Saummya Amarasinghe is a peacebuilding practitioner with over a decade of experience working with local and international non-profit organizations across diverse communities to promote social cohesion and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Her work focuses on developing creative and participatory approaches to peacebuilding that encourage dialogue, empathy, and inclusive engagement.

Saummya has worked extensively on community media initiatives, including forum theatre, radio drama, and community video storytelling, using these platforms to amplify community voices and foster dialogue on sensitive social issues. She was involved in implementing the Travelling History Museum, an initiative designed to encourage more inclusive and pluralistic public discourse surrounding Sri Lanka’s history. She has also managed projects that engage youth and women political leaders to raise awareness about the impacts of online hate speech and to build their capacity to produce positive digital content that promotes peace and reconciliation. Her work in digital peacebuilding explores how online spaces can be transformed into platforms for constructive engagement rather than division.

Saummya brings strong expertise in project management and monitoring and evaluation, along with subject knowledge in transitional justice, conflict transformation, pluralism, and non-violent communication.

In addition to her professional work, Saummya was a founding member of the People’s University at GotaGoGama, established during Sri Lanka’s 2022 People’s Struggle at the Galle Face protest site. During the height of the protest movement, the People’s University served as an alternative intellectual platform that challenged traditional forms of knowledge production and created a space for ordinary people to share their ideas and engage in critical dialogue.

Participant in: October 2025 Fellowship: Peacebuilding and Women’s Meaningful Participation in Peacebuilding Processes