NITC focuses on e-inclusion this year
 

 Global surveys indicate many governments are moving forward in e-government and e-inclusion developments around the world, but it also reveals that the progress is very slow said President of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) Dr. Prasanna Lokuge said.

Dr. Prasanna Lokuge at the inauguration ceremony. Picture by Saliya Rupasinghe

Inaugurating the 26th National Information Technology Conference (NITC) which was held yesterday, Lokuge said only few governments have made the necessary investments to move e-government applications per se, to more integrated connected governance.

“Sri Lanka has invested significantly and taken necessary action towards achieving e-Sri Lanka status. The initiatives and developments of the Sri Lankan Government is commendable and appreciated by the CSSL,” he said.

In terms of connectivity, a robust broadband network is the most important and critical aspect in the roll out process of e-government applications and services.

The UN e-government readiness survey found that governments that invested in broadband infrastructure scored relatively high marks or ranks compared to other countries.

The theme of this year’s conference is “e- inclusion for a knowledge economy.” In order to stimulate a dialogue on the challenges and opportunities we have, particularly the government, administration and the industry. E- inclusion, goes beyond e-governance he said. It refers to the need to ensure that certain segments of the community are not left behind because of a lack of digital literacy or internet access.

It also covers the opportunity of using information and communication technologies (ICT) to distribute knowledge resources more equally, offer new job opportunities and overcome the traditional barriers to mobility and geographic distance.

Lokuge said this conference will be an ideal platform for the local ICT industry to expose the foreign systems and understand the latest ICT trends in the international arena. There are 20 eminent guest speakers who will speak under various topics covering important areas in the industry during the two-day conference.

There will be ten foreign speakers representing countries such as France, USA and India. NITC organised by the CSSL concludes today.

(AS)