Following a comprehensive, long-term consultation process, the Advanced Draft of the “National Media Policy of Sri Lanka” was officially presented yesterday (14) to the Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, and the Deputy Minister of Mass Media, Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathne, at the Ministry of Mass Media auditorium.

Prepared by an independent multi-stakeholder committee appointed by the Ministry of Mass Media, this policy framework was formulated with the contributions of hundreds of diverse stakeholders over a period of more than two years, from May 2023 to December 2025.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, stated that the people’s struggle (Aragalaya) highlighted the urgent need for comprehensive policies across multiple sectors in Sri Lanka, and that the formulation of these policies is currently underway at the ministerial level. The Minister emphasized that this media policy does not merely belong to the Ministry; rather, the Ministry’s role was strictly to facilitate the process. He pointed out that the drafting of such a unanimously agreeable policy by an independent multi-stakeholder committee is a historic achievement. Furthermore, the Minister noted that the Ministry paid special attention to media freedom, the professionalism of journalists, and the impact of citizens throughout this process.
The Initial Draft (Zero Draft) of this policy was prepared and presented in July 2024 by an initial drafting committee comprising 23 members, which was appointed by the Ministry of Mass Media in 2023.
The process of preparing this advanced draft was further expanded by a multi-stakeholder committee of 28 members, reappointed by the current government in early 2025. As part of this, steps were taken to publish the initial draft in all three languages on the Ministry's website starting in June 2025 to gather public feedback. Moreover, public contribution was enhanced by gathering views from civil society representatives, journalists, and women activists. This was conducted across regions centering on Colombo, Kandy, Puttalam, Trincomalee, and Jaffna, in collaboration with the Ministry of Mass Media, South Asian Women in Media (SAWM), and the Free Media Movement (FMM).
The event was attended by government officials, including the Director General of Government Information, Mr. Harsha Bandara, and the Director (Development - Mass Media) of the Ministry of Mass Media, Mrs. Nelum Dilshari, alongside members of the expert committee that drafted the National Media Policy.