| e-Society Development Initiative | e-Village | Local Content |Up Coming Events| |Success Stories|


The Vision:

Contemporary Sri Lanka whose national economy is significantly contributed to by the rural communities – in other words “taking the economy to the people”

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have had a significant impact on the lives of people - bringing them closer together, making differences less important and amplifying economic activity and growth. However, rural Sri Lanka, where nearly 70% of the population lives, is yet to profit from these developments. The overall goal of the e-Society Programme is to promote the innovative use of ICT to meet the social and economic needs of the most vulnerable communities in Sri Lanka; to develop approaches to scale up successful applications; and to empower civil society with affordable access to information, communication, and relevant local content.

Strategies:

To use knowledge and information to move the centre of gravity of power, influence and opportunity, back to the rural masses, the following strategies are outlined:

• Raise awareness within society about the uses and benefits of ICT through a strategic communications campaign.

• Develop multi-stakeholder partnerships in ICT4D. These partnerships will network ICTA to other organizations and institutions that are engaged in promoting an e-Society.

• Establish a fund that will adopt a bottom up approach to solicit and develop innovative solutions using ICT to benefit rural poor, women, displaced persons.

• Introduce and mainstream ICT in rural communities to provide increased opportunities for economic growth and an improved quality of life.

• Enhance the capacity of stakeholders by developing & delivering appropriate training programmes.