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"If I can change the mind of one person, I have made a difference.”

In Sri Lanka, a ground-breaking project aims to reduce the vulnerabilities to violent extremism

By United Nations Development Programme

March 17^th, 2022

The 2019 Easter Sunday attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed nearly 270 people and injured around 500 were the worst in the country’s history.

Another casualty was the spread of misinformation, which deepened the divide between Buddhist and Muslim communities.

"If I can change the mind of one person, I have made a difference.”

"If I can change the mind of one person, I have made a difference.”

In mid-2020, UNDP began talking to several organizations to develop effective tools to reduce the vulnerability of Sri Lankan communities towards violent extremism. The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) stepped in to address the issue, one that many countries are familiar with.

Sri Lanka's media technology is up-to-date, but its media literacy is one of the lowest in the South Asia region, and journalistic accountability and integrity had suffered.

The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) team in Sri Lanka. Photo: UNDP Sri Lanka

Technology and media diversification have prioritized ‘breaking news’, and social media plays a vital role in conveying information in a matter of moments to millions.

CIR engages journalists and others to take a deeper look at issues, produce inquiry-based reports, and avoid rhetoric and propaganda. Funded by the European Union, the initiative aimed to empower journalists, visual storytellers, bloggers, citizen journalists, media educators, and interested citizens with the rigorous tools of investigative journalism to halt the spread of hate messaging.

"If I can change the mind of one person, I have made a difference.”

"If I can change the mind of one person, I have made a difference.”

The CIR projects, the first of their kind in Sri Lanka, began in November 2020 and used a three-pronged approach. First was media literacy, under which 18 training sessions were conducted for 300 journalists, media academics, civic groups, citizen journalists, and non-journalists who were trained on the importance of media literacy.

Keshayini Edmond, an architect, engineer, and freelance journalist from Batticaloa had found, as a Tamil, one of the larger minority groups, that she had little or no interaction with other communities.

“I have learned that these stereotypes are man-made, and they should not be a reason for division among our communities. Every community should be respected and loved,” she said.

Keshayini is a freelance journalist who focuses on stories that most would avoid. Photo: UNDP Sri Lanka

Keshayini’s focus within the project, and what has given her the most pride, is to capture stories that many others would avoid.

“People have constantly discouraged me from talking about subjects that are uncomfortable to hear. But I want to change that. As a freelance journalist, my duty is to bring out the truth.”

CIR's second phase was a collaboration with local and international experts. A selected group of senior journalists learned the fundamentals of investigative journalism, and they in turn are now serving as trainers and mentors.

"If I can change the mind of one person, I have made a difference.”

"If I can change the mind of one person, I have made a difference.”

"If I can change the mind of one person, I have made a difference.”

The associate editor of the newspaper Ceylon Today, and a former lecturer at the Sri Lanka College of Journalists, Gagani Weerakoon, took part.

“This project enabled me to think critically while putting the theories into practice. It also emphasized the importance and raised my consciousness of investigating a news item, even if it is a simple WhatsApp message, before sharing it,” she said.

Koshala Gunawardena, a young freelance web journalist from Sooriyawewa welcomed the chance to ask bigger questions and said the programme changed his outlook on reporting.

“Why is it happening? What are the reasons behind a news event? Does the reason have validity or have a social significance? Even though finding answers to such questions is difficult under the current system, I will rise to that challenge.”

"If I can change the mind of one person, I have made a difference.”

"If I can change the mind of one person, I have made a difference.”

The third stage took a novel approach by focusing on evidence-based creative storytelling. Using visual storytelling and creating compelling narratives through citizen journalism, the programme attracted more than 200 young people who were not traditional journalists. Their stories, ones that were not usually told, were tales of inclusion and diversity.

Keshayni, Gagani and Koshala are leading the way. They will encourage more people to uphold journalistic accountability while writing stories that do not cause or encourage racial or religious divides.

Using visual storytelling and creating compelling narratives through citizen journalism, the programme attracted more than 200 young people who were not traditional journalists. Photo: UNDP Sri Lanka

“It is not for me to stereotype or marginalize any person or community as others do in mass media or spread fake news. My audience has the right to know the truth. I aim to offer that truth and by doing so change the current state of journalism. If I can change the mind of one person, I have made a difference,” Koshala said.

Footnotes

The programme was a part of UNDP’s Regional Project on ‘Preventing Violent Extremism through promoting tolerance and respect for diversity’ funded by the European Union.

FootNotes

The programme was a part of UNDP’s Regional Project on ‘Preventing Violent Extremism through promoting tolerance and respect for diversity’ funded by the European Union.

© 2026 United Nations Development Programme

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