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Nenasalas
for all instead of internet-cafes for a few
At
a time when world funding bodies were proposing the setting
up of internet-cafés in the cities of Sri Lanka, in
a manner that would only cater to the rich elite, President
Mahinda Rajapaksa decided that Nenasalas or Wisdom Outlets
should be set up island-wide to cater to the poor rural folk,
Science and Technology Minister Prof. Tissa Vitarana said.
The Minister made this statement during the first National
Nenasala Convention held at the Western Province Aesthetic
Resort in Colombo recently.
Although the world’s economy is today faced with a severe
crisis, the Nenasalas numbering about 570 operating island-wide
can raise the standard of the people’s lives through
technology, the Minister explained.
President’s Secretary and Chairman of Information and
Communication Technology Committee of UN-ESCAP, Lalith Weeratunga
delivering the keynote address thanked the Nenasala personnel
on behalf of President Rajapaksa and his government, for their
contribution to the success of the project. He urged them
to meet the future challenges with the same dedication as
shown in the past.
Weeratunga pointed out that in April 2004 the computer literacy
rate of Sri Lanka was even less than 1%. Thanks to President
Rajapaksa’s concept, in four to five years Sri Lanka’s
computer literacy rate reached the 30% mark, he said. The
President’s Secretary presented the Nenasala personnel
the challenge of making 50% of Sri Lanka computer literate
by the end of 2009.
Meanwhile, IDRC’s Disaster Management Division Chief
Dr. Basheer Ahmed Shadra requested the Nenasala personnel
to pass on their valuable experiences to other countries as
well.
Ven. Hepolagama Sirisumana Thera described how the Samadhi
Nikethana Buddhist Centre Nenasala at Diyabubula, Bibile originated
as a response to a newspaper advertisement and has reached
its current status. Krishnasamy Kantheepan gave an account
of the history of the development of the Social Aid Foundation
Nenasala in Badulla, which was started with just nine students.
He said that the Nenasala had proved the axiom that “challenges
are the secret of success.”
During the convention two more important events took place:
Setting up of the Asia Pacific Telecentre Network Secretariat
in Sri Lanka and the launching of the Telecentre.org Academy
of Sri Lanka. While the setting up of the Asia Pacific Telecentre
Network Secretariat in Sri Lanka was carried out by the Secretary
to the President and Chairman of UN-ESCAP’s Committee
on Information and Communication Technology, Lalith Weeratunga,
the launching of the Telecentre.org Academy of Sri Lanka was
carried out by Information and Communication Technology Agency
of Sri Lanka (ICTA) Chairman, Prof. P.W. Epasinghe.
Lalith Weeratunga gave an insight into the benefits of the
Asia Pacific Telecentre Network Secretariat being hosted by
Sri Lanka: “I, being delighted that Sri Lanka has been
selected to host the Secretariat of the Asia Pacific Telecentre
Network and being aware that by hosting the Secretariat in
Sri Lanka can benefit as well as perform a pivotal role in
making world community benefit from innovation and knowledge-sharing
amongst Telecentre organisations in the Asia-Pacific region,
do hereby set up the Asia Pacific Telecentre Network Secretariat
in Sri Lanka on this day the seventh of February 2009.”
Launching the Telecentre.org Academy of Sri Lanka, Prof. P.
W. Epasinhge described the purpose of the academy thus: “I,
being aware of the benefits that will accrue to Sri Lanka
by the existence and activities of the Telecentre.org Academy
of Sri Lanka as an initiative to provide telecentre personnel
in Sri Lanka with ongoing training, capacity-building and
opportunities for professional development including knowledge
and learning-experience sharing with counterpart organisations
in the world community, do hereby declare open the Telecentre.org
Academy of Sri Lanka on this day the seventh of February 2009.”
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