This workshop focused on economic, social and cultural rights
From 26 to 28 February 2021, the Max Planck Foundation held the second Training-of-Trainers workshop in partnership with the Bar Association of Sri Lanka for senior lawyers. It was the last activity in a series of Training-of-Trainers workshops with these senior lawyers and covered select economic, social and cultural rights. The first event was held in December 2020. The lawyers trained during this workshop series will go on to serve as human rights trainers together with Foundation research fellows in a programme of seminars in Sri Lanka this year concentrating on economic, social, and cultural rights.
The event was held via videoconference over three days. One of the Foundation’s Managing Directors made the opening address. After the opening remarks, participants began by discussing human rights pedagogy and specifically explored how to handle difficult situations during training. This session followed from discussions held in the first workshop in December 2020 on human rights pedagogy.
On the second and third day of the programme, participants delivered presentations they had prepared after the December workshop. They presented on select topics of economic, social, and cultural rights which had been assigned to the participants respectively during the last event. Following each presentation, the audience engaged in a question-and-answer session with the presenters which fostered robust discussion and debate amongst participants. After each of these sessions, participants and Foundation fellows presented a constructive critique of the presentation and how the presenters handled their particular session. Through this format, each participant was able to refine their presentation skills and knowledge of the law in their assigned area through practice and through peer review.
To end the workshop representatives of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and the Foundation gave concluding remarks expressing gratitude and congratulations to the participants for their hard work and earnest engagement with the programme. These events form a part of the “Advancing Institutional Capacity in the Sri Lankan Justice System” project which is kindly funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.