FITIS Software Chapter, BCS Sri Lanka Section to host APICTA 2015 in Sri Lanka

A landmark event in November with 650  delegates

Minister of IT and Telecommunication of Indonesia handing over the flag for APICTA 2015, which is scheduled to be held Sri Lanka in November this year

The Federation of IT Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) and BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, Sri Lanka Section, together with all other major ICT Associations, are jointly planning to conduct an ICT week from 18 to 22 November. As the two biggest industry and professional associations in the ICT sector in the country with proven track records of around 20 years, FITIS and BCS have the honour and privilege of hosting the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) 2015 in Sri Lanka.

APICTA, which has under its wing more than 15 member countries, including Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Pakistan, China and Sri Lanka, is the foremost international organisation that has the mandate of promoting ICT development and usage, knowledge transfer, promoting innovations and positioning ICT solutions in the global marketplace.

This year, Sri Lanka will host the APICTA 2015 Awards and its related annual events. This will be a great opportunity for Sri Lanka to position the country’s talents, products and infrastructure to over 500 international delegates from the Asia Pacific.

APICTA Chairman Dr. Dileepa De Silva says that he is delighted that this key event will be held in Sri Lanka in November 2015 during his tenure as Chairman. “APICTA is one of the few events in Asia which can influence a broad multi-national and multi-cultural audience. This will be a milestone event in Colombo with 650 participants from APICTA member countries in the region. In fact, it will witness the largest-ever foreign delegation for any single event in Sri Lanka’s history so far,” he stressed.

FITIS Chairman Chinthaka Wijewickrama said: “The APICTA being held in Sri Lanka is a great honour for Sri Lanka and it will give Sri Lanka the opportunity to share our ICT knowledge with the rest of world. At the same time we will also be able to see the best solutions member economies have to offer us.”

FITIS Software Chapter President Abbas Kamrudeen said: “For the first time in its history, APICTA, considered in some quarters as the Oscars of the Asia Pacific ICT industry, will be held in Sri Lanka. It is a singular honour to host this prestigious event and it is also a great opportunity for the Sri Lankan ICT industry to forge strategic alliances with the sizeable number of companies and ICT professionals scheduled to attend the event in Sri Lanka.”

“As Sri Lankans, it was a proud day for all of us to see our students reach the pinnacle and win the prestigious Gold award at APICTA 2014 by defeating participants from 14 countries who took part in the competition.

“This was no easy feat and should not be taken lightly. Competing against countries such as Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, amongst other such nations where facilities and infrastructure far surpasses Sri Lanka, speaks volumes about the talent and capabilities of our students,” Kamrudeen emphasised.

Parallel to APICTA 2015, FITIS also plans to conduct Sri Lanka’s biggest ICT exposition INFOTEL 2015 during the forthcoming ICT week. INFOTEL brings together scores of ICT vendors, professionals, corporate, academics and students under one roof to create a platform for networking and collaborations.

“In addition to APICTA and INFOTEL, we will also continue with our flagship events such as the Young Computer Scientist (YCS) Awards, which attracts applications from more than 1,000 school children from across the country.”