The Active Citizens workshop was organized by British Council and conducted by Muslim Aid Sri Lanka from 5^th of October 2016 to 9^th of October 2016 in Dampe Village, Piliyandala. The participants were selected from the representatives from community based organizations from different communities and representatives from volunteer groups.

Active Citizens is a social leadership programme which promotes intercultural dialogue and social responsibility as key leadership competencies in the 21st century. Active Citizens is run by the British Council in partnership with local and international organizations who provide expertise in areas such as youth and social entrepreneurship, equal opportunity and diversity, migration, social inclusion and engagement, and active citizenship.

The partnership between Muslim Aid Sri Lanka and British Council was instigated in 2015 to deliver the Active Citizens programme. Through this endeavour, Muslim Aid Sri Lanka strived to build the capacity of volunteers from community based organizations and those who are working at the  the grassroots level to bring changes in the community

The participants  attained a better understanding of the concepts of identity and culture; whilst learning learning methods of dialogue as a tool for building empathy, trust and understanding within and across cultures. They developed an understanding of ‘community’ and its relationship with identity and culture. The group applied  their learning to their own community to identify the problems they would like to address and the people they need to engage to achieve their objectives. They then focused on planning a Social Action initiative in their community, considering the process in different levels of detail and complexity.