From 7–11 April, the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) had the privilege of hosting colleagues from the Sri Lanka Barometer (SLB) for a week-long immersive Learning Journey in Cape Town.

For over five years, the IJR has been working with the SLB – piloted under the Strengthening Reconciliation Processes in Sri Lanka (SRP) programme between 2018 and 2022 and now part of the Strengthening Social Cohesion and Peace in Sri Lanka (SCOPE) programme, co-financed by the German Federal Foreign Office and the European Union (EU) and implemented by GIZ in partnership with the government of Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lanka Barometer was originally modelled on the IJR’s South African Reconciliation Barometer, although it has been tailored to the post-conflict context of Sri Lanka, a country that emerged from a protracted civil war in 2009.

The IJR team has worked with the SLB team on various fronts, including conceptual development and planning of surveys, data analysis and validation workshops, training and other capacity-building. With data recently collected for the 2025 Sri Lanka Barometer, the Learning Journey provided an opportunity to strengthen the project through the sharing of experiences, network-building, and in-person data analysis.

The Learning Journey aimed to:

• Encourage shared experiences and mutual learning between the SLB and the IJR teams, and its programmes
• Establish and grow networks that support the sustainable implementation of the Sri Lanka Barometer and peer research initiatives
• Co-develop skills and capacity, including in survey implementation, quantitative data analysis, and communications
• Collaboratively analyse the 2025 Sri Lanka Barometer results and plan for the development and launch of the survey report
• Confirm and plan for the Sri Lanka Barometer programme for the remainder of 2025

Inputs and discussions focused on thematic areas including post-conflict transitional justice and peacebuilding, dialogue interventions, operations and management of survey-based organisations, and effective communication of quantitative data.

Participants were privileged to have thoughtful inputs from IJR Senior Associate and former Executive Director Dr Fanie du Toit and Board Member Nozizwe Malala-Routledge, who shared her rich experiences of the anti-apartheid struggle, as a former government cabinet member, and an established civil society leader and activist.

Additionally, the Sri Lanka Barometer team engaged with IJR team members from the various programmes, who shared insight into the content and results of their work, challenges they have encountered, and lessons learned along the way. The programmatic engagements were not only productive but deeply inspiring. As civil society spaces and resources are dwindling, cross-regional collaborations are vital for innovation and resilience.

Just as the SLB team left with new insights, IJR colleagues also gained new perspectives, including into the innovative work into sharing research results with the Sri Lankan public through extensive translations, active social media engagement, community outreach, and a mobile exhibit that has been displayed at sites throughout the country.

In turn, colleagues from the Sri Lanka Barometer had the opportunity to immerse themselves in South Africa’s reconciliation journey first-hand through visits to significant sites, including the District Six Museum and Robben Island. These encounters offered powerful insights into both the progress made and the unfinished processes of reconciliation and the democratic transition.

IJR staff looking forward to cementing the new connections and possibilities sparked by this Learning Journey and the continued collaboration with the Sri Lanka Barometer team.