ICTA to launch computer literacy campaign soon

by Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

Information Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) will launch the ICT Literacy Campaign next month targeting rural youth and Samurdhi beneficiaries in the country.

Around 50,000 Samurdhi beneficiaries will be trained under the program which will be launched by Minister of Telecommunications, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.

ICTA CEO, Reshan Dewapura said that the campaign will be launched on November 8 with the objective of creating awareness of the importance of ICT for livelihood development and economic growth in the country.

ICTA programs such as Nanasala, Nanasara, Birth Marriage and Death (BMD) computerization program, e-citizen and e-gov reengineering government and Nanapiyasa have spearheaded ICT development in the country which hopes to achieve 75 percent IT literacy rate by 2016.

The IT literacy rate in Sri Lanka has increased due to private-public partnerships which has helped to take IT to the rural sector. IT penetration in the country is also due to funding by donor agencies which make a vital contribution to enhancing computer literacy in the country.

According to statistics computer literacy among rural youth is still low due to lack of facilities and resource personnel. While most urban schools are equipped with modern laboratory facilities for IT training, many rural schools lack basic facilities for IT education.

ICTA Head of Communication, Athula Pushpakumara said that 1,000 Nanasala centres will be set up across the country this year in line with the vision of the government to boost the IT literacy rate in the country.

Around 620 Nanasala centres have been set up in the country. ICTA hopes to set up 10 Nanasala centres in the Vavuniya district and 50 in the Anuradhapura district in parallel to the Deyata Kirula program which will be held in February next year.

"More Nanasala centres will be set up in the North and the East which had been deprived of development for several years", Pushpakumara said.

The Nanasara mobile library for digital content was launched by ICTA under the e-Sri Lanka initiative to bring digital content to the doorsteps of prospective users in the rural sector. An objective of the program is to create awareness on digital content and its benefits.

Project Manager, Shriyananda Ratnayake said that information technology software, applications and content have been created to fulfill various community needs. Motivating people to use information technology and content will lead to an economic, social and cultural resurgence of rural communities, various industries will benefit by the program.

"Information will be available in all three languages. Adhoc training will be provided through the mobile library which travel across the country for two months.

The mobile library comprises IT content, software and applications on various topics. The program will cover all districts.

Government and Nongovernmental organisations could send requests for specific content which will be provided at a specific location in each of the 25 districts.

"ICTA has received a good response from various institutions which have requested content", Ratnayake said.

The e-Sri Lanka development initiative of the government has stimulated a rapid development in the use of ICT in Sri Lanka. Access to knowledge content (CD/DVD) will help in the socio-economic development of the country.

ICTA, the wholly owned government institution is the single apex body for ICT policy and direction in the country. It is the implementing organisation of the e-Sri Lanka initiative.