Eleven Cities to Join Landmark Virtual Dialogues with Tsunami-Affected Region

On Jan. 26, people from around the United States and the United Kingdom will sit down face to face with victims of the South Asian tsunami for an unprecedented live videoconference dialogue. The eleven-city videoconference will feature speakers from Sri Lanka and will occur exactly one month after the tsunami killed over 220,000 people in 12 countries and spawned the largest worldwide relief effort in recorded history.

According to Church World Service (CWS), this first event is designed to strengthen public awareness of the need for development in South Asia and ensure that the generosity inspired by the disaster continues even after the region leaves the headlines.

The videoconference will feature opening reports by Sri Lankan leaders and citizens, including Mr. Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the Prime Minister and Member of the Task Force to Rebuild the Nation; Dr. Kan Tun, World Health Organization; and Dr. Lalith Wikramanayake, Chairperson, Environmental Foundation Ltd. (Sri Lanka). After these opening reports, American and British students and citizens will be able to ask questions and share comments.

CWS reports that the videoconference is the kick-off event for a new, ongoing series that seeks to sustain public awareness about the tsunami-affected region and to ensure long-term international support for rebuilding. More videoconferences with Sri Lanka and other affected areas, as well as a series of town hall meetings on U.S. development aid, are already being planned to follow up this event.

The series, called Partners for Progress, has brought together a rare coalition of organizations