011-567 9750 / 077-655 3723 / 076-8718297 / 0767999610
Registration#Â GA 00226324Â Â
Bank Details: Account name: Consortium For Social Solidarity, Account #: 001360001128, Â
Bank: Sampath Bank Plc (Code: 7278) Branch: Maharagama (code 13) Swift code: BSAMLKLX
Our Team
Prof. Siri Hettige
Chairman
Professor Siri Hettige is emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Colombo , Chairman, Centre for Development Research and Interventions, Sri Lanka and a Member of sustainable Development Council, Sri Lanka. He is also former Director, Social Policy Analysis and Research Center, former Dean, Faculty of Arts , and former Head, Department of Sociology, University of Colombo, former Chairman, Social Science Working Committee, NSF, Sri Lanka, former Chairman, National Police Commission, Sri Lanka ( 2015-2016), former President, Sociology Association of Sri Lanka. He has also served as a member of a number of Presidential Commissions and Committees in Sri Lanka. Besides his long academic career at the University of Colombo, he has served as a visiting Professor and researcher at a number of overseas Universities in several countries such as Switzerland, Germany, Finland, Australia, USA and United Kingdom. He completed his undergraduate studies in sociology at the University of Colombo ( 1973) and secured his Ph.D. ( 1980) from Monash University, Australia.
Ms. Manu Tissera
Secretary
Manu Tissera is a Communications and Advocacy Specialist, with over 2 decades of working across the private sector, semi-government and currently in the humanitarian sector. Currently, She is an External Communications Consultant at YouLead- a USAID funded business start-up program in Sri Lanka, Director of Communications at YouLead (2019- February 2020); Country Communications Manager and Focal Point for Influencing Policy at Plan International in Sri Lanka (2009-2019) and served as the Head of Publications and Communications at the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (2003-2009).
Tissera was a member of Plan International Global Thought Leadership Group (2018) that designed the global advocacy campaign Girls Get Equal; invited core group member of the Multi-Sectoral services responding to women and girls subject to violence, convened by the UN Population Fund, Sri Lanka (2019); Member of Sri Lanka delegation to the Asia Pacific Inter Parliamentary group on violence against women and girls, Lao PDR (2019); Member of the Sri Lankan official delegation to the Indian Ocean Rim Academic Group (IORAG) conference, Colombo (2004). She is a Fellow of the Institute of Management of Sri Lanka, IMSL (conferred in 2010), the national apex body for professional management in Sri Lanka, and served as the Honorary Secretary of the Council of Management of the IMSL (2010-2011). She earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Kelaniya (1997), Master’s Degree from the University of Colombo (2004), a Scholar at the Japan Foundation, Kansai (2002) and read for MBA Executive degree from the University of Queensland (1998). She is currently undertaking post graduate research at the University of Colombo with research interests in social capital, rural sustainability and active citizenship.
Mr. Upali Magedaragamage
Treasurer
Upali S.C. Magedaragamage is a rural development activist. He has a long history of supporting development sector, in particular assisting NGOs/ CBOs in the areas of fund raising, project preparation, capacity building and Organizational development since 1972. He has held number of positions with Local and International organizations in Sri Lanka as well as abroad such as Research Coordinator, – National Heritage, 1977 to 1980; Researcher – Sri Lanka Tourist Board – IDRC Research on Tourism & its impact on society - 1980 –1982; Programme Coordinator – NGO Section – Sri Lanka Freedom from Hunger Campaign Board, 1982- 1984.; Founder member and Secretary of the National NGO Council of Sri Lanka – 1982-1984.; Founder and Executive Secretary, National Development Foundation (NDF), 1979 – 1998.; Executive Committee member Asian Cultural Forum on Development (ACFOD) 1982 to 1988.;Panel member of Dry Zone Development programme- IFAD – 1996.;Advisor – Janasaviya Trust Fund. 1989 – 1990.;Coordinator, Asian Cultural Forum on Development, (ACFOD) Bangkok, Thailand, 1998 – 2002. ;Founder member -WORLDWIDE: Networks in London for INTERCOM Project 2000, Creative Exchange, UK.; Member - Board of Governors - Asia Regional Resource Center for Human Rights Education, Bangkok, Thailand, 1998 -2002.;Re-elected, Executive Secretary, National Development Foundation, 2003.;Chairperson/Executive Director and Founder - Asian Network for Culture and Development (ANCAD) - 2002 -2016. Currently, Upali is a freelance consultant.
