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CF Source: Foundation

Rewriting the script

Posted on by Commonwealth Foundation

Photo credit: Russell Watson. 

The Commonwealth Foundation (CF) spoke to Lisa Harewood, a Bajan filmmaker, during the Commonwealth People’s Forum 2018.

We talked about storytellers’ experiences, working with the Commonwealth Writers programme and the ways in which less-heard voices can influence public discourse.

CF: Please tell us how the work of the Commonwealth Writers Programme has supported your work and whether it has enhanced or impacted on your storytelling and if so, how?

Lisa: I would have to say, and this is no exaggeration, that the Commonwealth Writers programme changed the course of my career. They not only supported the development of my film, Auntie (2013), but they also premiered it in New Zealand and supported its screening at a variety of quite high-profile festivals. Due to the publicity and the conversations those screenings generated people started to tell me their own stories which then led me to say: ‘Wait a minute, there is so much more than just the one story that I told!’ A year after the film was out, Commonwealth Writers reached out and asked me whether I was willing to do some outreach which they offered to fund.

‘For a wider audience, especially policymakers, hopefully the effect is that they perceive and understand an issue in a different and more powerful way.’

What I created was Barrel Stories, an online oral history archive where I record and share the stories of people who have been affected by parental separation because of migration. The site also includes a list of resources and other work on the issue. Commonwealth Writers didn’t hesitate in saying, ‘How can we help? What do you need?’…They trusted me to pull it off and they helped me to understand my own process and the logistical and emotional pitfalls of getting involved with the recording of real stories. Out of that I developed a much deeper interest in non-fiction storytelling and two years ago I moved to the [United Kingdom] to do an MA in documentary.

Auntie (Harewood, 2013) follows a middle­-aged seamstress and respected caregiver in her rural Barbadian community

Now I’m in the process of developing this project across multiple platforms. I’ve hit this rich vein, not just of stories but of emotion and I feel a responsibility now to see it through. I want to create something that really gets to the heart of this issue and provides a tool for understanding and maybe even some healing where it’s needed.

All of this is a direct result of being selected for the Commonwealth Writers programme in 2012.

‘I would have to say, and this is no exaggeration, that the Commonwealth Writers programme changed the course of my career.’

CF: What are the most effective ways to reach people with your storytelling, and raise awareness of issues so that it influences public dialogue?

Lisa: I’m open to using all sorts of means to craft and to deliver the story I want to tell. I’ve made films, I’m building an audio archive, I’m experimenting with VR and immersive technologies and old school community workshops. As long as it works for the story and for the audience, I’m at a stage where I think beyond just film.

Harewood on the set of Auntie (Harewood, 2013)

From a content standpoint I’m interested in empowering the people whose stories I want to share. I want to help them to co-create the work with me. In that regard they are the first audience that I am trying to reach. I want them to feel heard and validated and supported by a community of other people who have shared similar experiences.

For a wider audience, especially policymakers, hopefully the effect is that they perceive and understand an issue in a different and more powerful way and are moved to act to bring about positive change. I have to be careful though not to allow myself to be burdened by an expectation of certain outcomes from this work. I have to be focused on telling the best stories that I can.

 

CF: How important is it to hear from storytellers outside of the mainstream, those less heard voices and less heard stories? Can such stories impact the dominant narrative?

Lisa: As a person from the Caribbean I grew up seeing so many terrible depictions of Caribbean people. Usually as happy-go-lucky, ‘everything is great, yeah man!’ people. And it sounds like a really silly thing… but when someone says this is how your country is and this is how these people act and sound and it’s not anything that you recognise, you feel really insulted and demeaned. Having other people tell our stories takes away so much from us if it’s not done well. I’m not saying that you can’t tell a story from a community that’s not your own. You can, but you have to do it with a great deal of sensitivity and a desire to get it right. So I’m really glad to be a part of a generation of filmmakers and writers and artists who are taking control of our own narrative. We can have rich, fully rounded portrayals instead of damaging stereotypes.

