Nenasala Operators empowered as change agents

In a move towards rural empowerment as envisaged in the Mahinda Chintana policy statement of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) trained another batch of Nenasala Operators recently.

Accommodated at the well-equipped MAS Institute of Management and Technology (MIMT) in Tulhiriya, the 78 Nenasala Operators out of those operating the 600 Nenasalas spread throughout the country were recipients of a six-day tailor-made training programme. Away from the demands of ICT change agents stationed far apart the batch of rural and youthful Nenasala operators was treated to a training marked by sharing and interaction among like minds assembled under one roof.

The unique skills training programme aimed at making the Nenasala Operators turn their Nenasalas into highly effective providers of access to "diverse and unrestricted sources of information and means of communication" was conducted by Beeta Horizons (Pvt.) Ltd.

ICTA Project Manager, Gavashkar Subramanium explained the purpose of the special training of the batch with the mission to be ICT change agents of rural Sri Lanka along with other Nenasla Operators already trained.

"The objective of the training is to improve the skills of Nenasala operators in operating the Nenasala sustainably by providing the optimal benefits of ICT to the community", Gavashkar added.

With emphasis on group work, the training programme had been designed with an insight into the cultural and educational background of the Nenasala operators, the majority of whom were from rural environments working in disadvantaged milieus.

An important feature of the training was the motivational session that aimed at developing the skills of Nenasala operators in leadership, team building, communication, positive thinking and change of attitude. The Training providers used a distinctive approach, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), to bring about a healthy attitudinal change in the Nenasala operators.

At the end of the training the participants commended the quality of the training. They were confident that they would be able to manage their Nenasala centres efficiently and provide a quality ICT service to the community. Above all they were hopeful that they would not only manage their Nenasala centres successfully upon their return to the respective villages but also inspire their Nenasala users to gain ICT skills which will open a world of new possibilities to them.