Microsoft, Tharunyata Hetak build youth leaders in North
Microsoft Sri Lanka came another step closer to their mission of
being an organisation of value to the nation when they joined hands with
Tharunyata Hetak to provide IT and leadership training to 200 youth from
the Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Thunukkai areas, in the North of Sri
Lanka.
In line with the MahindaChintana vision of making Sri Lanka a nation
with a strong IT educated human resource which would help make the
country an IT hub in the Asian region, Microsoft joined Tharunyata Hetak
in organising a workshop titled 'Rebuilding Your Community Through
Leadership Skills and IT Training'; targeting potential youth leaders
from three educational zones in the war ravaged Kilinochchi and
Mullaitivu districts.
Namal Rajapaksa MP with officials at the ceremony |
200 students who had passed their GCE O- L exams were hand picked for
the three day programme which included a series of activities such as
lectures on developing leadership and IT skills, leadership training
games, physical education and roll plays. The programme also allowed
some leisure time for fun activity in the form of touring the Colombo
city (which was a first for most of the students), catching a movie in
one of the city's modern cinemas and being guests of the President of
Tharunyata Hetak, Namal Rajapaksa MP, who hosted the team for dinner.
Several educationists, senior journalists and IT specialists were
instructors at the workshop and Microsoft's Country Manager Sriyan de
Silva Wijeyeratne who was in Bangladesh at the time connected with the
gathering through Microsoft Lync, demonstrating some of the company's
most current technology to the participants. Addressing the gathering,
he said "Now that peace prevails, it is time to take advantage of all
the new things that can be learnt through Information Technology. It is
also a fact that we lost a lot of our youth leaders in the last decade
and it is time now to rebuild new youth leaders who are ready to take
their positions in society as community builders. Microsoft's mission is
to take IT to every corner of Sri Lanka and this workshop brings us
another step closer to that goal."
Seelaratne Senarath, Director Editorial of Lake House Publications
addressing students said, "You more than anyone understand the pain of
war. Jaffna was a place, which produced many of the intellectuals in
this country, which is unfortunately not the case any more. In a
developing world IT is a most important part and IT education is a must;
because there will soon come a time in this country when every student
will go to school carrying a laptop. By providing this learning
opportunity, Microsoft has done an immeasurable service to children of
the North and Tharunyata Hetak is greatly appreciative of that."
Mullaitivu Zonal Education Director, K. Wardaraja Moorthi who was
amongst the delegation commended Microsoft and Tharunyata Hetak for
organising the workshop for the students. "This was a great learning for
these students. It clearly showed them the need to move away from
defeatist thinking and forge a path towards a victorious future. There
is no world without IT today and that was made evident in a clear and
precise way by Microsoft" he said.
Malini Veniton, Educational Zonal Director of Thunukkai also
expressed her views saying that this training programme will help these
students to face some of the challenges of the modern world and that
they got some important insights into IT education. She further said
that students in the North did not have much opportunity or interest in
IT thus far and the training programme has managed to create that
interest, which is a victory for both Microsoft and Tharunyata Hetak as
much as for the students. |