Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure and FITIS host 2nd National CXO Forum

The Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure and Federation of IT Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) hosted the second National CXO Forum on ‘Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning’ on 28 March at the Hilton Colombo Residence. National CXO Forum is a joint effort of the Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure and FITIS in developing the ICT Professionals in the ICT Industry in Sri Lanka.

Expressing his views on the National CXO Forum, Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Secretary Wasantha Deshapriya said, “This is a historic occasion for Sri Lanka’s ICT industry. Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure and FITIS have been working very closely for several industry development initiatives and we jointly hosted the second National CXO Forum very successfully. The event brings insights of the latest technologies available and it is much awaited and well attended event by the CXOs. Hence, it became very popular among the CXOs in a very short period of time. This is the first time that we are collaboratively hosting such a valuable event and we invite all CXOs in the country to register with the forum. 

FITIS Chairman Dr. Kithsiri Manchanayakke stated, “As the Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure partnering with FITIS will always benefit the industry and society as a whole. In the recent past, MTDI and FITIS have strengthened the collaboration by conducting joint events with the Ministry to uplift the ICT industry in Sri Lanka. The MTDI and FITIS joint CXO Forum is yet another huge leap forward in terms of bringing all CXOs and decision makers of the industry covering both public and private sector. The forum brings a platform for the stakeholders to discuss challenges, explore new industry trends, collaboration, and meet solutions and service providers.”

FITIS held the first National CXO Forum on 11 November 2016 at BMICH parallel to Infotel 2016 National ICT Exhibition. The by-invitation-only event was hosted exclusively for CXOs.

“We are hosting four CxO Forums in 2017 in Collaboration with the Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure. The next CxO Forum will be held on 20 June and we plan to do sessions related to the Right for Information Act that recently came into effect. We have chosen this topic for the next Forum as we feel that the Right for Information Act cannot be practically implemented without Information Communication Technology (ICT)/Digital Infrastructure facilitating the process. The CxO Forum also brings together Government Officials, Business Leaders, Senior IT Professionals and Entrepreneurs to facilitate a Dialog that helps to speed up the deployment of Technology to address many of today’s pressing requirements and concerns. We hope more and more CxO will make use of these Forums to Discuss and resolve their Pressing ICT related Issues,” said Prasad Hettiarachchi – Head of CXO Forum Organising Committee and the Vice President of FITIS Software Chapter. 

For over 25 years, the Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) has worked diligently to serve Sri Lanka’s ICT Industry. Today, with more than 175 members representing all different segments of the industry, the FITIS stands as the country’s largest ICT industry representative body and has many ‘firsts’ and ‘bests’ to its credit. FITIS is the Largest and unified ICT Industry association in Sri Lanka covering all sectors in the industry including the Hardware, Software, Education and Training, Professionals and Communication.

Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure always believes in Public-Private Partnerships in developing the ICT Industry. By partnering with National CXO Forum, the Ministry is expecting to make Sri Lankan CXOs and Decisions Makers updated with the technology leading towards a knowledge economy.