East Asia Institute organized and hosted the Asia Democracy Research Network (ADRN) Sixth Workshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka on January 18-19, 2018. In the workshop, not only the ADRN members, but also the democracy experts, government officials, and members of parliament in Sri Lanka were invited to share their insights on intolerance, suppression, and consequent violence against religious minorities and state compliance, as well as the Right to Information bill that was recently passed in Sri Lanka and experiences of other countries in Asia. The second day of the workshop was dedicated to presenting and evaluating the research products and performances of the ADRN 2016-17 project and discussing the research direction and project planning for the ADRN 2017-18.
ADRN was launched in 2013 under the EAI’s leadership in order to analyze challenges against democracy in Asia and collaborate on pragmatic research projects that can contribute to democracy promotion and consolidation in the region. Democracy-related research think tanks from thirteen Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar (Burma), Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand are participating in this network. EAI is currently serving as a secretariat of the ADRN.
Participant
ADRN Members
Kaustuv BANDYOPADHYAY, Global Partnership Director, Society for Participatory Research in Asia (India)
Tobias BASUKI, Researcher, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (Indonesia)
Sook Jong LEE, President, East Asia Institute (South Korea)
Myat Thu, Chairman, Yangon School of Political Science (Myanmar)
Faheem Ahmed KHAN, Senior Projects Manager, Institute for Legislative Development and Transparency (Pakistan)
Francisco A. MAGNO, Director, Jesse M. Robredo Institute of Governance (Philippines)
Teresita Quintos DELES, Chairperson, INCITEGov (Philippines)
Paikiasothy SARAVANAMUTTU, Executive Director, Centre for Policy Alternatives (Sri Lanka)
Nishan DE MEL, Executive Director, Verité Research (Sri Lanka)
Chin-en WU, Associate Research Fellow, Academia Sinica (Taiwan)
Shihfen PENG, Associate Research Fellow, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (Taiwan)
Aira AZHARI, Research Executive, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Malaysia)
Thawilwadee BUREEKUL, Director, King Prajadhipok’s Institute (Thailand)
ADRN Coordinators
HyeeJung SUH, Associate Director, East Asia Institute (South Korea)
James Dongjin KIM, Research Associate, East Asia Institute (South Korea)
Local Participants
Gehan GUNATILLEKE, Research Director, Verité Research (Sri Lanka)
Sabrina ESUFALLY, Senior Analyst and Head of Legal Research, Verité Research (Sri Lanka)
M.A. SUMANTHIRAN, Member of Parliament (Sri Lanka)
Jayampathy WICKRAMARATNE, Member of Parliament (Sri Lanka)
Yamini RAVINDRAN, Executive Director, Religious Liberty Commission (Sri Lanka)
Thilaka JAYASUNDARA, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Mass Media (Sri Lanka)
Sudarshana GUNAWARDANA, Acting Director General, Government Information Department (Sri Lanka)
Program
Thursday, January 18, 2018
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9:30-9:45 |
Welcoming Remarks Kaustuv Bandyopadhyay, Society for Participatory Research in Asia
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9:45-11:00 |
[Thematic Session 1] Religion and Violence in South Asia Moderator Nishan de Mel, Verité Research Presenters Gehan Gunatilleke, Verité Research Tobias Basuki, Centre for Strategic and International Studies Myat Thu, Yangon School of Political Science Discussants M.A. Sumanthiran, Sri Lankan Parliament Jayampathy Wickramaratne, Sri Lankan Parliament Yamini Ravindran, Religious Liberty Commssion
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11:00-11:30 |
Coffee Break
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11:30-12:45 |
[Thematic Session 2] Right to Information: Promise of Open Governance? Moderator Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Centre for Policy Alternatives Presenters Pasan Jayasinghe, Centre for Policy Alternatives Chin-en Wu, Academia Sinica Thawilwadee Bureekul, King Prajadhipok’s Institute Kaustuv Bandyopadhyay, Society for Participatory Research in Asia Discussants Thilaka Jayasundara, Ministry of Finance of Mass Media Sudarshana Gunawardana, Department of Government Information Sabrina Esufally, Verité Research
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Friday, January 19, 2018
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9:30-9:40 |
Opening Remarks and Introduction Sook Jong Lee, East Asia Institute
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9:40-11:00 |
[ADRN Session 1] Evaluation of Past Products Moderator Kaustuv Bandyopadhyay, Society for Participatory Research in Asia
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11:00-11:30 |
Coffee Break
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11:30-12:50 |
[ADRN Session 2] Brainstorming: Group Exercises Moderator Thawilwadee Bureekul, King Prajadhipok’s Institute
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12:50-14:00 |
Lunch
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14:00-15:20 |
[ADRN Session 3] Planning for the Year 2017-18 Moderator Nishan de Mel, Verité Research
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15:20-15:50 |
Coffee Break
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15:50-17:10 |
[ADRN Session 4] Administrative Issues Moderator Sook Jong Lee, East Asia Institute
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17:10-17:20 |
Concluding Remarks
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