the information and feedback received from the stakeholders. 43 representatives, mainly from the different government agencies, 27 from the private sector and the Civil Society Organizations and 28 participants from the UN agencies and other donor agencies .

Validation Workshop on the Current Status of Preparedness for Disaster Response in Sri Lanka

Following the focus group discussions, DMC organized a validation workshop on the 21st of February 2023, at the Hilton Colombo Residencies, Sri Lanka. Aimed at gathering information on the preparedness before disasters and in disaster risk reduction, the workshop compiled insights on preparedness for disaster response in the country from various points of view.  With the inputs received during the validation workshop, the report was revised and finalized.

Media Briefing on SLPP interventions and way forward 

On 21st February 2023 SLPP organized a Press Conference to present the Five Years of SLPP in Sri Lanka. Mr. Bandula Wickramarachchi, Technical Specialist, ADPC, Mr. Sunil Jayaweera, Director – Preparedness, Disaster Management Centre  and Ms. Gothami Chandraratne, Director – Operations, Janathakshan GTE Ltd., represented the SLPP resource panel in the press conference. Hiru TV, Independent Television Network (ITN), Rupavahini, Derana, Haritha TV, Daily News, Diwaina, etc. representing the media organizations covered the Press Conference. A Press Release was shared with the media to bring awareness and highlight the impact of SLPP in the last five years.

A Strategic Roadmap for Sri Lanka Civil Society Action Network for Community Resilience (SLNCR)

The steering committee of the SLNCR organized a workshop from 23 – 25 February 2023 to develop a strategic roadmap and action plan for the next five years (2023 – 2027). This strategic roadmap will identify key outcomes to be delivered over the period of next five years to achieve the strategic vision of SLNCR. It will also list out key steps and activities for achieving the outcomes highlighted in the roadmap. 

 

The workshop was facilitated by an external consultant who navigated the process while transitioning from online discussions and experience sharing sessions from APP member countries of Pakistan and Nepal. The draft SLNCR roadmap was presented to the steering committee members for their review and is now being finalized based on their comments.