New ways of looking at old issues
Chamila’s mother did not approve of her boyfriend and would go on and on about the potential ill effects of marrying against the wishes of a mother. Chamila hated this so much, she requested a transfer out of her home town. She got it but two days prior to leaving home, her mother developed a chest pain and was hospitalised. There was nothing wrong with her heart but the doctors advised Chamila to stay back with her without leaving home. If you are Chamila what would you do now?
Join the Forum and look for answers. Share your thoughts.
A group of like-minded citizens engaged in helping people to cope with social concerns, especially in the area of social and emotional health, designed the Colombo Forum with the expectation of filling a lacunae in the service network available at present. While there are several services catering to curative needs, preventative care that promotes wellbeing is rare.
The Forum provides a platform for each and everyone to express their innermost feelings and air their personal views. It brings together people from various strata to explore different responses to life situations. The Forum does not tell people what is right and what is wrong. It encourages participants to respect the other person’s right to a point of view. Above all participation is expected to give rise to new ways of looking at old issues. The expectations of the Forum are:
- To encourage participants to think for themselves and work towards psychological freedom which in turn will lead to a change in those behaviours that prevent harmonious and healthy living. (Reduction in the ‘what will people say’ syndrome.)
- To examine what is acceptable and healthy social behaviour and to rethink ethical norms. (If your behaviour makes others happy and yourself unhappy is this acceptable? Or vice versa)
- To stimulate non-divisive attitudes and values to effect a reduction in compartmentalisation and labelling of individuals, which leads to animosity and envy. (Politics, religion, race, class, education, wealth etc)
- To reduce the common tendency for armchair criticism and blame someone else for one’s unhappy predicament.
- To take the participant towards a position of strength where one is confident of expressing a point of view.
- To share, explore and discover healthy approaches to age-old social issues.
Launched in September 2013, the Forum meets on the first Monday/Saturday of every month at No. 60, Horton Place Colombo 7. If the dates coincide with a holiday weekend, the Forum moves onto the second weekend of the month.
The facilitator of the Forum in English (Mondays from 5.00 p.m.- 6.30 p.m.) is Dr Mahesh Rajasuriya, Consultant Psychiatrist specialising in Behavioural Sciences. The Forum in Sinhala (Saturdays 5.00 p.m.-6.30 p.m.) is facilitated by Dr Manoj Fernando, of the Rajarata University and Community Educator.
A series of topics covering a variety of common social concerns has been lined up:
February: Is there space for more than heterosexuality in our society?
March: Are websites like Wikileaks good for democracy? Should there be censorship in the media? To what degree?
April: Success depends on the stars. To what extent are we masters of our own fate?
The entire schedule for the year is available on the website. www.colomboforum.com
Readers can also visit the Face book site and give suggestions/comments.
The establishment of the Forum was sponsored by the Joan De Mel Trust and organised by Sri Lanka Sumithrayo.