I’ve seen through my own work on Auntie and Barrel Stories just how amazing it is for an audience of Caribbean people to see and hear characters who they recognise. It’s almost a cliché to say people need to see themselves reflected but they do. It’s one way for them to make sense of their own lives and experiences and their place in the wider world.

Lisa Harewood is a film director. 

One foot taller

Posted on by Jenny Bennett-Tuionetoa

Jenny Bennett-Tuionetoa on how being a regional winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize developed her confidence and transformed her worldview.

Personal growth is something which, for me at least, does not occur gradually or steadily. Rather, it happens in fits and starts during significant moments in my life; moments which are so pivotal to my journey as a human being that they permanently alter the way I see myself and the world.

The short week I spent in Nicosia for the 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize can definitely be counted among those rare defining moments. If personal growth could be measured in inches, then I’m sure I grew a foot taller during the last week of July.

Having travelled the twelve thousand eight hundred miles from Samoa to Cyprus, I arrived red-eyed and exhausted in Nicosia after more than thirty hours without sleep. Not the most promising start for a highly anxious introvert! But the efforts of the hard-working Commonwealth Writers team made everything run so smoothly that my many anxieties evaporated and I was able to enjoy every moment of the experience, in spite of myself.

Above: Jenny shares writing experiences at a Q&A session following the Commonwealth Short Story Prize Award Ceremony 2018 in Nicosia, Cyprus

Coming from the Pacific, whose literature is still relatively young, and in particular from a very small island nation which can only boast a handful of authors, meeting people who share my passion for story-telling is a rare privilege. To meet and connect with the four writers whose work outshone the other five thousand entries for this year’s prize was beyond amazing. Socialising is often quite difficult for me, and at home I am something of a recluse, but with Efua, Kevin, Lynda and Sagnik the connection was instantaneous.  Not only was the presence of these writers pleasantly energising, I also learnt a great deal from each of them: from the variety of techniques, the diversity of backgrounds, the multiplicity of experiences and the beauty of their unique personalities.

‘Not only was the presence of these writers pleasantly energising, I also learnt a great deal from each of them: from the variety of techniques, the diversity of backgrounds, the multiplicity of experiences and the beauty of their unique personalities.’

While every day of the trip provided new insights and memorable experiences, the highlight was of course the Short Story Prize announcement ceremony on 25 July. The open-air, rooftop setting at the Centre of Visual Arts and Research, overlooking a quiet street in old Nicosia, could not have been more ideal. The mood which the setting sun and darkening skies had helped to create was enhanced by the poignant songs of Cypriot artist Vasiliki Anastasiou which threaded together the stories that were read that night. So touched was I by the atmosphere which both the music and surroundings had created that I shed my nerves, which for me is no mean feat, and read from my heart; unafraid to reveal my soul to the world.  I am indebted especially to Janet Steel from the Commonwealth Foundation, who not only ensured that the evening was a success for all of us with her creative direction but whose support and encouragement gave me the courage to grow.

This growth I keep mentioning is impossible to measure and very difficult to describe, but it manifests itself in subtle changes in perception and visible differences in outward behavior. I find myself beginning to redefine who I am and to rethink some long-held preconceptions about the world. For one, I have become far more optimistic about the future of human rights in the Pacific Islands, having discovered that other Commonwealth countries which faced very similar challenges have begun to overcome them. More importantly, the Commonwealth Short Story Prize has taught me that no matter how small and isolated our islands are, our voices matter and we deserve to be heard. I am now also confident that there is a place for people like me in the world; something that I have struggled to affirm for many years.

