About this blog

Hello and welcome to my blog on using ICTs for peace.

I am a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives and Head of ICT and Peacebuilding at InfoShare, located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I read English as an undergraduate in Delhi, India and was awarded an Advanced Masters in Conflict Resolution and International Relations from the University of Queensland, Brisbane with a Dean’s Commendation for High Achievement. With significant research and field experience supporting civil society processes for conflict transformation, I am widely recognised as a leader in the design and integration of ICTs and new media in peacebuilding, media freedom and human rights advocacy.

I am a Special Advisor to the ICT4Peace Foundation, based in Geneva, Switzerland. Through the Foundation, I work to strengthen the use of ICTs in crisis information management and peacekeeping initiatives at the United Nations. Also a Fellow of the Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, I contribute to advocacy on Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) with a special focus on the integration of mobiles and the expansion of ODR theory and practice to embrace the challenges of peacebuilding.

In 2008, I was the first Sri Lankan to be awarded the prestigious News & Knowledge Entrepreneur Fellowship from the US based Ashoka Foundation in recognition of my work to leverage citizen journalism and online media to strengthen human rights, peace and reconciliation.

I am the founding editor of Groundviews (www.groundviews.org), an award-winning web based citizen journalism initiative now recognised domestically and internationally as one of the most vital sites for critical dissent in Sri Lanka. I write frequently to traditional print and web media in Sri Lanka and internationally.

Since the late 90’s, I have been interested in and written publicly on the use of technology and media for peacebuilding. While there are now hundreds of examples of ICTs used in conflict prevention, mitigation, and transformation, this was not the case when I first started to express my belief that ICTs would change the face of peacekeeping and peacebuilding.

In 2003, I helped setup InfoShare in Sri Lanka to pursue some of the possibilities of using ICT for peace in Sri Lanka in 2003. Based on this experience, I completed an Advanced Masters as a Rotary World Peace Fellow in Australia on Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW), ICT and Peacebuilding. At around this time, I was also introduced to Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) – another interesting use of technology to resolve commercial disputes. My growing interest in ODR led me to push the boundaries of its theory and application – introducing seasoned practitioners to the complex domains of ethno-political conflict and its transformation.

Much of my public writing and research on ICT4Peace is available from my personal website.

Since 2006, I have been involved in a number of efforts that have used new media, mobiles, the Internet and the web to amplify dissent in Sri Lanka. These include the award winning citizen journalism initiative Groundviews, Vikalpa, Vikalpa Video, Voices of Reconciliation Radio, mainstream media bias monitoring, community radio on the Internet, advising youth groups on web activism and in-depth reports into the tradional, community and new media landscapes in Sri Lanka.

In the capacity as a Special Advisor to the ICT4Peace Foundation, I have since 2007 worked with the UN’s Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO) to establish a coherent and UN wide crisis information management architecture. In 2008, I was the chief author of a report on the capabilities and capacities in the UN to deal with crises, and continue to actively work on this process.

My interests also extend to the use of ICTs in humanitarian aid. In this regard, I have authored substantive papers, participated and provided input to critical workshops at the UN and have also been associated with significant non-governmental efforts to advance the state of the art in the field of humanitarian aid and crisis response.

This blog is an attempt to cover issues on a regular basis that are of interest to me as an early visionary, thought-leader and practitioner of ICT4Peace. The work I do is challenging, but no more so than peacebuilding writ large. I am convinced that ICTs (including mobile phones) can and already do make a significant impact on and difference in conflict transformation, even in countries like Sri Lanka. This blog is a record of my failures, limited triumphs and more importantly, small steps taken towards the greater integration of ICTs in all aspects and all stages of peacemaking.

Please join me.

Some key posts:
Technology for non-violent struggle?
What is ICT4Peace?
Serious questions for ICT4Peace