Colombo, September 28, 2020 – The High Commission of Canada to Sri Lanka and Maldives has announced the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) Sri Lanka as a Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) partner for this year.
“The CFLI supports small-scale, high-impact projects conceived and designed predominantly by local partners in Sri Lanka and Maldives. This enables Canada to respond to local needs by working at the community level. Equally important, the CFLI serves to strengthen Canada’s relationships with civil society and local communities,” the High Commission said in a media release.
“This year, the CFLI’s call for proposal focused on key thematic areas: Inclusive governance, Environment and climate action and Growth that works for everyone, including women’s economic rights.”
“Given the current pandemic, the CFLI program was also able to respond to Covid-19 related proposals, including a contribution of $100,000CAD in support of the Maldives Government’s efforts in providing basic services to the homeless and the most vulnerable communities impacted by Covid-19 in Malé,” the High Commission said.
“In Sri Lanka, the CFLI has already supported CMEV and PAFFREL’s contribution towards ensuring a creditable parliamentary election — free of violence and with the distribution of PPE to voters and observers at selected voting locations.”
“From pandemic response, to election monitoring, to women’s economic empowerment and climate action, we stand proud to work together with Sri Lankans and Maldivians to find solutions to issues that matters to them,” the High Commission said.
The other recipients of the CFLI are: Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services, Maldives, People’s Action for Free & Fair Elections (PAFFREL), Environment Foundation Limited (EFL), Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), Planeterra, Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI), Northern Cooperative Development Bank (NCDB), and Zero Waste Maldives.
