- To strengthen Sri Lanka’s media landscape
In an effort to bring coherence and direction to Sri Lanka’s fragmented media development efforts, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sri Lanka, together with a consortium of national media institutions, will launch ‘Media Forward 2025,’ a three-day capacity development and dialogue platform from 24–26 November in Colombo.
The programme brings into one space a cross-section of the country’s media ecosystem: journalists, broadcasters, digital creators, fact-checkers, researchers, and policy actors. It aims to create an environment where practitioners can examine the challenges shaping the industry and discuss how Sri Lanka’s media can evolve with credibility, responsibility, and resilience.
Partnering institutions include the Sri Lanka Broadcasters’ Guild, Hashtag Generation, Factum, Verité Media and Politics, the Media Law Forum, the Free Media Movement, and the Digital Journalists’ Association of Sri Lanka.
At the centre of the three days are conversations that have long been overdue in Sri Lanka’s media sector. Sessions will unpack the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in newsrooms, the ethical boundaries of new technologies, and the growing pressures posed by misinformation and online hate.
A significant portion of the programme is dedicated to Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV), an issue that continues to disproportionately impact women journalists and women in public life. The training sessions will address responsible reporting, digital safety, and privacy, with a strong emphasis on information integrity, a global priority for the UNDP.
In a timely addition, representatives from Meta and TikTok are expected to join online for selected sessions. They will brief participants on community guidelines, platform safeguards, and tools aimed at strengthening user safety. Their engagement comes at a moment when the boundaries of online content, responsibility, and accountability are being tested in Sri Lanka and around the world.
The UNDP notes that ‘Media Forward 2025’ will bring together the broadest group of media actors convened in recent years for a single initiative. The format is built around dialogue, shared learning, and the recognition that the media’s future cannot be shaped by isolated efforts. Strengthening Sri Lanka’s information ecosystem will require a sector-led approach based on collaboration, continuous learning, and shared responsibility.