BackgroundCentre for Peacebuilding and Reconciliation (CPBR) - Home for Diversity, is a Sri Lanka based NGO which empowers voices from the community to promote peacebuilding and create nationwide social change.
ReachOver the past 20 years, cpbr – home for diversity, has continued to spread its seeds of love and empathy to every corner in trauma-torn Sri Lanka.
ImpactCPBR’s programmes empower diverse community members to play a transformative role in peacebuilding and reconciliation in post-war Sri Lanka.
Centre for Peacebuilding and Reconciliation (CPBR) – Home for Diversity, aims to bridge divisions in Sri Lanka by promoting peacebuilding and non-violent conflict transformation. Since 2002, it has worked at the community and national level to address conflict between ethnic, religious and regional groups, promoting its core values of diversity, dignity and democracy.
Sri Lanka is tropical island South of India that has a population of 22 million people. The country suffered a 26-year civil war until 2009, which arose from ethnic tensions, and left generations traumatised.
It has also been impacted by legacies of colonisation by the British, Portuguese and Dutch. And a recent economic crisis led to a humanitarian crises and political protests.
The organisation adopts a bottom-up, participatory approach, aiming to restore broken relationships and foster peaceful coexistence through healing. CPBR facilitates inter-religious dialogue in religious settings, while exploring the role of art and earth wisdom in peacebuilding in secular settings. Recently, it has been exploring the use of social entrepreneurship in peacebuilding with women and girls from diverse backgrounds.
CPBR believes that social change starts at the individual level. Through inner dialogue and self-transformation, individuals can mobilise their communities to actively contribute to a more equal and just society. The main tools employed to facilitate personal transformation, capacity development, and confidence building, include visual arts, crafts, and sustainable living.
Peace Direct has worked in partnership with CPBR since 2006. Recent successful initiatives include The Interfaith Dialogue, which is being implemented with 300 religious and community leader groups comprising of children, young people, men, women and elders; The Voice of Image programme, which aims to inspire and empower young people through photography; and The Female Interfaith Initiative, implemented with female religious leaders, female community leaders and women affected by war.
Each programme empowers diverse community members to play a transformative role in peacebuilding and reconciliation in post-war Sri Lanka.
