Suriya is part of the regional SANGAT South Asian network for training women in gender and empowerment and the Asia Pacific Forum for Women, Law and Development which works as a regional network lobbying with different UN mechanisms on women’s rights.   We also worked closely with the International Network – Asia Pacific Women’s Watch in producing a lobby document on women’s economic rights and empowerment in conflict and post-conflict contexts.

Members of our Staff, Coordinating Committee and Advisory Board periodically participate in international trainings, workshops, seminars and conferences, particularly in the South East Asian region.

The Women’s Coalition for Disaster Management (WCDM) Network was set up in 2005 as a response to the large scale gender concerns in the post tsunami context. Women’s groups and organizations mobilized and formed a collective forum to raise women’s rights and gender concerns with state and humanitarian actors responding to the post tsunami resettlement and reconstruction process.

Suriya has continued to support and strengthen other women’s organizations in the district through the WCDM network, to enable collective advocacy and lobbying on issues such as, migration and trafficking, violence against women, disaster response and preparedness, environmental issues, disappearances, development planning and women’s active engagement in local democratic processes.

 In January 2014 a member organization – Community Development Foundation (CDF) – took on the Secretariat role of the WCDM Network in a rotational capacity.

Suriya is both an active member, and has also supported other networks and civic groups, in the general work of collective activism.  These include:

• Batticaloa Peace Committee
• Colombo GBV Forum
• Koinonia Women’s Crisis Centre
• Migrant Network
• Minmini Seithihal – Women’s News Network
• Mullaitheevu GBV Forum
• North-East Women’s Action Network
• GBV Network – North