Samadana/M as a Centre for Non-Violent Conflict Resolution (NVCR)

SAMADANA/M is a Non-Governmental organization that is committed to promoting and implementing programmes in the field of non-violence, peace-building and conflict resolution. The name “SAMADANA’ and ‘SAMADANAM’ are words in the Sinhala and Tamil Languages respectively that stand for peace or peace giving.

A group of people who underwent training on Non-Violent Conflict Resolution in the years 1992 and 1993 through the workshops held by Quaker Peace and Services, understood of the need to promote the concept of Non-Violence, as the country was moving more and more towards a violent culture. In the first few years, this group met regularly in an informal manner and talked about non-violence and its importance. They conducted a facilitators training programme and several NVCR workshops. The need for greater organisational commitment and the protracted conflict in the country eventually led to the initiation of SAMADANA/M on September 11th, 1993.

Over the years, SAMADANA/M has initiated three major networks in the working areas to promote peace and reconciliation. One of the networks is SAMADANA AHIMSA SOCIETIES (SAS) in Seven Provinces (7) of Sri Lanka. In total 25 societies have been established covering 15 Districts. The purpose of these societies is to promote nonviolence as a concept and way of life and to handle local conflicts in a local way thereby promote co-existence, integration and reconciliation resulting in peace-building efforts.

Further, on experimental basis, SAMADANA/M formed the COMMUNITY ORGANISATION FORUM for SOCIAL ACTION DEVELOPMENT (COFSAD). COFSAD is consisted of the representatives from all the community-level organisations that include the Village Development Society, the Death donation Society, Welfare Society, Sports Clubs, Youth and Women organisations and identified and acceptable community leaders, the public servants operating at community level including the Grama Niladari, Family Health Workers, Samurdhi Officer etc. This network was initiated to carry out local development projects. They would identify local issues and local resources. They would plan out their development agenda in a participatory and collective manner and try to address issues using local resources.

To promote inter-religious co-existence, togetherness, understanding of other religious teachings, especially on nonviolence and peace-building the NON-IOLENT ACTION TEAM (NOVAT) was formed. This to be constituted with the religious leaders in each district with whom SAMADANA/M has worked and who have undergone the training on conflict resolution skills using non-violent methods and skills, who have come together for a workshop that was carried out to identify the teaching of nonviolence in all religions and worked on religious issues. This team also consisted of SAMADANA/M trained Non-violent cadres and identified community leaders. They were to function as a fire brigade to enter into scenes of conflicts and to bring about the peaceful settlement by nonviolent means.

Under this programme, SAMADANA/M worked in the districts of Kandy, Hambantota, Galle, Jaffna, Monaragala, Hanguranketha and Anuradhapura. Samadanam has over 30 years of hands on experience during which time it sustained a civil movement (perhaps one of the largest civil society movements in Sri Lanka) called the Ahinsa movement with over 25,000 active members across all districts of Sri Lanka. Hence, Samadanam’s pragmatic and ground-breaking approach has been serving communities to enhance their resilience to withstand internal and external pressures of violence motivated at ethno religious grounds.

Samadanam’s Ahinsa members sustain this civil movement on voluntary basis and they have active citizen groups, and inter religious groups heavily contributing to government’s initiatives such as Coexistence Societies (CESs), District Reconciliation Committees (DRCs) as well. Hence, Samadanam proposes to the current project as a practical and pragmatic NGO with hands on experience on promoting sustainable peace building, reconciliation, social cohesion, and preventing violent extremism.