Canada’s Tsunami Lessons Learned Conference and Partners’ Exhibition organised by Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was held at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre recently. The event also marked the wrapping up of Canada’s tsunami reconstruction programme in Sri Lanka.

Hussain Bhaila, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs representing the Foreign Minister, attended as Chief Guest while Angela Bogdan, Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, hosted the opening ceremony.

Making the welcome address to the gathering, Angela Bogdan noted that "Canada’s efforts in supporting Sri Lanka’s post tsunami reconstruction program have upheld the principles of geographic and ethnic balance. As a result, the partners represented today come from all parts of Sri Lanka, and represent all of Sri Lanka’s communities. The Canadian funded tsunami reconstruction program has reached out to communities within all tsunami affected districts in the North, East and South of the country; to people from all of Sri Lanka’s ethnic and religious groups; to children and to those who are economically and socially disadvantaged, especially to women and the poorest communities in Sri Lanka."

Deputy Minister Hussain Bhaila, in his speech, reiterated the need to re-build the infrastructure in the newly cleared areas in the North and East for people to return to their homes and lands. He further noted that "some of these tasks are urgent so that people will at least have a semblance of normalcy and businesses can start functioning. Others have to be planned out with the medium to long term development prospects in mind. But all these tasks will have to be carried out methodically and efficiently so that all Sri Lankans can enjoy the same standards of living and feel that they all have a stake in the development of the country".

The Lessons Learned Conference provided an excellent stage for the compilation and sharing of lessons learned and best practices amongst all of CIDA’s tsunami partner organizations. The key note speaker of the conference was Dr. P. A. Kiriwandeniya, the founder of the SANASA movement in Sri Lanka, who has made an enormous contribution to the field of micro-finance and micro credit in Asia. The group of panelists comprised a number of specialists in key sectors including Charitha Ratwatte – Managing Director, Sri Lanka Business Development Centre; G. Piyasena – Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources; Dr. Godfrey Gunatillake – Chairman Emeritus, Marga Institute Sri Lanka; and Mrs. Indrani Sugathadasa – Secretary to the Ministry of Plantation Industries.

Over three hundred participants at the conference attended presentations of good practices and success stories, as well as panel and group discussions on sustaining the achievements of tsunami reconstruction and identifying the lessons learned. Discussions were organized by sector and provided participants with the opportunity to share experiences and to gather and document lessons learned for the future. Highlights from the conference included sharing of best practices and stories from the field by CIDA’s partner organizations as well as beneficiaries of the projects.

The partners’ exhibition was a resounding success with over 70 partner organizations presenting results and best practices of their initiatives during CIDA’s four year tsunami program.