Mr. A M M Ziyad
National Coordinator - Monitoring
Mohamed Ziyad is a 12+ years’ experienced development projects management specialist. He has managed projects in the area of Migration, Local Governance, Water and Sanitation, Capacity building for war effected community, Plantation worker’s rights, peace and reconciliation, combating human trafficking, language rights, democracy, gender mainstreaming, and strengthening government and civil society organization’s institutional development. He has worked with number of local and international Non-Governmental organizations including British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Currently, He is the Project Manager for counter Trafficking project of Save the Children International. He is a holder of Diploma, Post Graduate Diploma and Masters in Human Rights form the University of Colombo. Currently, He is reading LLB at Buckinghamshire New University, UK. Ziyad as a social researcher has conducted researchers on Internally Displaced People, minority language rights as well as women victims of violence in Sri Lanka as part of his Human Rights studies.
Mr. Sathivel Balakrishnam
Board Member
Sathivel Balakrishnan, a development and governance specialist with over four decades of experience in working with NGOs, INGOs and international government development agencies such as CIDA and GIZ. He was a founder member of the Movement for Inter-Racial Justice and Equality (1979-1996), Centre for Development Alternatives (1982 -2002), Movement for Constitutional Reform (1994 – 1998), National Peace Council (1995) and it’s Director of Programmes (2001-2004), Programme Director of the National Democratic Institute (2007-2009), Senior Consultant to the Project on Sustainable Resettlement of Conflict Displaced Families of the GIZ (2010-2012). He is well known for his active involvement in the field of human rights, governance, environmental conservation and peace building. Deeply involved in promoting people to people regional cooperation in South Asia and associated with the founding of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, People’s SAARC and the South Asians for Human Rights.  Conducted research and prepared researched documents in a number of areas such as Socio, Economic and ethnic issues of Plantation Resident Communities, Rural and Community Development and social movements, Constitutional Reform, Post Tsunami Recovery of Educational Sector, Ethnic Conflict and conflict resolution, International Experiences of Post Conflict Peace Building, Migrant Workers and the impact to their children etc. He obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of Madras (1976) and a Master’s Degree from the University of Birmingham (1988). Institutional and human resource capacity building, planning and implementing short term and long term sustainable advocacy strategies, development project designing, preparing implementing strategies and action planning are his other expertise.
Ms. Savandie Abeyratna
Board Member
Savandie Abeyratna is a PhD student in Social Work and Social Policy from Liverpool Hope University, UK and a radical and critical social worker and social justice activist. Her PhD research is focused on understanding the drivers of migration for domestic labour within the Sri Lankan context with the aim of eradicating the vulnerabilities faced by Sri Lankan Migrant Domestic Workers in the Middle East region. She has a multi-disciplinary academic background with a Bachelors in Human and Biological Sciences and Internet Technology, a Masters in Bio-Informatics, Masters in Computer Science (Intelligent Systems) and an MPhil in Experimental Psychology. During her education, she was employed by Liverpool Hope University within student development and wellbeing as well as academic quality assurance departments. Until 2017 she also worked as a junior lecturer at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and the Department of Social Work, Care and Justice at Liverpool Hope University. Following her move to Sri Lanka in 2017, she founded Green Life Generation (Pvt) Ltd which is a community based social research and development organisation aimed at using research to inform sustainable development endeavours in a localised context. Under this umbrella organisation, she developed and implemented the project I AM UPCYCLED in 2017 which has grown into a recognised ethical and green brand in the country. She is based in a village called Kengalle, in Kandy district and her work cuts across gender, labour and developmental issues with a focus on sustainable development using a social reproduction feminism lens within hyper-localised contexts. Through her organisation, she aims to develop her community into a sustainable green town aiding in de-urbanisation and producing a blueprint for sustainable community development.
Mr. Dinesh Kirthinanda
Board Member
DINESH KIRTHINANDA is a Professional Simultaneous Interpreter (Sinhala /English). He has specialized in the subject of Peace building and Conflict Resolution at the Social Scientists’ Association SL /University of Bradford UK. He is also a retired Deputy Principal Officer of Parliament of Sri Lanka. Dinesh has 40 + years’ of experience in the Public Administration and Policy Implementation, he has also served on the Editorial Staff of the Ceylon Daily News and as Editor Colombo Voice Web News Journal and continues as a Writer/Journalist. He is also the Executive Director of the International Women’s and Children’s Rights Council. Dinesh is a Life Member of the Asia Crime Preventorium - /Sri Lanka Chapter and the Prisoners' Welfare Association. He has represented the country at several International fora, viz the second International Conference on Residential Childcare, Stockholm in Sweden, China-South Asia Friendship Organizations Symposium, Kunming.  Sri Lanka Delegation at the Izmir International Trade Fair in Turkey and Delegate Sri Lanka Investment Promotion Programme in Turkey.