A one day mediation training programme was conducted for 36 members of Weligama Local Inter Religious Committee (LIRC). Participants included religious leaders, police officers, Grama Niladharis, NGO and CBO representatives and government officers.

The main objectives of the training were to improve the participants’ skills, knowledge and understanding about mediation and to familiarise them on the practical application of mediation to intervene in ethnic and religious conflict situations.

The concepts of mediation and restorative justice were explored in the sessions. Participants said that third party help was important to resolve conflict that occurred between two or more parties and felt that mediation was helpful to restore broken relationships between conflicting parties.