Internet Day Forum to focus on freeing the digital economy

From left: Sri Lanka Internet Day Co-Chair and FITIS Digital Services Chapter President Jiffry Zulfer, FITIS Chairman Abbas Kamrudeen, Sri Lanka Internet Day Programme Committee Head Yasith Fernando and FITIS CEO Aruna Alwis at the press conference to announce the launch of Sri Lanka Internet Day – Pic by Ruwan Walpola

By Darshana Abayasingha

The Federation of Information Technology Industry in Sri Lanka (FITIS) will host Internet Day 2021 next week, a virtual event to acknowledge the country’s need to prioritise its digital economy to face future economic and social challenges.

The two-day event will take place on 6 and 7 April, and host 37 sessions in all three languages featuring 120 speakers and moderators, which amounts to over 25 hours of content over the two days covering the digital economy. 

The forum will focus on national policies and strategies on digital connectivity, and is held in association with the Ministry of Technology, State Ministry of Education and other State agencies. The Chief Guest for the event is President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The theme for the event ‘Digital Inclusion’ intends to showcase citizen engagement in a digital society and its positive impacts in terms of access, affordability and ability.

FITIS Digital Services Chapter President Jiffry Zulfer said it was imperative to create more awareness so more citizens of the country use the internet for their day-to-day activities. This creates the need to improve access to public services via online services, affordability and access to internet. 

“We have the right foundations in place, so we just need to make sure that we navigate this very well and ensure that the country can benefit from the adoption of digital services,” he said. For that we need a change in policy and regulation which will then spur enterprise and investment, Zulfer added. 

FITIS Chairman Abbas Kamurdeen said one of the core mandates of his organisation was to promote a thriving digital economy in the country, and to make it a regional technology hub. He noted that countries like Malaysia boasted over 34.5% GDP contribution from the digital economy, and in Sri Lanka it was estimated to be about 4–6%, as the country did not even have a formal method of calculation. 

Events like this will help pave the path to digital inclusion and expansion Kamurdeen said. He stressed that Sri Lanka could not afford to miss the Fourth Industrial Revolution, unlike before, to bring in economic prosperity to the country through unprecedented levels of productivity improvements. Economies that adopt industry 4.0 will grow much faster and will become the leaders over the decade, he pointed out. 

The Daily FT posed how FITIS expected to translate the findings at the forum into practice to ensure meaningful outcomes for the deliberations that take place there. FITIS Chairman Kamurdeen said: “It is important that there is leadership and with the President himself having an IT background as well, that leadership element will be resolved. Some implementations are yet a bit slower than we would expect. But I think it is the industry’s role to make sure that we keep backing these key decisions, inquiring how we can get some of these projects implemented. We’ll keep trying our best. Not everything is in our control. But I think that’s all that we can do.”

Speaking on security and quality of service, the FITIS Chairman told Daily FT it was at a situation that needed more users on-board to invest more. “I think we need to break the rules somewhere and create awareness and encourage parties to invest as well as encourage people to come on board and experience the service.” 

Microsoft India Country Head – Venture Capital and Private Equity Partnerships Lathika Pai, who is Co-Chair of the event, commented: “Sri Lanka is at a critical inflexion point in digital adoption. It is important for public and private entities to come together to help accelerate this, which will result in compounded growth for the country’s economy.”

All events at the forum will be addressed by industry experts, subject gurus and motivational speakers who will give valuable insights how respective groups can benefit from the internet and what digital inclusivity can do for the entire country. Ministers Ajith Nivard Cabraal and Susil Premajayantha are also scheduled to speak at the event along with corporate and industry leaders.