President Rajapaksa receives ICT leadership award

An ICT leadership award was presented to President Mahinda Rajapaksa due to his commitment to ICT development in Sri Lanka, the region and the world.

WSA Chairman, Prof. Peter A. Bruck presents the award to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. ICTA Chairman Prof. P. W. Epasinghe looks on.

The presentation, approved by World Summit Award (WSA) board members representing all regions, took place during the inauguration of the World Summit Award (WSA) 2013 at the Presidential Secretariat recently.

The World Summit Award (WSA) is the global follow-up initiative of the United Nations World Summit on Information Society (WSIS).

"In 2004 when the portfolio of Information and Communication Technology was on the mantle of the incumbent President, the then Prime Minister, ICT literacy was a mere four percent. Today it is estimated to be 40 percent. The President removed ICT from the position of being the prerogative of a few urban elite and raised it to the level of a universal tool. The flagship project for this was the Nenasala (wisdom outlet) project, a brainchild of the President," an ICTA spokesman said.

"There are now 740 of Nenasalas islandwide with 59 of them in the North. The International Networked Readiness Index which was 83 in 2006 out of 115 countries reached the 69th position out of 144 countries in 2013 in spite of difficult circumstances. Sri Lanka also bagged the Offshoring Destination of the Year (2013) award at the National Outsourcing Association Awards held in London recently," he said.

Founder CEO of the UK based Mobilium International, also known as the 'Father of Ringtone' said, "Your support and thinking in general for ICT development shows great leadership intellectually and politically".

WSA Chairman, Prof. Peter A. Bruck said, "Mr. President, you made a landmark speech at the UN General Assembly on September 25 this year. You were looking, talking, asking and pleading for people to have something like an 'International Skills Day'. That is important because you were and are committed to give the country's youth and youth in other countries your valued leadership in ICT development".