Above: Regional winners of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2018

It was in Nicosia, among my fellow writers and new-found friends that I was able to, for the very first time, speak publicly about my gender identity: something I have always shrunk from mentioning despite being an LGBTQIA rights advocate. The people around me and the exposure to a new, diverse world finally made it possible for me to unlock the closet door, twelve thousand miles away from home. Never before had I said the words ‘I am non-binary’ out loud and I have never felt so liberated! This personal liberation has been mirrored by the freeing of inner voices and the unlocking of inner stories which will shortly find their way onto paper and eventually out into the world.  Winning the Regional Prize has thus not only provided validation, exposure and a platform for my advocacy, it has also been a significant step in my personal journey towards growth, self-acceptance and freedom, all of which will undoubtedly make me a better writer.

Jenny Bennett-Tuionetoa is a Samoan writer.

Malawi’s 50-50 campaign

Posted on by Gillian Cooper

Gillian Cooper investigates one partner’s decade-long effort to secure greater female representation in decision-making in Malawi.

Emma Kaliya is Board Member of Gender Links, Chairperson of FEMNET, and the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance in Malawi and a women’s rights activist of many, many years. We had the pleasure of speaking to Emma Kaliya about her life’s work and her role in the Gender Links project Making the Post-2015 agenda work for gender equality in Southern Africa, which is supported by the Commonwealth Foundation.

I was struck by the continuous challenges and her unwavering dedication, over more than a decade, to increase the numbers of women in political decision-making roles. Emma’s story highlighted the highs and lows and continuous struggle that gender equality advocacy requires the world over. I was pleased to learn that the global ‘50-50 campaign’ had started in Malawi as a national, grassroots campaign.

Back in 2008, after many years of lobbying and negotiations by the Southern Africa women’s movement, the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development was adopted by Heads of States and Government. Civil society alongside Ministries of Gender/Women affairs had fought long and hard to get SADC leaders to agree to the Protocol – transforming a non-binding Declaration into a more robust Protocol agreement.

Civil society fought to include the protocol target that at least 50 per cent of decision-making positions in the public and private sectors are held by women.  (Since the Protocol’s revision in 2016/17, this target has been revised to be met by 2030).

‘Emma’s story highlighted the highs and lows and continuous struggle that gender equality advocacy requires the world over.’

Adoption of the Protocol was a significant achievement, but civil society recognised that the Protocol’s adoption was just one step in a long journey to implementation. In Emma’s words: ‘We were not going to sit quietly! We know there are tricks!’ Pushing for implementation required tracking progress, and this would be done using the SADC Gender Barometer.

An important first step in the introduction of the Barometer was to popularise it and to show its usefulness to improving gender equality. Fortuitously, Malawi’s elections closely followed the Protocol’s adoption in 2009; Malawi had not yet ratified the Protocol. So in the run up to elections, Emma and other civil society actors used this opportunity to translate the target of 50-50 female representation in political decision-making into action.  The ‘50-50 campaign’ was born.

The campaign was able to gain momentum and really took root with Malawians.  Mini-buses and roadside rest houses painted with the 50-50 campaign slogans are still visible today. While we chatted, Emma challenged us: ‘Ask anyone what 50-50 is and they will tell you.’ And so I asked a couple taxi drivers and the receptionist at our Lilongwe hotel – both male and female – if they knew about the 50-50 campaign. Though not a representative sample, of course –each was able to tell me that it was about increasing numbers of women in politics.

Late Bingu wa Mutharika, the President at the time, was eager to demonstrate that Malawi would make progress on its regional and international commitments to increase the numbers of women in decision-making spaces. And Emma was given a number of platforms to present the movement’s agenda. She was clear: ‘We have come for one agenda. Women want to be in Parliament and local councils.’ Sure enough, in that year, the President provided small but significant funding for the campaigns in each constituency where there was a female candidate. The campaign paid off. At the time, Malawi had the highest number of female candidates it had ever had and 43 seats out of 193 seats were eventually won by women.

‘Mini-buses and roadside rest houses painted with the 50-50 campaign slogans are still visible today.’

Three years later Malawi got its first female President. Previously Vice-President, she took office following the sudden death of Mutharika. Expecting to build on the progress over the last few years, instead the 50-50 campaign faced some of its biggest challenges in the 2014 election cycle.

