A Three-day workshop was organized by the Peace Education team of the NPC in the context of ongoing efforts to improve and expand the knowledge and understanding of the National Pluralism Committee on pluralism; to independently identify and address the obstacles to pluralism and to apply the principles of pluralism in their communities and in the political arena. The workshop was held at Ecumenical Center, Colombo 6, recently.

15 of the 20 members that form the Pluralism Committee from nine districts (Ampara, Galle, Kandy, Kurunegala, Matara, Nuwaraeliya, Puttlam , Ratnapura and Trincomalee) attended the workshop. The 15 comprised nine Sinhalese, four Tamils and two Muslims, of which were 12 males, 2 females and 1 Buddhist monk.

Sydney Marcus Dias, Director, Thothenna -Children & Youth Development Center and M.C Rasmin – CEO/ Director, Sri Lanka Development Journalism Forum conducted the workshop.

At the workshop, the participants identified the differences and the key characteristics in "pluralistic” and “single dimensional” societies. This categorization helped them to understand the advantages of a “pluralistic” society over a “single dimensional” society and further enabled them to recognize the essential factors required within a society that accepts a “pluralistic” culture. This was achieved through the exchange of ideas and dialogue amongst the participants. The workshop also helped them to identify the social structures necessary for the development of a “pluralistic culture" and essential skills needed to adopt “pluralistic” values using components of the social structure such as education, art and literature, media and culture. Components such as art, literature and music, highlighted how each shapes an individual’s thoughts, emotions, attitudes and behavior while also influencing gender, religion and language. This helped them to grasp a better understanding of pluralistic values through art, literature and music and in doing so the participants grasped the importance of gender, democracy and moral values for the existence of a “pluralistic culture” while acknowledging the conditions necessary within a democracy.

As observed during the post workshop comments made by the participants and the evaluations, the workshop had exceeded their expectations. The participants claimed that the workshop enhanced their understanding and knowledge about pluralism and had also helped them identify the necessary tools required in implementing their action plans to address the issues in their specific districts to good effect. The participants also praised the trainer’s methods of using a discussion based forum, songs, video clips, films and meditative activities as they helped bring a wealth of ideas to the table.

Source: http://www.peace-srilanka.org