Advocacy and Media Freedom

The SLPI has become the centre of almost all advocacy programmes with its active involvement and the advocacy and free media campaigns were also taken to the regions with the assistance of other media activist groups like the FMM and SLWJA. The SLPI is now becoming the centre of coordination for almost all advocacy events of all media activist organizations. The SLPI initiated many programs in this field from the beginning of 2007.

Through capable managing of these projects, the Institute proved its ability to handle the division.

At present the division has become the centre of activity among activists, donors and partners. However, the year 2008 will be a challenging one for media activists, by which, the advocacy and media freedom division of SLPI will be called upon to play a stronger role and active support of the donors envisaged.

Impact

Given the increasing nature of violence, human rights violations and suppression of the media, it is difficult to see any substantial outcome of the SLPI programme on a macro level, i.e. on democracy and peace. It could, however, be argued that the media situation could have been even worse without the advocacy work done by the SLPI together with national and international partners.

One example is when SLPI took the lead in a joint media effort and managed to block an announced censorship through the re-introduction of Press Council in June 2007. Another example is the crucial role played by the SLPI in bringing newsprint to Jaffna in 2007 when the Jaffna papers were about to close down due to lack of newsprint. In another attempt by the government to formulate a ‘media policy,’ the SLPI was the key networking point for all the media activist groups to take a common agenda in the exercise. Although none of the achievements can be attributed to the SLPI alone, the SLPI was the leading media institute in Sri Lanka to play a pivotal role.

When it comes to SLPI's safety activities, the need for confidentiality is obvious and details are witheld to protect individual journalists as well as the Institute.

When discussing results of the SLPI project it is important not to forget the Institute per se: for the first time ever there is a national media institute systematically developing Sri Lankan journalism; an institute initiated, owned and run by the media itself; an institute managing advocacy, training and self-regulation and by that trying to change media from within.