Use ICT to empower rural masses:

Protect children from cyber space dangers:

ICT must benefit people

Chaminda PERERA

My Government firmly believes that the benefits of any development activity should go to the ordinary masses. The people should be the real benefactors of these programs, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the eAsia 2009 exhibition at the BMICH yesterday.

He said all development projects being implemented in the country are firmly rooted in this premise and eDevelopment programs being implemented in the country is no exception.

Stressing that children should be protected from the dangers in cyber space, he appealed to all Asian leaders to take precautions in this regard.

“Our children who are from a well cultured society should not be harmed,” the President stressed.

The President said the Government is in the process of formulating the next phase ICT Master Plan which will pave the way for the rural masses to receive the fruits of ICT development in the country.

“Our percentage in Network Readiness Index has jumped from 53 to 72 within three years and the IT literacy level has also gone up from four percent in 2004 to 30 percent. Sri Lanka’s ranking in terms of BPO location index and eGovernment index have also seen improvement,” he said. The President added that the Government aims to increase the country’s IT literacy from 30 percent to 60 percent by 2012.

To achieve this target, the Government is in the process of imparting ICT and English knowledge to the youth. We have made ICT more meaningful by linking villages, provinces and townships with the outside world, President Rajapaksa said.

He said the Government has made tremendous efforts to promote IT education by establishing over 600 Nenasela Centers in villages and 3,500 IT laboratories in schools. “Sri Lanka has effectively used ICT as a tool for the empowerment of villages and rural masses,” he said.

President Rajapaksa said the Government is dedicated to bring Information and Communication Technology and English language which were available to a privileged few to the villages.

This process will become easier for the Government with the dawning of peace in the country, he said.

“My Government firmly believes that the benefits of any development activity should go to the ordinary masses. The people should be the real benefactors of these programs,” he added.

The President said the Government is in the process of formulating the eSri Lanka as it is future driving force of economies and it is the tool and the enabler that will push the boundaries of socio- economic boundaries.

This premier ICT exhibition eAsia 2009 was organized by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka with the partnership of several State and private sector agencies. Science and Technology Minister Prof. Tissa Vitharana, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, ICTA Chairman Prof P.W. Epasinghe and TRCSL Chairman Priyantha Kariyapperuma were present.

Over 200 IT experts in the Asian region participated in this event. The representative countries in Asia presented a special award to President Mahinda Rajapaksa in recognition of his service for the uplift of ICT in Sri Lanka.

Chief Operating Officer of ICTA Reshan Dewapura on behalf of the delegates presented the award to the President.

The President also presented a laptop to a student of D.S. Senanayake College to mark the inauguration of program to provide each student with a laptop. This program is sponsored by the Intel Corporation Limited.