Internet Day 2022: Policy changes required for future growth in Sri Lanka’s digital economy – FITIS

Seated from left: Digital Services Chapter Vice President Omar Sahib, Digital Services Chapter President and Sri Lanka Internet Day Co-Chair Channa De Silva, Digital Services Chapter Immediate Past President and Sri Lanka Internet Day Co-Chair Jiffry Zulfer, and Digital Services Chapter Secretary Priyanka Perera Standing from left: Digital Services Chapter ExCo member Hithesh Fernando, Digital Services Chapter Treasurer Mangala Rodrigo, and Digital Services Chapter ExCo member Chammika Weerasinghe  

The Digital Services Chapter of the Federation of Information Technology Industry in Sri Lanka (FITIS) will launch ‘Sri Lanka Internet Day 2022’ on 22 November this year. 

This one-day event being held for the second consecutive year, will have the theme ‘Digital Lifestyle: Lifeline to overcome turmoil’ with sessions divided into several categories. The event will be held at the Hilton Colombo, where participants will have the opportunity to engage with local and international experts in related fields. 

FITIS Digital Services Chapter President and LankaPay CEO Channa de Silva says, while the Internet is a great leveller, it has to be traversed with knowledge and insight. “The internet is a platform that will create an egalitarian world because it can reach across boundaries to provide great opportunities for the privileged as well as the underprivileged. However, while all this may sound great, the internet can also do just the opposite. As much as it can pave the way for equal opportunity, it can also create great imbalances, unfairness and tilt the playing field to the advantage of some. That is why this global platform must be used with knowledge, because while it offers endless possibilities, there is also the danger of one being excluded as much as being included. That is what we would explore during this event — the ups and downs of the internet and how we can use it for the benefit of everyone. 

“In particular, there is the uneven playing field in taxing local digital companies and serious vacuums in the FinTech area, which are causing bottlenecks for the local financial industry and the bottom of the pyramid to not benefit from financial instruments that can uplift them economically, owing to a lack of digital literacy.”

Therefore, the second Internet Day is gearing up to find that equity. Whilst being well aware that this may be an arduous journey for Sri Lanka’s digital ecosystem, FITIS strongly believes that all sections of the country from the corporate to state sector, startups, entrepreneurs, students, the media, and the bottom of the pyramid must up their game. “If we don’t we would be left behind in a world that is moving forward at a speed that Sri Lanka may not be able to keep up with,” says the President of the Digital Services Chapter.

“We have already made plans to connect with international players, with the intention of finding out what needs to be done from a policy and planning perspective to strengthen the Sri Lankan internet platform to become a global player. The goal is to find the right solutions that would allow us to be competitive in dealing with vibrant markets across the world; to find win-win solutions and create wealth for us here in Sri Lanka,” says FITIS Digital Services Chapter Vice President and Internet Day 2022 Co-Chair Omar Sahib.

This year’s theme ‘Digital Lifestyle’ was chosen by the organisers, in order to showcase citizen engagement in a digital society; how the internet and digitisation can positively impact everyday life by merging with information technology. The term “digital life” is used to distinguish between parts of human life that take place in “cyberspace”, or which are closely related to digital technologies, and the other areas of life that take place in “real life” independent of digital technologies.

Sri Lanka’s digital strategy will be showcased at the event, featuring digitisation initiatives already taken by public and private sectors in several key areas. It will also showcase national priorities of enhancing the country’s digital infrastructure to facilitate a digitally empowered ecosystem. The sessions will cover the spectrum of day-to-day life involving work, government, home, urban and rural.  

The Inaugural Internet Day under the theme ‘Digital Inclusion’ had 40 virtual sessions where important topics were addressed by leaders and experts of the public and private sectors. The sessions covered a wide range of topics, focusing on small and medium scale businesses, social media interaction and major factors that drive community engagement. This year’s event will cover Bandwidth and Connectivity, Digital Entrepreneurship, Healthcare, Fuel Crisis and Voice of the Nation sessions and bring together international experts to share knowledge and expertise with local participants. This year the Gold sponsors for the event are Microsoft and IBM. Also partnering Internet Day 2022 are LankaPay, HNB, NTB (FriMi), Webxpay, PickMe, E&Y, SlashTech, Lanka Bell, Articulate, ICTA, and EDB.