Ms. Priyanthi Fernando
Executive Director, International Women's Rights Action watch, Asia Pacific in Malaysia
Ms. Priyanthi Fernando is the Executive Director of the International Women's Rights Action Watch-Asia Pacific (IWRAW-AP) - the only regional/international NGO working with the CEDAW Convention as a main tool for change in the Asia Pacific. IWRAW Asia Pacific aims to make the promise of CEDAW a lived reality for the world’s women and children. Ms Fernando is a feminist, social development and communications professional, who has worked in the areas of technology, infrastructure and poverty, and whose skills include gender analysis, strategic communications, networking, organizational development and project evaluation She has worked in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Yemen, the UK and Australia.
In (2005-2015), she served as Executive Director for the Center for Poverty Analysis (CEPA), an independent, Sri Lankan think tank specializing in research on poverty in Sri Lanka and the region. She has also served as the Executive Secretary of the International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (1995-2005) and the Country Director Sri Lanka of ITDG (now Practical Action). Ms Fernando holds many voluntary positions in various social organizations: she is on the Advisory Group of ENERGIA: the gender and sustainable Energy Network, is a Board Member of Janathakshan GTE Ltd Sri Lanka, and of the Gamani Corea Foundation, also in Sri Lanka and until recently a Board Member of the Women and Media Collective in Sri Lanka.
A year ago she completed for the ILO office (International Labour Office) in Sri Lanka: A study of Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining in the Ready Made Garment Sector in Sri Lanka. She has authored several articles, and was the co-editor of Balancing the Load: Gender, women and transport (ZED books). She represented environmental NGOs for two terms in UNFCCC’s Advisory Board of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN). Currently, she is in the 10-Member Group appointed by the UN Secretary-General to support the UN Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM).
In (2005-2015), she served as Executive Director for the Center for Poverty Analysis (CEPA), an independent, Sri Lankan think tank specializing in research on poverty in Sri Lanka and the region. She has also served as the Executive Secretary of the International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (1995-2005) and the Country Director Sri Lanka of ITDG (now Practical Action). Ms Fernando holds many voluntary positions in various social organizations: she is on the Advisory Group of ENERGIA: the gender and sustainable Energy Network, is a Board Member of Janathakshan GTE Ltd Sri Lanka, and of the Gamani Corea Foundation, also in Sri Lanka and until recently a Board Member of the Women and Media Collective in Sri Lanka.
A year ago she completed for the ILO office (International Labour Office) in Sri Lanka: A study of Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining in the Ready Made Garment Sector in Sri Lanka. She has authored several articles, and was the co-editor of Balancing the Load: Gender, women and transport (ZED books). She represented environmental NGOs for two terms in UNFCCC’s Advisory Board of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN). Currently, she is in the 10-Member Group appointed by the UN Secretary-General to support the UN Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM).