Profile

Darshatha Gamage was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He graduated from the University of London with a bachelor’s degree in international relations. He also holds a degree in management and information technology from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.  

Darshatha grew up during the Sri Lankan civil war. He said that for children growing up in the context of war – Sri Lanka’s civil war – conflict becomes a normal part of daily life. Over time, he grew to realise that the absence of war does not equate to peace. This inspired him to volunteer for global organisations. Working on various UN volunteer projects, he became actively involved in the peacebuilding process. In collaboration with two colleges, he founded Impact Voices in 2019, an organisation that focuses on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as peacebuilding activities. Darshatha has a strong passion for education and considers himself a peace educator. He said his aim is to help people re-imagine their material realities – to strive for inclusive, resilient, and sustainable civil societies, economies, and governmental systems.

In addition to his work at Impact Voices, Darshatha is also active in the youth-led movement Hashtag Generation. The purpose of this movement is to counter harmful speech online. The organisation identifies the harmful narratives that are circulating in the country and then examines ways to counteract them. It offers programs to empower young people and teach them how to recognize defamatory statements. Impact Voices also has a program linked to technology’s role in peacebuilding called ‘Digital Democracy’. This program explores how technology can play a role in protecting democracy and inclusive governance in Sri Lanka.

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Darshatha Gamage said that working on peacebuilding changed his perspective about the nature of the Sri Lankan conflict. He said that most issues do not originate from ethnicity or division, but rather from how they have been labelled, and the narratives created around them. But the flawed framing of current issues is not the only problem with peacebuilding initiatives – ‘Many organisations attempt to address matters without first gaining a comprehensive understanding of them. As a result, their efforts are not effective.’ Darshatha said that the debates tend to be dominated by intellectual or expert discussions, but that no one appears to be listening to the opinions of ordinary people. In fact, ‘there is not even a space for the exchange of such ideas.’ In light of this, Impact Voices attempts to obtain a holistic picture of the struggle by encouraging women’s participation, promoting civic engagement, and creating a forum in which people can exchange ideas in free and open discussions without formal moderating. ‘By offering a secure environment, people can talk honestly about sensitive matters and ensure that their human rights are respected.’

Darshatha admits, however, that assessing the impact of an organisation is extremely difficult. He said, patience is of utmost importance. In societies that are polarised – such as the one in Sri Lanka – conflict is shaped by a wide range of actors and circumstances. Peacebuilding requires a multifaceted approach and, more importantly, time. ‘Changing a regime of long-held beliefs and narratives does not occur overnight.’ Darshatha said that many organisations already exist on the ground, and it is therefore imperative to identify gaps in services and address them. However, he also explained that prioritising and balancing different approaches to a particular issue can be challenging, because ‘what I see can be distinct from what you see.’ Thus, you must have a well-defined goal and be open to people’s perspectives on that goal. In order to create an effective action plan, you have to be able to incorporate and balance different visions. Darshatha said he views himself as a peace educator rather than a ‘peace builder in the traditional sense.’ He explained that, for him, peace education implies helping others to understand what peace is. He said that people need to realise that it is not simply the absence of war – ‘peace is where I can live without being harassed, without feeling fear. Where I can live freely and happily, where my rights are respected, and where my free actions do not harm anyone else. All that is peace.’