Some highlights of UNESCO’s contributions to Sri Lanka include;

Safeguarding of the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka
The international campaign to safeguard the ancient Buddhist buildings and monuments inSri Lanka’s ‘cultural triangle’ began in 1980Seven of the country’s ancient sites are presently inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List, includingthe Ancient City of Anuradhapura, the Medieval City of Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya Water Garden and Fortress, Dambulla Cave Temple, Kandy Sacred City and the Temple of the Tooth Relic, the Old Dutch Fort in Galle and the Singharaja Forest. These listings helped to preserve these unique cultural treasures, and have also helped to generate employment  and economic development through cultural heritage tourism.
New proposed World Heritage listings include the “Seruwila Temple” in the Trincomalee District and the “Peak Wilderness” in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka.

Peace Education
A Teacher’s Guide to Peace Education, was launched in Sri Lanka in 2002. The Guide, which is available in Sinhala and Tamil, is being used for training by both the National Institute of Education (NIE) and by the Ministry of Education (MOE) for teacher training.

Communication and Community Radio
UNESCO aims to narrow the gap between the information rich and information poor, and to build an information society for all. Kotmale Community Radio is considered to be one of UNESCO’s pilot projects in bridging the digital divide.

Tsunami and Conflict related Assistance
UNESCO has been involved in rebuilding schools, reconstructing libraries and assessing  damage caused to the Old Town of Galle and other World Heritage sites  by the tsunami of 2004.

A UNESCO village has been built in Kosgoda, in partnership with the German Foundation for UNESCO, (Stiftung UNESCO), where 50 tsunami affected families have been provided with housing and schooling facilities, as well as a vocational centre.

The Jaffna Library, affected by conflict, has been provided with computer facilities and wifi connectivity, and a computer lab. Staff have been trained in library management, the use of IT and net working, and in the use of English as a link language. A video lab and numerous collections of books, journals and periodicals have been sourced and donated, as well as a mobile bus library facility. Today, the Jaffna Library has a collection of nearly 100,000 titles. This programme was carried out by UNESCO in partnership with the Ford Foundation of India.