Canada and JICA joins UNDP to open Mobile Interactive Space on Women’s Empowerment in Jaffna

Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Sri Lanka, Tetsuya Yamada, and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka, Azusa Kubota along with Head of Development Cooperation, High Commission of Canada in Sri Lanka, Linda Ehrich visited the Jaffna leg of UNDPs mobile interactive exhibition space, ‘A Journey of Transformation and Women’s Empowerment’. S.M. Saman Bandulasena, Chief Secretary of the Northern Province along with other Government representatives were also present at the inauguration of the exhibition, which is open to the public from the 13th to 15th March at the Jaffna Cultural Centre.

This is the 4th stop as a part of the traveling interactive space, which has now been showcased in Kandy, Kurunegala and Colombo last week, in line with International Women’s Day. Born from an initiative sparked during the 16 Days of Activism campaign last year, the exhibition was also attended by local government and civil society representatives in the area.

This exhibition has evolved into a dynamic platform for social dialogue and empowerment with the support of the Government of Canada and the Royal Norwegian Embassy, celebrating the resilience of Sri Lankan communities supported through UNDP Sri Lanka’s efforts across the years through the support of multiple partners, to address barriers to gender equality and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). This includes featured champion stories from the UNDP led Crisis Response Facility during the socio-economic crisis that brought together private sector and donor partners, including funding from JICA, through which support was provided to enhance food security and rapid medical procurement initiatives.

During the visit to the North, JICA Chief Representative and UNDP Resident Representative also visited other UNDP-led resettlement projects in Palaly and met with beneficiaries of the Japan Supplementary Budget (JSB) funded backyard poultry initiative in Mullaitivu. UNDP’s Resident Representative also made key visits to the Waste to Energy unit at the Vavuniya General Hospital, the Jaffna Public Library, and the Nallur Pradeshiya Sabha to review the efforts and progress of the European Union funded Capacity Development of Local Government (CDLG) project.

JICA has been a longstanding partner of UNDP, especially in the areas of agricultural modernization, climate adaptation and women’s economic empowerment. The field visit aims to further explore common areas of interest and partnership opportunities to serve the people of Sri Lanka.