GPPAC – South Asia Workshop on “Implications of COVID – 19 Pandemic for South Asia: Civil Society Perspectives” 26th – 27th November 2020 (Online)

The Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS), South Asia Regional Secretariat for Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), will organize a two-day workshop on “Implications of COVID – 19 Pandemic for South Asia: Civil Society Perspectives” from 26th – 27th November 2020. This virtual workshop is meant to discuss how South Asian countries respond to COVID-19 Pandemic. Three regional reports and seven reports of country-perspectives on multifaceted implications of COVID-19 and the role of civil society in mitigating impact at the country and regional levels will be discussed.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage RSP,VSV,USP, FIN, will be the Keynote Speaker.

The details of the Technical Sessions I, II and III are as follows:

26th Thursday – Day 1: Technical Session I

Chair: Prof. Moonis Ahmar, University of Karachi, Pakistan

Discussant: Dr. Pakiasothy Sarawanamuttu, Centre for Policy Alternatives, Sri Lanka

“Retreat of Democracy and COVID-19 in South Asia: Trends, Contexts and Futures” by Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda

“Regional Governance and Multilateralism in a COVID 19 World: Casualty or Catalyst?” by Dr. Mallika Joseph and Dr. Nishchal Pandey

“The Implications of COVID-19 for Conflict Patterns and Regional Cooperation” by Prof. Suba Chandran

 

27th Friday – Day 2: Technical Session II

Chair: Ms. Seema Kakran, Deputy Director, WISCOMP, New Delhi, India

Discussant: Dr. Nishchal Pandey, Director, Centre for South Asian Studies, Nepal

Sri Lanka Country Report by Sri Lanka GPPAC Group

Bangladesh Country Report by Mr. Ashish Banik

Afghanistan Country Report by Lailuma Nasiri

 

Technical Session III

Cahir: Dr. Lailuma Nasiri, Vice President, Afghanistan Justice Organization, Afghanistan

Discussant: Dr. Paula Banerjee, Mahanirban /research Group of Culcutta, India

India Country Report by Dr. Suba Chandran

Pakistan Country Report Dr. Salma Malik

Nepal Country Report by Mr. Saloni Singh

The virtual workshop will be held from 10:30 am – 12:30 pm on the 26th Thursday and from 11:00 am – 03:40 pm on the 27th Friday.