Fearless to exercise the right to Freedom of Expression: Media Students of the University of Jaffna

The Incubator Spaces for Promoting Information Right and Freedom of Expression (InSPIRE) project has been instrumental in bridging the gap between the Southern and Northern Sri Lanka. In the past, there had been minimal opportunities for the Tamil community and especially for the undergraduates of University of Jaffna (UOJ) to voice their socio-economic and political issues and be heard by the Southern people.

But “[n]ow we have a channel to communicate issues in Jaffna to the South. … Those days we were struggling to tell our story to the South. But now we have a channel to share our stories,” said Siri Thivi, Liaison Officer of UOJ from the InSPIRE project referring to the bonds created between the students between Jaffna and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura (USJP). During the Practical Training Sessions, Inter-district Exchanges and Idea Markets organized by SDJF during the last few months have brought the young undergraduates to develop networks based on trust and friendship. Camaraderie and conviction that has been created among the students from Jaffna, Peradeniya, Sri Jayewardenepura and South Eastern universities during the InSPIRE project activities is evident as every student said that the perceptions they had about the Sinhalese people to be proud was falsified because during the interactions they were very outgoing and open to ideas. Many sentiments on the difficult circumstances under which the Northern community live were shared by the Core Group representatives of UOJ with Helvetas Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum (SDJF). They discussed the limitations they have even in exercising a right like Freedom of Expression which is guaranteed by the Constitution of Sri Lanka. But they were hopeful that this Incubator Space will provide more opportunities to students to express freely about various socio-political and economic issues that the Northern people are facing everyday. The Core Group of each university consists of a collective of student and Alumni representatives and lecturers who are responsible for the management of the Incubator Space. The meeting was held on 13th October 2022, at the Media Department of UOJ after Helvetas Sri Lanka handed over the equipment to be used by the Media students of UOJ. The meeting convened project team members from HELVETAS and SDJF, student members of the UOJ Core Group, as well as senior lecturers and focal points of the university.  

With the immense support from Dr. S. Raguram, Helvetas Sri Lanka in partnership with SDJF established the Incubator Space at the Media Department of UOJ. It is a Space to share ideas and discuss matters on Freedom of Expression and Right to Information and Dr. Raguram envisions to use the Space as an Integrated Newsroom that will produce creative and compelling stories from Jaffna with the active participation from the students.

After the handing over of the equipment to the newly established Incubator Space, SDJF and Helvetas Sri Lanka engaged in a fruitful discussion with the students on both 13 and 14th October. On the second day, Helvetas Sri Lanka, in partnership with SDJF, organized an Orientation to the students to give some guidance on how to use the Incubator Space in a useful manner to work on democracy and human rights related issues i.e. Information Right and Freedom of Expression. The Space is there to promote working creatively and maintain the sustainability of the Space and engagement with the students. More than 25 students participated at the orientation and got involved in a demonstration which showed the students how to use the Green Screen with other equipment donated by InSPIRE project.