Acquiring knowledge and technology necessary:

Promoting IT in rural areas, Govt’s aim

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

The Government has given top priority to promote information technology among people, especially the rural community to enable Sri Lanka to emerge as a knowledge based economy. The development depends on acquiring knowledge and technology is necessary to forge ahead, said Minister of Science and Technology Prof. Tissa Vitharana.

Asia’s premier ICT event e-Asia 2009, the fourth in the series was opened by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the BMICH yesterday. It was jointly organized by the Information Technology Communication Agency (ICTA) and Centre for Science Development and Media Studies under the theme “Opportunities for Digital Asia”. The three-day Information and Communication Technology event of the region for the year includes a conference and exhibition which will conclude tomorrow.

The country’s IT literacy rate is 30 percent at present and it has improved over the years. The developing of the Nenasala concept in rural areas was to bridge the digital divide and 600 centres have been set up so far. The President had declared the year 2009 as the Year of IT and English for the country to face the changing global environment, he said.

The administrative service needs to be proactive and dynamic. Information Technology could play a key role in its efficiency. ICT is a source of generation of jobs and income. With the stimulus given by e-Asia 2009 the country could benefit immensely, he said.

Over 200 foreign IT professionals will participate in this event and the conference will include 40 thematic seminal sessions attended by global visionaries, innovators, practitioners, policy makers and representatives from donor agencies. About 25 countries especially from Asia including USA and Europe will be represented at the event.

Around 100 institutions and over 1,000 delegates are scheduled to participate in the conference while about 10,000 persons on a daily average are expected to visit the ICT-centred exhibition which is open to the public free.

ICTA Chief Operating Officer Reshan Dewapura said that “e-Asia 2009 will be a great opportunity for interacting particularly with the countries in the region.

About 408 presentations with the core aim of making the benefits of ICT reach the people have been lined up. These will be under five thematic sectors, namely, Emerging Technologies, e-Government, Digital Learning, e-Health and Telecentre Forum.

“The wide spectrum of the countries represented at the event including India, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Philippines, Japan, Israel, Nepal, Cambodia, China, Bangladesh, Uganda, USA, USA, Malaysia, Albania, Australia, Japan, Morocco, France, Switzerland, Argentina, Egypt, United Kingdom and Kenya indicates the international interest in e-Asia 2009”, he said.