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Press release

Colombo to Host eASIA 2009, Asia’s Largest ICT for Development Event

New Delhi, May 18, 2009 - eASIA 2009, the fourth in the series of the eASIA annual events organised by Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS) and Elets Technomedia, will be held from 2nd to4th December 2009 at the prestigious Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka is the host organisation of the event.

eASIA 2009, is the annual international Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for development event that provides opportunity for all stakeholders in the ICT arena to come closer and share a level-playing ground through active conferencing and networking. Spanning over three days, the event will comprise unique thematically inter-related conferences, in the domains of e-Governance, Digital Learning, e-Health and Telecentres.

Sri Lanka is poised to fuel the national economy and leverage its global competitiveness in the emerging knowledge economy. Recognising the importance of rapidly creating a knowledge society, the Sri Lankan Government has declared the Year 2009 as the Year of English and IT. Considering the present time as the beginning of this journey towards national prosperity, there is an obvious need for the Sri Lankan Government to foster international collaboration, develop strategic partnership and promote the national cause among people, organisation and enterprises- from both within and outside the country.

With the objective of reinforcing technology and knowledge-centric growth needs of Asia vis-à-vis Sri Lanka, through capitalisation of market economy and boosting human development, eAsia 2009 – Opportunities for Digital Asia will provide the right opportunity for all stakeholders to come closer and share a level-playing ground through active conferencing and networking.

The three-days of conferencing will consist of a number of plenary and technical sessions, focused workshops, seminars, discussion round tables and a full-fledged exhibition, providing excellent opportunity for showcasing projects, programmes and initiatives of government and private sector agencies/corporations, as also for demonstrating innovative ICT products, solutions and applications for various domains covered under the scope of the event. The speakers and attendees will include policy-makers, senior government officials, industry leaders, international development agencies, civil society, academia, and investors. eASIA 2009 will thus be a unique networking and learning opportunity for one and all.

Commenting on the significance of Sri Lanka being privileged to play host to eASIA 2009, ICTA’s Chief Operating Officer Reshan Dewapura said that this year was indeed a very appropriate year for Sri Lanka to host eASIA 2009. “Sri Lanka is just at the threshold of harvesting the fruits of the e-Sri Lanka thrust. This is borne out by a number of success stories in the six-pronged ICTA’s ICT-based core programmes. These successes have been reflected in international documentation as well as tangible domestic manifestations. Sri Lanka’s Network Readiness Index has registered a steady growth with it reaching the 72nd mark out of 134 countries in 2008/9,” Dewapura asserted.

The previous three eASIA events have been held in Thailand and Malaysia, in collaboration with the Ministry of ICT and Ministry of Education, Government of Thailand and the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications (KTAK), Government of Malaysia, respectively. More than 40 countries, 100 corporates and 800 delegates participated in eASIA 2008 held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP), British Council, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Commonwealth Connects, Global e-Schools Initiative, Telecentre.org, Software Industry Promotion Industry (Thailand), Commonwealth Medical Association, International Telecommunications Union are some of the eminent partners of the previous eASIA events.

About CSDMS
Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS) is a leading research and media institution. Founded in April 1997, CSDMS is committed to advocacy and developing of solutions for under-privileged societies through the use of innovative and effective Information and Communication Technologies and Geographic Information Systems. In the past six years, CSDMS has been actively engaged in researching, documenting, and advocating for ICT4D. For more information, visit: www.csdms.in

About ICTA
Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka is the apex body involved in ICT policy and direction for the nation. Wholly owned by the Government of Sri Lanka, ICTA is the implementing organisation of the e-Sri Lanka Initiative that tries to use ICT to develop the economy of Sri Lanka, reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of the people. ICTA aims to carry out its role in the e-Sri Lanka development initiative by harnessing ICT as a lever for economic and social advancement and taking the dividends of ICT to every village, citizen and business and to re-engineer the way government thinks and works. For more information, visit: www.icta.lk

Press Contacts
For further information, please contact:
Prachi Shirur from CSDMS, Email: prachi@csdms.in;
ph: +91 9871529758

Athula Pushpakumara from ICTA, Email: athula@icta.lk;
ph: +94112369099

Or log on to the conference website: www.e-asia.org