The conference, “National Reconciliation and Development Through Inter-Religious Coexistence,” is expected to draw as many as 600 participants to the Bandaranayake Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s largest city, on March 2.
It is the culmination of Sarvodaya Shanthi Sena Sansadaya’s Inter-Religious Cooperation for Community Development and Social Empowerment project, a year-long program sponsored by the Amherst, Massachusetts-based Karuna Center for Peace Building. The program orchestrated two exchanges in which 80 religious leaders from the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Islamic faiths visited counterparts on the other side of the country.
In addition to its gatherings of religious leaders, Sarvodaya Shanti Sena has provided both inter- and intrafaith workshops, community dialogues and development projects and classes – such as small scale industrial training and instruction in the Singhala Tamil language – as part of the year-long program.
Sarvodaya Shanthi Sena, which focuses on ending violence through youth leadership, is also currently taking part in Amity Camps, peace dialogues, district-to-district youth exchanges and pen pal programs. The Cooperation Circle is based in a network of more than 1,500 villages throughout Sri Lanka.
