First Editorial Board Meeting, SAAPE Poverty Report, 2016 Held In Colombo, Sri Lanka

The first meeting of SAAPE Poverty Report 2016 Editorial Board members took place in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 1-3 March 2016.

Scholars and activists from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India presently comprise the editorial board. The members of the editorial board are as follows:

1. Ms. Neelam Hussain, Executive Co-ordinator, Simorgh Women’s Resource and Publication Centre, Lahore, Pakistan;  Editor-in-Chief, SAAPE Poverty Report 2016
2. Professor Babu Mathew, Advisor to SAAPE
3. Dr. Shobha Raghuram, Founder Member and Advisor to SAAPE
4. Dr. Udan Fernando, Executive Director, Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA), Colombo, Sri Lanka
5. Mr. K.  Romeshun, Team Leader, Facets of Poverty, CEPA, Colombo, Sri Lanka
6. Dr. Netra Prasad Timsina, Regional Coordinator of SAAPE
7. Ms. Prerna Bomzan, Advocacy Co-ordinator, RRN/SAAPE/LDC Watch, Kathmandu, Nepal
8. Ms. Amrutha Jose Pampackal, Graduate Student, Masters in Public Policy, National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore
9. Ms. Deepa KS, Graduate Student, Masters in Public Policy, National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore

SAAPE has been producing a regional report on Poverty and Vulnerability every three years as an advocacy tool to help raise the voice of the people for human rights, social justice and democracy in South Asia that can be useful for social movements, CSOs and academics in the region. Four volumes of the Poverty report have already been published till date, of which the latest report was published in 2013. These reports are available and can be viewed on SAAPE website (www.saape.org). In regards to the upcoming issue, SAAPE is planning to produce the fifth volume in September 2016. SAAPE Core Committee, comprising of one male and one female representative from eight South Asian countries, meeting held in September 2015 has decided ‘Conflict and Poverty in South Asia’ as the title for the fifth report.

The first report of its kind, which was published in 2003, was aimed at introducing the status and nature of poverty in South Asian countries. The second published in 2006, focused on five thematic areas; food sovereignty, gender justice, labour rights, peace, justice and demilitarization and democratic and just governance in the region. The third report of 2010 analysed poverty and vulnerability cycles, capturing the narratives of the survival and struggles of people in the region, while the  fourth report was focused on poverty analysis and also regarding an alternative development paradigm for the region.

This meeting will help to finalize the conceptual framework, develop the contour for the country and regional reports and interact with intellectuals and committed social activists on what they think are critical issues facing the South Asia region. The meeting also discussed issues highlighted on the initial documents received from each country writing process.

The meeting, along with the interaction programme was organised at the premises of Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA), Colombo.