Groundviews

 
Groundviews is Sri Lanka’s first and only award winning citizens journalism website and features an unparalleled range of ideas, opinions and analyses on humanitarian issues, media freedom, human rights, peace, democratic governance and constitutional reform. Groundviews was launched in November 2006. It was a genuine first for civil society, in that through the website we were able to introduce the concept of citizen journalism to Sri Lanka. I have for a long time studied the potential of the Internet and the web and also of mobile phones in particular, to change the dynamics of democratic governance. Citizen journalism seemed to me at the time to be a useful way in which dialogues could be fostered and amplified, amongst citizens, on issues connected to democracy, peace, conflict and rights. It was also a way in which to get the diaspora involved in these conversations.