Those unhappy with her leadership promoted a campaign in the 2014 elections to discriminate against all women in political office. The campaign against women leaders saw the number of women representatives drop from 22% to 17%. ‘We were really let down…I never expected it’; Emma’s body language showed the toll the discriminatory campaign had.

In 2017, Emma was one of the Commissioners on the Special Law Commission on the Review of Electoral Laws in Malawi. One of the recommendations of the Commission was the institution of a quota for women in each of the 28 electoral districts. Such a quota system would open up a seat in each district, guaranteeing 28 seats for women, but would not challenge seats in existing constituencies where women would still be eligible to stand.

While President Peter Mutharika was supportive when he made a statement at an EU-Brussels meeting, his Cabinet decided to reject the recommendation for the ‘28 seat initiative’, siting technical implementation challenges once adopted. Emma was understandably frustrated.

Malawians go to the polls in 2019, and campaigners have been told that the 28-seat-initiative will not be considered. However, the 50-50 campaign lives on and is gearing up again.

Gillian Cooper is Programme Manager for Knowledge, Learning and Communications at the Commonwealth Foundation.

Why land laws matter

Posted on by Patience Ayebazibwe

Patience Ayebazibwe led research in Southern Africa on the policies and conventions governing women’s access to land. Here’s what she found.

The status of women in Africa as a whole, and the extent to which the regulatory environment promotes gender equality across different spheres of life, provides an important backdrop for understanding and addressing gender imbalances  in land and investment governance. Moreover, patriarchal attitudes and practices persist, particularly in rural areas, which means that women continue to be marginalised in terms of access to land and productive resources.

A 2017 study conducted by Akina Mama Wa Afrika in Malawi, eSwatini and Zambia, with support from the Commonwealth Foundation, revealed that deliberate restrictions on women accessing, controlling and owning land are common to all three countries. The study also showed that most dominant legal systems are strongly gender discriminatory. This is attributed to an unenforced policy regime on land guided by patriarchal cultural beliefs that do not regard women as custodians of land, discriminatory laws and policies, expensive legal justice, and low representation of women in senior leadership positions, largely as a result of persisting patriarchal attitudes and practices at both community and household levels.

Land is a critical tool of production and remains a social asset that is central to political and financial power, cultural identity and decision making. In Africa women’s customary land rights are more vulnerable. Even where customary tenure systems recognise land rights of both men and women, women’s names are rarely on the documents, making them more vulnerable to losing their rights.

Patience recently met Commonwealth Foundation staff to discuss the progress of Akina Mama Wa Afrika’s project in partnership with the Commonwealth Foundation ‘Strengthening women’s voices to advocate for women’s land rights in Southern Africa’

Study after study has shown that women’s access to and control of land, and other productive resources, is central to ensuring their right to equality and to a decent standard of living. This is emphasised in Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 5. While Goal 1 recognises that to end poverty, it will be crucial to ensure equal rights to ownership and control over land, as well as equal rights to inheritance of productive resources (target 1.4), Goal 5 on Gender equality and women’s empowerment calls upon governments to carry out legal and policy reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources (Target 5a). Indeed, evidence shows that a woman who has land has a degree of security; she is less likely to tolerate domestic violence and is in a better position to leave a violent relationship and negotiate safe sex, so the importance of ensuring women’s land rights goes far beyond economic security and access to resources to the imperative goal of ending violence against women.

Why is it then that while women’s land rights are well-recognised as an important pathway for achieving poverty reduction at individual, household and national levels, as highlighted above, many African countries continue to deny them ownership and control of land and other productive resources?

‘Land is a critical tool of production and remains a social asset that is central to political and financial power, cultural identity and decision making.’

