Media Forward 2025 was held from 24–26 November 2025 in Colombo, organised by UNDP Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Broadcasters’ Guild, Hashtag Generation, Factum, Verité Media and Politics, the Media Law Forum, the Free Media Movement, and the Sri Lanka Digital Journalists’ Association. LIRNEasia Research Fellow Ashwini Natesan joined as a panelist for the first session of the event, titled ‘Strengthening Coordination and Shared Accountability in Digital Spaces’. The other panelists were Senura Abeywardena (Head of Public Policy, Central Asia, Mongolia and Sri Lanka at Meta), Ranga Kalansooriya, PhD (Asia Regional Advisor, International Media Support), Rajitha Mahanama (Sub Inspector, Computer Crime Investigation Division), and Saranee Gunathilaka, PhD (Director – Strategy and Operations, Hashtag Generation). Ashwini spoke on platform accountability, the Online Safety Act (OSA), and the impact of online harms on women and children. She highlighted that, on paper, the OSA includes provisions to hold platforms accountable.
Natural disasters and humanitarian crises often create disorder and panic. While basic needs such as food, clean water, and shelter often take priority, access to accurate information helps calm societal turbulence. For information to be communicated, the underlying network must function, and for information to be accurate, the supporting soft infrastructure, such as institutions and policies, must exist. 