Opening doors, hearts and minds with social inclusion

Lionel WIJESIRI

The World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995 defined an inclusive society as “'a society for all’, in which every individual, each with rights and responsibilities, has an active role to play”.

Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara

An inclusive society is equipped with mechanisms which accommodate diversity, and facilitate and enable people’s active participation in their political, economic and social lives. It over-rides differences of race, gender, class, generation, geography and ensures equal opportunities for all to achieve full potential in life, regardless of origin. Such a society fosters, at the same time, emanates from well-being of each individual, mutual trust, sense of belonging and inter-connectedness. When confronted with new challenges, such as external economic shocks, unexpected changes, national disaster or crisis, an inclusive society is one that shows more resilience than others.

It is in this context that we should view the draft National Policy Framework for Social Integration prepared by the Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration. At a recent interview, Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara said the aim of the proposed policy is to promote social inclusion and facilitate upward mobility for all. It seeks to create a new social-consciousness and to foster a strong sense of belonging to the nation.

The ministry should be congratulated for taking this timely step. This brief article contains few thoughts which crossed the mind of the writer after going through the minister’s interview. It studies the challenges faced for the creation of social inclusiveness in Sri Lanka.

Approach

The first question any sensible person would ask is how we should make the concept of social inclusion operational, even in the face of resistance to change. We have seen in the past that there were many instances where social exclusion was wilfully pursued as it serves vested interests. The challenge for our policy makers is, therefore, to find ways of redefining social inclusiveness as a practical tool used to promote an inspirational yet realistic set of policy measures geared towards a 'society for all.'

This requires a paradigm shift so as to recognize the dignity, value and importance of each person, not only as an ethical norm and imperative, but also as a legal principle, a societal goal, and ultimately, practice. To this end, social inclusion, as an overarching goal as well as a multi-dimensional process can play a critical role in promoting sustainable human development.

Requirements

The writer believes that there are few elementary requirements to create an inclusive society.

1. Respect for the rule of law. This is the most fundamental requirement. Every member of society, no matter what his or her ethnicity, political status, or social standing, must be treated equally under the law. Violators should be brought to justice expediently and justice meted. The judiciary must be impartial, accountable and inclusive to giving weight to the opinions of those who defend the inclusiveness of the society.

2. Ensure full participation in public policies through programme design and implementation measures, targeted to those often overlooked. The design and implementation of public policies should be tailored rather than one-size-fits all in order to meet the wealth creation needs of all people, paying special attention to those still affected by past exclusion such as rural and estate sector. The policies must also include intentional inclusion of all our diverse ethnic populations.

3. Recognize that a comprehensive human capital agenda is necessary for an economically inclusive society. The disadvantaged sectors need equal access to the educational, health, civic, and economic opportunities that are necessary to reach the economic mainstream and maximize contributions to society. These opportunities are interlocking. When people have access to quality preventive health services, they are in the best condition to learn. When they live in prosperous neighbourhoods, they have access to quality education. With education, they can better become inventors and entrepreneurs. When they are empowered and engaged in the civic arena, they can attract public resources that support economically sustainable communities. They are then positioned to add value to the national economy.

4. Craft public policies to support wealth creation and asset building that provide opportunities to move up the economic ladder for all those stuck on the lower rungs. While income is vital for working families, income alone is not enough to provide economic security over a lifetime. Promoting asset accumulation and development - whether through tax incentives, supporting savings, or encouraging entrepreneurship through small business programmes or other means - are ways that public policies can give all Sri Lankans a pathway to prosperity.

5. Draw upon the perspectives of and resources created by disadvantaged groups to develop public policy. Too often, 'experts' who have very little real-world experience in or with communities of the disadvantaged groups have the most influence in shaping policies intended to address issues facing these communities. The result is often a failure to achieve the desired outcome. Researchers, community practitioners, policy experts, and advocates from communities of the disadvantaged have a first-hand understanding of the affected communities. Their experience, coupled with the insights provided by them, could be utilized to design effective policy solutions that will have a successful and lasting impact.

6. Equity in the distribution of wealth and resources is another critical element of inclusive societies. How the resources are allocated and utilized will significantly affect the orientation of society, either towards a more integrated, inclusive society, or an exclusive and disintegrated one. Therefore, socio-economic policies should be geared towards managing equitable distribution and equal opportunities.

7. Cultural diversity. By celebrating diversity, there is a recognition and affirmation of the differences between and among members of society, which enables societies to move away from labelling, categorizing, and classifying people, towards more inclusive policies. Also, enabling a diversity of opinions provides the checks and balances crucial for the development of society, while allowing for the greatest amount of diverse opinions to enter every discourse.

Tri-lingual Si Lanka

The 30-year long conflict has had long lasting effects to our country in many different ways. Immediately after the peace was restored in North and East, the government took long-term measures to fortify unity among Sri Lanka’s ethnic groups. The measures taken include the visionary move for a Trilingual Sri Lanka; through the focus on making the public of this country knowledgeable in Sinhala, Tamil and English, what is being aimed at is the bridging of all language barriers which have been keeping our communities in separate language cocoons and preventing them from communicating meaningfully with each other.

The opportunity to achieve economic advancement and security has been an abiding ideal underlying Sri Lankan progress. Given our nation’s need to ensure our economic and political stature in a changing global economy, it should be our collective interest that every one of us achieve financial security, have opportunities for upward mobility, and participate in securing our nation’s economic future.

However, a wide wealth gap among urban sector, rural sector and estate sector which prevents us, as a country, from reaching our economic potential. As a result, many of us cannot fully participate in our economic system or provide financial security for our families. This gap must be minimised in order to remain economically competitive in an increasingly demanding global environment and live up to our democratic ideals. The structural nature of the wealth gap can be traced to public policies and practices that undermine equal opportunity. These policies - both historic and contemporary - have intentionally or inadvertently suppressed asset accumulation and wealth creation in communities of rural sector.

It goes without saying that expanding economic opportunities for people of rural and estate areas is an essential strategy for a prosperous Sri Lanka. We need all of our available resources to remain competitive in the expanding global economy. Members of historically marginalized groups are a key untapped or underutilized resource; aggressive steps to ensure that all members of these groups fully participate in and benefit from the economic mainstream will benefit all of us. Our diversity is our strength, and gives us a unique competitive advantage in an interconnected global economy.

A society with no vision for the future indicates a society in decline. Societies that maintain a unity of purpose, or a shared vision embraced by the community, and encourage broad-based stakeholder participation in the formulation of that goal, will be more inclusive as every member will be working synergistically towards a unified objective.