Group Publications

Presidential Secretary, Lailith Weeratunga has written to all Secretaries of Ministries and Heads of Departments encouraging them to attend the e-Asia 2009 Conference along with the key officers of their ministries and departments.

In a circular issued last week addressing all secretaries of ministries and heads of departments, Weeratunga emphasised the importance of e-Asia 2009 to the individual and the nation and urged their attendance along with their key officers.

In an implementation of the technique of instruction by example the President's Secretary underlined in the said circular the importance of e-Asia 2009, an event close to the President's sentiments, as he appealed: "Please consider this request with a high degree of importance as this event is being organised under the patronage of His Excellency the President who will inaugurate the event on 2 December.  I wish to meet with key Government leaders such as you during the conference, which I plan to attend as extensively as possible."

The e-Asia 2009 exhibition, the fourth in the series, themed 'Opportunities for Digital Asia' will be held at the BMICH from 2 to 4 December 2009.

 "This event provides a great opportunity for leaders of our Government to learn, experience and share the wealth of knowledge at this event. This will provide you with the necessary insight to partner in the future development of not only your ministry and departments, but also the nation. Therefore, I wish to encourage you to participate at the conference along with other key officers of your ministry and /or department/agency," the President's Secretary stated in the said circular.

Noting with  satisfaction the fruition of four-years of implementation of the 'Mahinda Chinthana' policy statement, of which the hosting of e-Asia 2009 by Sri Lanka is one of the top manifestations, Weeratunga said: "The Government's vision for ICT-led development as embodied in the 'Mahinda Chinthana' policy document is bearing fruit  and the importance that the Government  has placed on this sector for our national development is made even  clearer as the year 2009 was declared the 'Year of English and IT.'"

"Sri Lanka has been making steady strides in using ICT for Development (ICT4D) in the recent past and we have had good successes. This is now being reflected internationally in various indicators. The Government Information Centre (GIC-1919), Lanka Government Network (LGN), Nenasala (Telecentre Network) are some highlights. Other Asian countries too have been implementing large scales projects in this sphere both at national and state level and benefits of these efforts are already emerging. Asia is leading this arena globally in my view, due to the high intellectual capital and the ingenuity that exist within our people", the circular to the top personnel in the public sector said, in a succinct roundup of Sri Lanka's ICT achievements within the past four years of which e-Asia 2009 hosted in Sri Lanka may very well be an appropriate zenith.

The circular, spelling out the salient features of the upcoming premier ICT event of the region, noted:  "In this context, 'e-Asia 2009: Opportunities for Digital Asia' is a unique gathering of approximately 1,500 global visionaries, innovators, practitioners and policy makers from the private sector, government, multilateral agencies and civil society who are willing to share knowledge and build partnerships in a single platform.

"This annual event has been successfully held since 2006 in Thailand and Malaysia. It will provide the right opportunity for stakeholders in this arena to share and engage through active conferencing and networking. e-Asia 2009 will comprise unique thematically inter-related conferences in the domains of five thematic areas viz: e-governance, digital learning, e-health, telecentres and emerging e-technologies. We also envision the participation of key leaders in these related fields from across the world representing diverse backgrounds," the statement added.

e-Asia 2009 is a unique gathering of approximately 1,500 global visionaries, innovators, practitioners and policy makers