Madhawa Palihapitiya's Page

What motivated you to become involved in peace and conflict resolution?

The war in my country

Please feel free to provide a short bio about yourself (no more than 3 paragraphs)

I am a Mediator from Sri Lanka. I graduated from the University of Colombo and Brandeis University, Boston. I was the Director of Programs at the Foundation for Co-Existence in Sri Lanka where I engaged in high-risk mediation and conflict prevention efforts involving the two warring parties of that country. Myself and Dr Kumar Rupesinghe created a Conflict Early Warning and Early Response System for the volatile Eastern Province of Sri Lanka in 2002-2003 with well documented efforts of preventing cases of direct violence, including riots until 2006. I have experience in Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction work, particularly following natural and man-made disasters. I was also overseeing development work in the Colombo slums of Sri Lanka. I am currently teaching/writing about his experiences using Conflict Early Warning and Early Response and theater for Peace-building. I am also the Assistant Director Development of the Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution and Public Collaboration at UMass Boston where I am fundraising, institutionalizing Impact Assessment and organizational development.

Please list the countries and/or regions in which you have direct and significant expertise

Sri Lanka
United States

What is your current country of residence?

United States

What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?

Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution and Public Collaboration at UMass Boston

What is your personal or organizational website?

http://madhawapalihapitiya.blogspot.com/

What is one of your favorite websites in the field? (please provide one answer per box)

http://beyondintractability.org

Which are your primary sectoral areas of expertise?

Alternative Dispute Resolution, Peacebuilding, Conflict Resolution, Conflict Mainstreaming, Democratization, Development, Humanitarian Relief, Youth, Civil Society, Organizational Development

Which are your primary skills areas?

Training, Evaluation, Program Design, Fundraising, Program Administration, Intervention, Research

What are some of your current areas of research (if any)?

Deliberative Democracy/Dialogue processes
Violence Prevention
Agricultural Dispute Resolution
Security Studies
Mediation/International Mediation

If appropriate feel free to list several of your publications

• Of a Norwegian Summer and a Viking Intervention in Sri Lanka, published by the Asian Journal of Public Affairs, National University of Singapore Vol 1, No 1., Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy, 2007. http://www.lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/ajpa/Norwegian_Summer.pdf
• Theatre of Integrity and Interdependence in Sri Lanka, Chapter 9 of the forthcoming book Performance and Peacebuilding in Global Perspective, edited by Dr. Cynthia Cohen, Roberta Levitow, Roberto Varea, and Dr. Polly Walker. http://www.brandeis.edu/coexistence/linked%20documents/anthology%20outline%208-07.pdf
• Improving Understanding between Tamil and Sinhalese Artists in Sri Lanka, a workshop and presentation on 4th October 2007 at Brandeis University http://www.brandeis.edu/coexistence/events/srilanka.html
• Sri Lanka: Human Rights and the Ethnic Conflict, A Presentation made at the Conference Pieces of the Coexistence Puzzle: Democracy, Human Rights, Gender and Development, March 15-16 2007, Brandeis University. http://www.brandeis.edu/coexistence/events/anchorpres.html
• Managing Ethnic Riots in Sri Lanka, Northeastern Political Science Association 2007 Annual Meeting http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~layachia/NPSA/2007_NPSA_Homepage/2007%20Detailed%20Preliminary%20Program.htm