Business for Peace Alliance BPA Sri Lanka’s Regional Business Network for Regional Empowerment,

1. Business for Peace Alliance BPA Sri Lanka’s Regional Business Network for Regional Empowerment, Conflict Transformation and CSR

2. Overview • 12 Regional Board Directors • 26 Chamber Members • 3 BPA Delegates in each District • 3 Women Chamber Members • Over 15,000 SMEs

3. Commerce(as represented by Regional Chambers) Peace Regional empowerment Building capacity Sustainability & funds Securing livelihoods Our Business Model Conflict transformation Lobbying & advocacy Networking & sharing good practice Influencing & engaging stakeholders Improving understanding & awareness

4. Activities Focused on Eastern Province • Social Cohesion through Commerce - ethnic, gender, peripheral areas, micro level, nontraditional business and linkage with other community level actors (Local authorities, Provincial media, civil society, religious leaders). • USAid Programmes - CORE & SURG • Conflict Transformation Committees - early warning, mitigation of escalation of communal violence, peace building through multi cultural, multi religious events. • Mindful Conflict Transformation through Media-film festival. • Language Skills to Improve Livelihoods- Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, SCOPP, CHA.

5. Other Activities which Embrace the East • BizPAct - Investment in Regional Business - Symposiums • Regional empowerment awareness: Peace & Conflict from a Regional Empowerment Perspective • Regional capacity building - Skills Development (Communication, best practices for income generation, New Companies’ Act, Conflict sensitivity, Business for Unity Awards) • Learn & Lead - Nurturing young leaders through quality education in leading schools • Networking - Locally and internationally

6. Confidence Building & Stabilisation Measures Project THE ACADEMY OF ENGLISH AND DRAMA 'Seeing education as an investment’ Language Skills to Improve Livelihoods Overall Aim To improve the economic welfare of disadvantaged persons in the North and East of Sri Lanka by equipping them with the skills and the confidence to compete on a more equitable basis for employment

7. Programme Objectives • To raise the levels of English language within targeted audiences ( IDPs, Young people, unemployed), within the Eastern Province, to improve employment prospects and opportunities for further education • To expand and improve the quality of the network of resources which provide tuition in the English language • To develop sensitivity for inter-personal relations through group based educational processes

8. Area Selected • Eastern Province • Ampara • Batticaloa • Trincomalee

9. 12 month project delivered in 2 Phases • Delivery of workshops (3 months) • To Identify part-time tutors ( teach 4 hours paid per week) • To Identify potential students 2. Training of Trainers & language training (9 months) • Train tutors in Colombo over 2 weeks, weekly intensive sessions (all expenses paid) • Tutors will deliver free part-time English language classes in groups in the regions over 6 months ( 4 hours per week)

10. Role for the Regional Chambers • Awareness raising of the programme • Identify part-time tutors • Help identify students • Help to identify the skills that employers in the regions want • Need to link employers and potential employees

11. The Future • Programme will be rolled out to North • Plans to expand to teach Tamil and Sinhala • Link into other projects focussing on regional economic development • Potentially bigger role for the Chambers

12. Connecting Regional Economies(CORE) A USAID-funded project being delivered by AECOM Inc

13. What is the CORE Project about? • Economic Growth.* Increased Welfare in conflict affected populations.* Value Chain and Agricultural Productivity enhancement at the grass roots level.* Improvements in export earnings.* Connecting disparate regions.* Employment creation.

14. Project Purpose To link commodity production in the east to intermediate value adding processors and to businesses in Colombo and elsewhere for internal and external markets.

15. How is it Organised? • The work of the project is split into 5 components • Livelihood Development. • Agriculturally Based Value Chain Development. • Value Chain Service Development to Benefit Conflict Affected Populations. • Workforce Development. • Improved Enabling Environment Policy at the National Level.

16. Where does it operate? • Trincomalee • Batticaloa • Ampara • Anuradhapura • Moneragala

17. The Role of the BPA in CORE Our primary directive is TO MAINTAIN A CONFLICT SENSITIVE ‘LENS’ IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMMING In addition, the BPA is also involved in the component that is considering the policy context for project interventions

18. What type of things has the BPA done so far? • Developed Criteria on Conflict Sensitivity for assessing CORE projects with large companies • Developed and given workshops on Conflict Sensitivity for CORE staff • Developed and delivered training on Conflict Sensitivity for farmers groups • Worked with other components so that conflict sensitivity has been built into all proposed project interventions • Taken part in an initial workshop to analyse potential policy interventions