INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR ETHNIC STUDIES
ජනවාර්ගික අධ්‍යයනය සඳහා වූ ජාත්‍යන්තර කේන්ද්‍රය
இனத்துவக் கற்கைகளுக்கான சா்வதேச நிலையம்

Radhika Coomaraswamy received her BA from Yale University, LLM from Harvard University and the Doctorate in Jurisprudence from Columbia University. Current member of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, she served as UN Under Secretary General and as Special Representative of Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict from 2006 until 2012. Earlier, from 1994 to 2003, she was UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women,. In Sri Lanka, Dr. Coomaraswamy was Chairperson of Human Rights Commission from 2003 to 2006 and was a Director of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies from 1984 to 2006. She was, until September 2018, a civil society member of the Constitutional Council. Dr. Coomaraswamy is a Global Professor of Law at the New York University School of Law.

Hasini Haputhanthri is a development professional and arts manager in Sri Lanka.She’s involved in a global network of researchers and practitioners on historical dialogue and reconciliation. Initially trained as a sociologist at Delhi University India and Lund University Sweden, she recently specialized in Oral History and Museum Anthropology at Columbia University New York.

Finishing her 10 year stint with Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Hasini now works as an independent consultant and researcher. Among her current assignments are Archive of Memory: reflections on 70 years of independence in Sri Lanka – an oral history project, and a baseline survey of 25 museums, with its publication forthcoming as Museums, Memory and Identity Politics in Sri Lanka.

Nireka Weeratungeleads the qualitative component of the research projects on Social-ecological Dynamics in Rapid Economic Development: Infrastructure and Coastal Change in Southeastern Sri Lanka (SEDRIC), as well as Land Ownership and Womens Empowerment in Sri Lanka. She was the Principal Investigator on the Migration and collectives/networks as pathways out of poverty? Gendered vulnerabilities and capabilities amongst poor fishing communities in Asia project from 2016-2019. She has a PhD in anthropology from the University of Toronto, Canada with over 25 years of research and practice in the interface of gender, environment and development issues in the Asia-Pacific region. Her main areas of work are the social and cultural aspects of natural resource use, focusing on livelihood strategies in relation to poverty, vulnerability, resilience and wellbeing in fishing and farming communities. She is a member of the Scientific Steering Committee of Integrated Marine Biosphere Research (IMBeR), a global research project on ocean sustainability. She has worked in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Solomon Islands, Philippines and Vietnam.

Danesh Jayatilaka is a Research Fellow at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) and a doctoral candidate in economics. He coordinated the ‘Post-war growth and economic opportunities for women’ GROW programme and was Co-Investigator in ‘Involuntary Resettlement: A Cross Country Study on Urban Inequality and Poverty’, both studies funded by the IDRC and DFID. Recent publications include ‘Urban Community Profiles: Safe Relocation and Resettlement in Post-War Sri Lanka’ – Routledge (2018), ‘The right to adequate housing in post-conflict Colombo, Sri Lanka’ – Palgrave (2017), ‘Conflict, displacement and post-war recovery: A community profile of Passaiyoor East in Jaffna, Sri Lanka’ – ICES (2015), ‘The other side of migration and development nexus: The Sri Lankan experience in trafficking’ – Routledge (2015), ‘Planned relocations in the context of natural disasters: The case of Sri Lanka’ – Brookings Institution (2015), ‘The Impact of Displacement on Dowries in Sri Lanka’ – Brookings Institution (2015). Danesh has collaborated with various research institutions and is a former UN staff officer.

e-mail: danesh.jayatilaka@gmail.com

Ranmini Vithanagamaholds a B.A in Economics and a Masters in Economics from University of Colombo, and is currently reading for her PhD in Economics at University of Colombo. She is currently a consultant researcher in a longitudinal study looking at economic growth opportunities for women in the north (GRoW). Her other research interests include internal displacement and disability.

e-mail: ranmini1113@gmail.com

Viyanga Gunasekera is a Researcher at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo. Currently, she is involved in projects studying barriers to women’s representation in politics, women’s land rights and empowerment, social inclusion and exclusion, and vulnerability in the light of covid 19 in Sri Lanka. She was previously involved in studies that explored the psychosocial wellbeing of ex-combatants and pluralistic memories of post-war Sri Lanka. Viyanga has a MPhil in Psychology from the University of Peradeniya. Her research interests include vulnerable groups of people, transitional justice, reconciliation, memory, women’s empowerment, and psychosocial wellbeing.

e-mail: viyanga.ices@gmail.com

Nadine Vanniasinkam is currently involved in research related to inter-religious relations and conflict, the agency of women with disabilities in participating in the reconciliation process and gendered dimensions of poverty and migration in fishing communities in Sri Lanka. Her research interests lie in gender, nationalism and minority identity politics. She has a MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Melbourne, a BA (Hons) in English Literature (University of Colombo) and a LLB from the University of London.

e-mail: nadine.ices@gmail.com

Eva Ambos is a cultural anthropologist. She has previously worked and taught at the

Universities Tübingen and Heidelberg in Germany. Her research interests include religion &

ritual, arts & performance, critical theory and decolonial approaches.

e-mail: evaa.ices@gmail.com

Dinushi Walpola holds a B.A in Psychology from the University of Peradeniya. She is currently involved in research related to Reimagining Vulnerability in the Light of Covid-19. She has previously conducted qualitative research on Conceptions about Homosexuality among Young Adults. Her research interests include sexual orientation, mental health, gender and vulnerable groups of people.

e-mail: dinushi.ices@gmail.com

Rivanthi Loganathan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Politics and International Relations as well as Development Studies, from the University of Adelaide. Her research interests revolve around gender studies, marginalized communities, mental health, social and public policy, and development strategies. She is particularly passionate about conducting research using bottom-up methodologies and collaborating with grassroots organizations  while prioritizing a "do no harm" approach. She believes it is crucial for her research to negate potential negative impacts on the communities involved.

e-mail: rivanthi.ices@gmail.com

Uvini Panditha is an Attorney-at-Law by profession. She holds a LLB from the University of London, a BSC (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Coventry and is currently reading for her Masters in Human Rights and Democratisation at the University of Colombo. Her research interests include gender, human rights and religion.

e-mail: uvini.ices@gmail.com

Yohani Dodangoda is a graduate from the Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya and is also an LLB graduate from the University of London. She is currently studying for her Attorney's at Law Examination at the Sri Lanka Law College.

e-mail: yohani.ices@gmail.com