Colombo to host FutureGov SAARC Summit

Colombo will host the first ever FutureGov SAARC Summit which will at the same time be the third annual FutureGov Forum Sri Lanka. Distinguished local and international participants are poised for valuable contribution at the conference on July 18 and 19 .

Delegations from all South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries - Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan - totaling about 50 are expected to attend the event.

Digital inclusion, mobile government, information security , and cloud technology for government services, e-health / m-health, secure storage and disaster recovery plans and citizen service delivery are among the subject areas that will receive special focus at the two-day conference.

Explaining how Sri Lanka gained the opportunity to host the summit CEO of ICTA, the hosting Sri Lankan organisation, Reshan Dewapura said: "The great strides made in the successful implementation of e-Governance policy certainly contributed towards Sri Lanka being selected to host this FutureGov SAARC Summit. Highlighting the focus of the Summit the ICTA CEO said, "The summit will focus, in particular, on effective and efficient e-Governance in the region. It will give participants the rare opportunity to share their views with some of the best practitioners in public service and industry experts in the world. Accordingly the summit will be an ideal opportunity for all interested in improvements in government service provided to the public; Particularly government officers will greatly benefit from the summit".

"The Mahinda Chintana - Vision for the Future", the government's policy statement holds out the hope of Sri Lanka becoming the regional hub in five sectors one of which is the knowledge sector. The FutureGov SAARC Summit will focus on creating an environment that better enables the implementation of e-government services thus paving the way for more effective and efficient e-Govenance in the region" Dewapura said.

Underlining the need for speedy compliance with the e-Government policy in Sri Lanka Dewapura said, "Most of the Sri Lankan government agencies are still in the early stages of e-government; most of the top management and Chief Innovation Officers of those organizations are increasingly involved in e-Government implementation. This calls for increased effectiveness of the public sector and provision of more citizen-centric services through compliance with the e-Government Policy before the end of December 2012". Pointing out the rare opportunity that the Summit will provide ICTA CEO explained, "The FutureGov SAARC Summit will bring together an unrivalled international speaker line-up. It will comprise government thought leaders, experienced practitioners and industry experts especially in the region.

"This will mean delivery of a balanced mix of real-life best practice case studies, expert presentations and interactive panel discussions," he said.