COLOMBO – The South Asian Women in Media – Sri Lanka (SAWM-SL) will host a half-day workshop on Gender-Sensitive Disaster Reporting on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, aimed at strengthening gender perspectives in post-disaster media coverage, recovery and rebuilding processes following Cyclone Ditwah.
According to UNDP’s post-disaster assessment, nearly half of the more than two million people affected by Cyclone Ditwah are women. The findings underscore the urgent need to integrate gender-sensitive approaches into disaster response and media narratives, particularly during recovery and reconstruction phases, when structural inequalities often deepen.
The workshop, organised in partnership with the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI), and in collaboration with the UNDP, aims to equip women journalists with practical tools to better identify, frame, and report on the gender-differentiated impacts of disasters. It will support participants to ensure that women’s experiences, needs and leadership roles are accurately and ethically reflected in media coverage.
Tuesday’s programme will feature a presentation on gender and disaster risk reduction by Madhavi Ariyabandu of UNDP; an overview of women’s experiences during Cyclone Ditwah’s response and recovery by Kumudini Samuel of the Women and Media Collective and a session on journalistic perspectives in disaster reporting, drawing on experiences, lessons learned, ethical considerations and best practices for responsible and gender-responsive coverage, by award-winning investigative journalist Dilrukshi Handunnetti.
Participants will also engage in a practical, hands-on exercise to identify story themes and develop media reports that highlight women’s leadership and contributions to community resilience.
Workshop Details
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Time: 9.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m. (followed by lunch)
Venue: Sri Lanka Press Institute, 96 Bernard Soysa Mawatha (Kirula Road), Colombo 5
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