ICTA successfully concludes e-Swabhimani 2020 celebrating digital innovation excellence

Winners of Government and Citizen Engagement award category 

Principal Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga

Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) the premier government institution driving the nation towards digital inclusivity, recently concluded e-Swabhimani 2020, the

national digital social impact awards which was organised with the aim of recognising excellence in digital innovation. A total of 62 digital innovators were recognised at the awards gala. 

The gala event was held at Hilton, Colombo in the presence of the Chief Guest, Principal Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Ministry of Technology Secretary Jayantha De Silva, and ICTA Chairman Prof. Lalith Gamage. 

e-Swabhimani 2020 was held for the 10th consecutive year seeking to recognise and celebrate digital innovations with social impact adhering to local health guidelines. Since its inauguration in 2009, e-Swabhimani has groomed local talents empowering them to reach the global level whilst providing a platform for new digital innovations to emerge. Despite the challenging environment, e-Swabhimani 2020 had received a record number of entries, making way for healthy competition among contestants. 

The winners were nominated for the World Summit Awards (WSA), to which ICTA acts as the national expert and who is mandated to carry out the national pre-selection process. Impressively the 2020 World Summit Award saw six of Sri Lanka’s seven nominations making it to the final round and we are pleased to say that one product secured as a winner under the Government and Citizen Engagement category.

Commenting during the awards ceremony, Principal Advisor to the President Weeratunga said: “As the world grapples with many challenges, we feel the need for innovators and thinkers more than ever. In this background, ICTA has a big role to play in recognising young innovators and supporting them to make an impact through their innovations. e-Swabhimani is a timely initiative that sets the platform for these innovators to emerge. I congratulate all the winners and hope these innovators can make the people’s lives better with viable technology solutions.”

ICTA Chairman Prof. Gamage said: “Over the years, ICTA has been instrumental in driving the nation towards digital transformation by integrating digital laws, expanding the ICT industry and supporting startups, innovators and entrepreneurs. Today, we celebrate the culmination of yet another successful initiative to find innovators and provide them the due recognition. I would like to congratulate all the winners of e-Swabhimani 2020 and wish them success in their future endeavours.”

Awards were presented under the categories: Government and Citizen Engagement, Health and well-being, Learning and Education, Environment and Green Energy, Culture and Tourism, Smart Settlement and Urbanisation, Business and Commerce, Inclusion and Empowerment, Digital Entertainment and Youth category. 

Providing due support for fostering digital innovation and creating a digitally inclusive world, e-Swabhimani 2020 was sponsored by Huawei Technologies Ltd.