The Akina Mama wa Afrika study showed that the situation of women and ownership of land has been worsened by the increased rush for large scale land acquisition by both international and national investors. While contexts differ, investor interest in large-scale land deals for agribusiness has raised commercial pressures on land and livelihoods across sub-Saharan Africa.  Admittedly such projects can potentially benefit local communities, but research suggests that investments can often have negative consequences on vulnerable groups, indeed women suffer disproportionately. This is because such investments tend to reinforce, or even exacerbate, existing attitudes and practices. Further denying women’s access to land.

Understanding these customary norms, as well as the opportunities and challenges presented by existing statutory laws relating to land and investment, is crucial in developing appropriate and effective interventions to strengthen women’s voices and accountability in land and investment governance.

Going forward, advancement of women’s economic rights, their control and participation in the land economy can no longer be ignored if we are to attain gender equality and reduce poverty. The study reveals that Malawi, eSwatini and Zambia need to push for accelerated land reform, particularly to address the duality of the land tenure system which is governed by traditional and statutory norms. This should involve increasing access, control and ownership of land by women in order to address the historical injustices that women have faced over land. The research also points to the need to strengthen women’s livelihood opportunities by increasing their ability to hold agricultural investors in their countries to account. This will not happen overnight and will require organising so that there is a critical mass of activists demanding policy change. This point was well articulated by one of the participants in the research project: ‘land is power, and it won’t be given away easily by those who have it. We need to build a strong movement so that collectively we take actions to challenge the barriers…our voices from the ghetto must be heard. We need land: it’s capital and it’s life’.

Patience Ayebazibwe is Programmes Officer at Akina Mama Wa Afrika. Women’s Land Rights in the Wave of Land Acquisitions in Malawi, eSwatini and Zambia is available for download here. 

Details for a difference

Posted on by Anita Nzeh

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) are implementing a Grants funded project on the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2016.

In June the Foundation’s Knowledge, Learning and Communications (KLC) and Grants team went on mission to Sri Lanka to learn more about our partner’s work.

We met with RTI civil mobilisation coordinators from different districts in Sri Lanka who shared both stories of positive change and resistance. We observed an RTI awareness raising and RTI filling training session in Nonagama and we spoke to elderly community members in Matara who consider themselves torch bearers of the RTI Act.

Before the Act came into law, TISL advocated for its adaptation to the Sri Lankan context.  This involved representations in the drafting committee’s final meetings and working with parliamentarians to sensitise them and broaden their understanding of what RTI is about. Post-enactment of the RTI Act, TISL have adopted a watchdog role to ensure compliance.

On the advocacy side of the project the RTI team provide feedback and advise the government on how best to implement the law. This includes work with the RTI Commission who provide the Act’s guidelines and the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media who raise awareness of the Act. In addition to this TISL have worked to ensure that other legislation does not interfere with right to information laws. A recent examples is the National Audit Bill which, while still in drafting stage, has certain provisions that prevented information disclosure.

Above: Project manager Sankhita Gunaratne. Hear her account of the project here. 
Above: Community flag bearer of the RTI act. Flag bearers assist other citizens in filing information requests.

In Sri Lanka people file RTI’s for many reasons. Amongst the most common are:

  • Land e.g. public property, land permits, development licences, paddy land for citizens and canal cultivation permits;
  • Development activities e.g. Construction delays and procurement;
  • Social welfare e.g. law enforcement, police, army;
  • Health and Education e.g. school admissions process and educational facilities.

Awareness raising around the RTI Act is key to the project’s success. TISL’s RTI team, led by Sankhita Gunaratne conduct awareness raising in the form of street dramas (in local languages of five districts), press advertisements and newspaper articles. In addition to the RTI van, a dedicated website called RTI Watch and a film on RTI has been created; providing personal stories that have been be shared with wider audiences.

Although outcomes for citizens are overwhelmingly positive, it is clear that some information requests are not being dealt with in the correct way. Pushing for the full realisation of the RTI Act in practice is the task ahead for the TISL RTI team.

Please use this link to read more about TISL RTI teams work Right to Information: a success story from Vavuniya, Sri Lanka written by Sankhita Gunaratne.

