FINAL EVALUATION REPORT Community Memorialization Project, Phase I and II Evaluation and Report Compiled By Nilakshi De Silva and Mohammed Sadaath April 2020 i Abbreviations and Acronyms CMP Community Memorialization Project DE Developmental Evaluation ISIS Islamic State in Iraq and Syria JVP Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna LLRC Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission LTTE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam NTJ National Tawhid Jamaat Search Search for Common Ground TJ Transitional Justice Cover image shows the values identified by youth participating in the CMP dialogue workshops, as those which resonate the most for them. ii Map of CMP Project Locations: Phase I and II iii Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the partner organizations, namely Akkaraipattu Women’s Development Foundation in Ampara, Viluthu Centre for Human Resources Development in Mannar; Prathiba Media Network in Matara and Sarvodaya in Anuradhapura, Moneragala and Kalutara. They participated in several rounds of reflection as part of the Developmental Evaluation (DE) of this project, and provided invaluable assistance to carry out data collection activities. We are grateful to Radhika Hettiarachchi from HerStories Project who provided technical leadership of the Community Memorialization Project (CMP), for many hours spent in explaining concepts of memory and memorialization in relation to non-recurrence of violence and engaging enthusiastically with the DE process. We also acknowledge the support provided by Nawaz Mohamed, Marisa Fernando, Dakshitha Wickramarathna and Jude Perera from Search for Common Ground, Sri Lanka, for their consistent support to carry out the DE activities during the implementation of this project. We also extend our thanks to Shiva Dhungana and David Yamron from Search for Common Ground, for providing useful inputs to strengthen the DE methodology during project implementation and also insightful comments on previous drafts of this report. iv Preface This is the final evaluation report of the Community Memorialization Project (CMP), implemented by Search for Common Ground,1 Sri Lanka and HerStories project2, together with local partners Akkaraipattu Women’s Development Foundation in Ampara, Viluthu Centre for Human Resources Development in Mannar; Prathiba Media Network in Matara and Sarvodaya in Anuradhapura, Moneragala and Kalutara, with funds provided by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL). The project was implemented in two Phases: Phase I, from September 2015 to April 2018, was implemented in three districts, Matara in the South, Ampara in the East and Mannar in the North of Sri Lanka. In Phase II, the project was extended to cover new divisions in the existing three districts as well as three new districts; Kalutara in the South, Anuradhapura in the North Centre, and Moneragala in the Uva Province. Phase II was implemented from August 2018 to January 2020. The Developmental Evaluation (DE) Approach was used to support the project and provides the basis for the evaluation findings relating to the implementation and achievements of the CMP detailed in this report. It was written by Nilakshi De Silva (independent external consultant) and Modammed Sadaath (M&E staff member from SFCG, Sri Lanka), who comprise the DE team. The report documents project outcomes and learning from the CMP experience. It is structured in six parts; part 1 provides a background and introduction to CMP, part 2 describes how CMP and the DE were operationalized, and part 3 sets out the methodology used to assess outcomes and generate and learning. Part 4 discusses the project outcomes while part 5 provides a reflection to identify the lessons from this project. Part 6 describes the stories of change collected through the DE, which illustrate how participants engaged with the project and how it impacted their attitudes and behavior. 1 https://www.sfcg.org/sri-lanka/ 2 http://herstoryarchive.org/ v Contents ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ...................................................................................................................................... II MAP OF CMP PROJECT LOCATIONS: PHASE I AND II ...................................................................................................III PREFACE ..................................................................................................................................................................................... IV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................................ VII 1. BACKGROUND: A FLUID AND COMPLEX COUNTRY CONTEXT ......................................................................... 1 2. INTRODUCTION TO CMP: RATIONALE, OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES ......................................................... 4 RATIONALE AND RELEVANCE ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES ......................................................................................................................................................... 6 IMPLEMENTATION STRUCTURES ................................................................................................................................................... 10 3. METHODOLOGY: DEVELOPMENTAL EVALUATION (DE) APPROACH ........................................................... 12 EVALUATION APPROACH ............................................................................................................................................................. 12 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS.............................................................................................................................................. 16 METHODOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS ................................................................................................................................................. 20 4. WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED? OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES ................................................................................ 22 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1: CREATE PLATFORMS FOR INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES, FROM ACROSS ETHNIC, POLITICAL AND REGIONAL DIVIDES, TO SHARE THEIR STORIES AND ENGAGE IN COMMUNITY DIALOGUE AND MEMORIALIZING ................................ 22 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2: PRESERVE HISTORICAL MEMORY THROUGH ARCHIVING AND DISSEMINATING THE NARRATIVES TO A WIDER AUDIENCE ......................................................................................................................................................................... 36 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3: FACILITATE A PROCESS OF COMMON UNDERSTANDING ON POLICY OUTLOOKS AND PROGRAMS ON MANAGING, INCLUDING, AND USING HISTORICAL MEMORIES. ........................................................................................................ 38 5. WHAT DID WE LEARN? REFLECTION, LESSONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................. 39 ABOUT PROMOTING PERSON TO PERSON ENGAGEMENT ACROSS DIVISIONS .................................................................................... 39 ABOUT USING MEMORY AND VALUES TO CHANGE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR ............................................................................... 40 ABOUT ENGAGING WITH YOUTH FOR NON-RECURRENCE ............................................................................................................... 42 ABOUT PROMOTING RECONCILIATION IN A DYNAMIC CONTEXT ..................................................................................................... 44 ABOUT PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION STRUCTURES .......................................................................................................................... 46 6. STORIES OF CHANGE ..................................................................................................................................................... 49 FROM APATHY TO CHAMPION: THE STORY OF AMARAPALA .......................................................................................................... 49 “I NEED TO CORRECT MYSELF”: THE STORY OF VAJIRA ................................................................................................................. 51 AWARENESS OF OTHERS’ EXPERIENCES AS A BASIS FOR CHANGE: THE STORY OF VIJAYALUXMI .................................................... 54 CONFLICT RESOLUTION AT THE LOCAL LEVEL: THE STORY OF MUMTAZ ....................................................................................... 55 “I DON’T NEED TO FOLLOW WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING”: THE STORY OF AHAMED ......................................................................... 56 GAINING CONFIDENCE TO ENGAGE IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION: THE STORY OF SHARIKA ................................................................ 58 “I AM GRATEFUL”: THE STORY OF SUDATH .................................................................................................................................. 60 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................................................. 62 ANNEXES ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 64 ANNEX 1: TIMELINE