NITC 2019 ‘Embrace Digital’ reveals Govt.’s digital initiatives

CSSL President Prabath S. Wickramaratne presents a copy of the NITC 2019 proceedings book to Minister of Digital Infrastructure and Information Technology Ajith P. Perera as Secretary to the Ministry Chandana Rodrigo and CSSL Vice President Damith Hettihewa look on

The 37th National Information Technology Conference (NITC), the country’s largest and longest running ICT Conference organised by the Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) was held recently in Colombo under the patronage of Minister of Digital Infrastructure and Information Technology Ajith P. Perera as the Chief Guest. 

A large number of ICT professionals witnessed the successful NITC 2019 themed ‘Embrace Digital’ with the aim of creating an international platform to deliberate latest developments, trends, and challenges of the digital era, one of the major highlights of the National ICT Week organised by the Ministry of Digital Infrastructure and Information Technology and ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA).

Delivering the special inauguration keynote speech, Minister Perera said the proposed National Data Interoperability and Identity Platform will facilitate exchange of critical data and digital information among government organisations and enable the creation of an inclusive society to bring prosperity to all citizens of the country.

Additionally, he also mentioned that key policies such as Cyber Security Bill and Data Protection Bill will enable Sri Lanka to be on par with other countries strengthening interactions and winning opportunities. He Minister also requested industry stakeholders to start reaping benefits of the forward-looking initiatives of his ministry.

Meanwhile, Computer Society of Sri Lanka President Prabath Samindra Wickramaratne stated that with more than 1,800 participants at the NITC 2019, workshops centred on e-governance conducted by an Estonian expert Ivar Tallo allowed Government officials to obtain first-hand information and insights on international success stories. Additionally, he mentioned that the National CSSL ICT Awards, a key feature of the event getting increasingly popular among the ICT fraternity and this year’s version was extended to recognise the contribution to the industry by the innovation and startups community. 

ICTA Chairman Professor Rohan Samarajiva outlined the salient features of the proposed National Digital Policy of Sri Lanka and highlighted the importance of the modular approach to the design in order make the implementation more effective.

NITC 2019 also featured an annual colloquium track in which more than 20 papers were shortlisted after an assiduous selection process presented by prominent local and international researchers, which will be subsequently published in the IEEE global database.  

There were more than 40 local and international speakers under the tracks of AI and IOT, Digital Media and Digital Safety, Embrace Digital, Infosec, Digital Innovations, Digital Economy, Digital Payments, and Digital Infrastructure. NITC 2019 Conference Chair Dr. Ajanatha Athukorala thanked all stakeholders who made NITC 2019 – Embrace Digital a tremendous success this year.