Anita Nzeh is Senior Programme Officer for Knowledge and Learning at the Commonwealth Foundation.

Grants roundup: helping civic voices to be heard

Posted on by Commonwealth Foundation

Five grants projects were approved by the Grants Committee on 13 June 2018.

In line with the Foundation’s strategic goals, these projects will help ensure that policy, law and government institutions are more effective contributors to development through the influence of civic voices.

This year’s cohort features two projects focussed on disability rights.

The first is to be implemented by the Access Bangladesh Foundation (ABF), a leading Disabled People’s Organisation (DPO) that has a strong track record of working to empower persons with disabilities through community based approaches. Bangladesh signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2007 and passed the national Disabilities Act in 2013. This project aims to crystallise the government’s commitments by building on the advocacy capacities of people with disabilities.

This will be done by organising self-help groups in 20 union parishads (local constituencies) that are spread across three districts in Bangladesh. It is expected that by the end of the project, the self-help groups will be better integrated into planning processes and that government officials will have mainstreamed disability concerns into their programmes.

‘Carers often face a number of issues including deterioration in their own health, financial strain, isolation, and social stigma.’

In a project by ChildLink Inc, efforts are being made to support children with Disabilities in Jamaica and Guyana. In 2007, Jamaica became the first country to sign and ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) which was followed by the adoption of the (national) Disability Act in 2014. ChildLink Inc. will focus on developing the skills of parents to engage the education system and hold it accountable to the act’s provisions.

In Guyana, ChildLink Inc will work with parents, teachers, children with autism and child-focussed Civil Society Organisations to support special education needs in Guyana. Guyana became a signatory to the UNCRPD in 2007. This was followed by the Persons with Disabilities Act in 2010 which involved a commitment to the special education needs policy (SEN). It is expected that by the end of the project SEN could be mainstreamed into government schools.

Two projects from this year’s cohort will be implemented in India.

The government of India has accorded high priority to building sustainable, smart cities that are resilient and able to meet the challenges posed by rapid urbanisation. A project implemented by Gujarat Mahila Housing Sew Trust (GMHST) will support government efforts by amplifying the voice of women in planning processes to bring about community participation in city-level development. The projects will take place in Ahmedabad and Surat: two of the cities covered by the Smart City Mission.

‘Occasionally the Commonwealth Foundation sees the value in building on the success of former projects.’

Occasionally the Commonwealth Foundation sees the value in building on the success of former projects. There are 26.8 million disabled people in India, many of whom need to be cared for by an unpaid family member. Carers often face a number of issues including deterioration in their own health, financial strain, isolation, and social stigma. From October 2014 to September 2017 Carer’s Worldwide UK sought to tackle this problem using funding from the Commonwealth Foundation.

They used the funds to: raise awareness of local authorities in Jharkand, Andra Pradesh and Karnataka to the needs and rights of carers; enable their inclusion into local authority welfare schemes; provide carers with greater access to medical care; and improve their ability to take up new or additional livelihood activities leading to increased income levels. In a new project starting in 2018, Carer’s Worldwide will build on results achieved at local government level, strengthen civic voice in advocating for the rights of family carers and support the passage of favourable policy and legislation.

Following an uptick in applications from the Pacific, amongst this year’s grants partners is The Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (PIANGO), a regional coordinating body and network of umbrella NGO bodies in 24 Pacific Island countries and territories.

It is well understood that climate change represents the most serious challenge to the future of the Pacific Island countries. Low-lying atolls such as Kiribati are among the countries most vulnerable to its adverse impacts. PIANGO is proposing to work with one of its members, the Kiribati Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (KANGO), in order to collaborate and dialogue with the i-Kiribati government and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) to help shape policies that reflect the needs, priorities, and voices of local i-Kiribati communities on migration and climate change.

For information on our next grants call and all other updates on our grants programme please sign up here. Profiles for each newly endorsed project will be available on the Commonwealth Foundation grants pages soon.

