The draft of the “Nationwide Media Coverage of Sri Lanka,” ready following a long-term and in depth consultative course of, was formally handed over as we speak (14) to the Minister of Well being and Mass Media, Nalinda Jayatissa, and the Deputy Minister of Mass Media, Kaushalya Ariyarathne. The handover passed off on the auditorium of the Ministry of Mass Media.
The coverage framework was ready by an unbiased multi-stakeholder committee appointed by the Ministry of Mass Media and was developed over a interval of greater than two years, from Could 2023 to December 2025, with the contribution of a whole bunch of numerous stakeholders.
Addressing the occasion, Minister Dr Jayatissa acknowledged that the general public protest motion had highlighted the necessity for coverage frameworks throughout many sectors in Sri Lanka, and that such coverage formulation is at present being carried out on the ministerial stage. He emphasised that the Nationwide Media Coverage shouldn’t be merely a coverage of the Ministry itself, noting that the Ministry’s function was primarily to facilitate the method. The Minister additional identified that the preparation of such a consensus-based coverage by an unbiased multi-stakeholder committee constitutes a historic enterprise. He added that individual consideration had been paid to media freedom, the professionalism of journalists, and citizen engagement.
The Zero Draft of the coverage was ready and offered in July 2024 by an preliminary drafting committee comprising 23 members appointed by the Ministry of Mass Media in 2023.
Subsequently, a 28-member multi-stakeholder committee reappointed by the current Authorities in early 2025 additional expanded the method of making ready the superior draft. As a part of efforts to acquire public views, the Zero Draft was revealed on the Ministry’s web site in all three languages from June 2025. As well as, with the cooperation of organisations resembling South Asian Ladies in Media (SAWM) and the Free Media Motion (FMM), public consultations have been carried out in Colombo, Kandy, Puttalam, Trincomalee and Jaffna. These consultations gathered views from civil society representatives, journalists and girls activists, thereby strengthening public participation within the course of.
Amongst these current on the occasion have been the Director Common of Authorities Info, Harsha Bandara, the Director (Growth – Mass Media) of the Ministry of Mass Media, Nelum Dilshari, different authorities officers, and a number of other members of the skilled committee that drafted the Nationwide Media Coverage.
