by Dayan Jayatilleke The New Year brought a valuable gift in my email. It was a dossier entitled ‘Seeking Space for State Reform’ and carried an even more beguiling subtitle, ‘Consensus and Contradictions in Public Perceptions’.  A publication of the ICES (the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, from and of which I hadn’t heard for quite a while), it was a product of the Politics of State Reform Project. What made it compelling reading was that it was nothing less than a ‘National Survey of Grassroots Perceptions of State Reform’, which, translated, meant that it was a recent survey of public opinion across all communities, about the ethnic conflict and the  various reform proposals to address or resolve it.

Vacancy for the Post of Executive Director, International Centre for Ethnic Studies The International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) is looking for an Executive Director to lead its operations with effect from January 1, 2012.

by Shakya Lahiru Pathmalal Two years after the war the importance of social reconciliation among different communities is more important than ever. Reconciliation, as John Paul Lederach puts it, is ‘the restoring and healing of torn-apart relationships’, For some of us in cosmopolitan cities such as Colombo, Galle and Kandy, the interaction between individuals from different communities is a daily occurrence. But a large portion of Sri Lankans do not, in an entire life-time, interact with individuals from different communities. The lack of such intermingling of communities would be an obstacle to reconciliation and a meaningful peace after a 30 year war.

‎Peace Building in Sri Lanka (American Centre in association with ICES) by Dr. Joyce Neu Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 4:30pm Location: ICES Auditorium

Reconciliation and Reconstruction through  Organisational Change by Professor Martin Hall (Vice Chancellor of the  University of Salford, UK) Date: 6 December 2011 at 5:45pm Location: Earl’s Court, Cinnamon Lakeside

The International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) conducted a workshop entitled “From War to Peace: Perspectives from the East” in Batticaloa on the 26th and 27th of November 2011. The primary objective was to analyze key developments since the end of war and identify the challenges the country faces as it emerges from 30 years of political violence. In this context, the dialogue explored some of the current concerns and discussed recommendations in order to forge a sustainable and long term peace that will benefit all Sri Lankans.

Human Rights International Film Festival Date: December 7 – 9, 2011 (Daily – 2:30 and 5:30pm) Location: ICES Auditorium

Seeking Space for State Reform Consensus and Contradictions in Public Perceptions Politics of State Reform Project - International Centre for Ethnic Studies The main objectives of the Politics of State Reform Project were to identify and assess efforts to solve the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka through state reform. The research involved analyzing the structural impediments and politics behind the state reform initiatives and the reasons for their failure to provide a political solution for the ethnic conflict. What made this project unique was the attempt to understand the above from the perspectives of political elites and their constituencies – the citizens or the general public.

The requirement to undertake specific efforts to identify gender issues arises because statistics are needed for topics that may be of greater relevance to one sex than the other, and to take into account the fact that policies and programmes may have differential impacts on women and men that therefore need to be monitored separately. Until recently and almost universally, the majority of decision makers involved in identifying data requirements and developing national statistical systems have been men. Thus men’s concerns, needs and lifestyles are better represented in current statistics than women’s.

The ICES Politics of State Reform research project funded by the World Banks Post Conflict Fund commenced on the 1st of June 2009 and was successfully completed on the 23rd of February 2011. The principal aims of this research were to identify and study past attempts at state reform to resolve the ethnic conflict, understand

MAKING SOUTH ASIAN CITIES HABITABLE A PERSPECTIVE FROM THE PAST by Professor Ramachandra Guha, Neelan Tiruchelvam 12th Memorial Lecture July 31 , 2011. Colombo, ICES, 2011. 16p. C. Rs.100.00

The Ethnic Studies Report (ESR), an internationally-circulated research journal on ethnicity, ethnic conflict and related issues is produced in January and July every year and is in its 22nd year of publication. Founding Editor K. M. de Silva Editor Maithrie White Managing Editor Iranga Silva Advisory Board Liyanage Amarakeerthi Piyannart