Right to Information: a success story from Vavuniya, Sri Lanka

Posted on by Sankhita Gunaratne

Transparency International Sri Lanka made an Information Request of the Vavuniya Divisional Secretariat, querying the lack of updates to the Secretariat’s website.

The site in question had not been updated since 2015. Information was also requested about the steps the Divisional Secretariat had taken to help and facilitate members of the public who submit RTI Forms.

The Divisional Secretariat responded by updating their website in June 2018 . Furthermore, an information board was displayed in front of the Secretariat Office, containing details about the information officer of the Divisional Secretariat. This enabled easy access to the Secretariat’s RTI Unit for members of the public, and set a precedent for proactive disclosure.

The picture depicts the website last updated on 18 December 2014 and the update following the RTI request on 19 June 2018.

Sri Lanka marked a historic victory in August 2016 when the right to information act was passed. The law now enables all citizens to access information held by the State and was internationally acclaimed: ranking third in Centre for Law and Democracy’s RTI rating.

Even though the passage of the law was a result of 20 years of agitation by civil society, journalists, politicians and activists, beyond this circle, knowledge of the law and its significance was mostly non-existent. The grant provided by the Commonwealth Foundation enabled Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) to be one of the lead organisations in Sri Lanka demystifying the law for citizens – in Colombo, Matara, Ampara, Trincomalee and Jaffna, spanning the Northern, Western, Eastern and Southern provinces, and other districts as well.

Sri Lanka’s rank on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (91 ) demonstrates the challenge set before the country and hopes and were fostered that the RTI law would open up the space for transparency, accountability, and an avenue for ordinary citizens to better understand government processes.

However, since the law’s enactment little effort has been made to educate people on RTI, and it is civil society that has filled that space. Through this grant, TISL has employed several techniques aimed at doing so.

Very early on, as RTI was operationalised, TISL used an ‘RTI Van’ with a large LED screen and loudspeakers, to drive through the districts, stopping in strategic locations. It ran audiovisual content on the RTI process, with staff members interacting with the public, and in certain cases, helped them to formulate RTI requests on the spot. Notably, in the Trincomalee districts, over 150 RTI requests were facilitated covering issues of corruption, access to education and health facilities. Street dramas around International Right to Know Day 2017 , newspaper advertisements, missed call campaigns and SMS shots are among the other techniques that were used.

A Manual and information leaflets were created and mirrored on a website which was regularly updated. These described case studies and the law in local languages in a simplified and accessible manner. TISL has continued to visit communities conducting small pocket meetings, listening to people’s needs and brainstorming as to how people can use RTI creatively and at times collectively to resolve problems. TISL also facilitates constructive discussions with government counterparts.

RTI has been working in unforeseen ways in Sri Lanka. While it has in many instances led to information disclosure, government actors have been known to remediate issues causing discontent without disclosing information.

For example, the residents of Akkaraipaththu in Ampara made a complaint to the Medical Officer of Health (MOH), about garbage accumulation affecting 10 families and a school in Akkaraipaththu in May 2017. The issue was communicated to the President via the ‘Tell the President’ campaign in July 2017, but no action was taken. In January 2018, a RTI was filed, requesting information on the actions taken by the MOH pursuant to the complaint. Within four days of making the request, the garbage was cleared and the MOH even asked the citizen if he could withdraw his RTI.. The citizen has refused.

Another manner in which RTI has assisted the average citizen is that it has given them access where formerly she might have been stonewalled. The stringent timelines for disclosure stipulated in the law has ensured that citizens with a good understanding of the RTI process could follow a few simple and non-confrontational steps to hold a public institution accountable.

RTI is both weapon and deterrent, enforcer and protector. Stories of the law’s success have now begun trickling in from many parts of the country. It is eminently important that these hard-won victories continue to be used for the benefit of all.

Sankhita Gunaratne is a project manager at Transparency International Sri Lanka.