Connecting Sri Lanka’s INGOs with ICT

This week will see the start of a series of events that will connect NGOs from across Sri Lanka with the aim of improving their ICT access, skills and capability.

The events are hosted by ICT for Development organisation Sarvodaya-Fusion in partnership with Microsoft Sri Lanka.

The program brings together over 50 NGOs specialising in the areas such as poverty alleviation, rural economic development, human rights, youth empowerment and environmental conservation, where they will share knowledge and exchange ideas on how technology can help them better serve the communities in which they operate.

Fusion Manager Isura Silva commented: “It is a fantastic opportunity for organisations throughout the island to get together and discuss the current challenges that they face, particularly in regards to ICT. There are hundreds of organisations across Sri Lanka that do a great amount of work and we want to support them to use ICT to be as efficient, responsive and vibrant as they can be.”

“As the nation’s leading ICT4D organisation we understand better the huge impact that ICT can make, especially to disadvantaged communities. Whether you are delivering aid, providing educational programs, tackling disease or supporting rural communities, effective ICT can help you to deliver it better and faster. We have all seen the huge difference that computers and mobile phones have made to our everyday lives and now it is really time for NGOs to ensure that they are making the maximum use of the ICT opportunities.”

Janakie Karunaratne, Community Affairs Manager of Microsoft Sri Lanka, said: “We received a very good response for the Connecting Communities event organised last year in which we had nearly 40 NGOs participating. And a demand for a similar, yet more close-group session was expressed by many of them who were keen on sharing ideas on what technology can do for them in achieving their respective missions. Therefore, this year’s event takes a slightly different format and will span across 10 days. Each day we will have a group of people from a different area of work, whether it is poverty alleviation, human rights or disability and it will give them a chance to share experiences and understand what ICT challenges they share, and ultimately how the latest technology can be used as a tool to overcome them.”

“We have worked together with Sarvodaya-Fusion to organise this year’s event and a team of Microsoft technology experts to present a series of new ICT solutions that will help Sri Lankan NGOs to be more cost efficient, improve time management and communicate more effectively. It may also be the first chance for many NGOs to understand the power of Cloud technology that will be especially beneficial for people working in the field. We invite anyone who believes that they may benefit from the experience to get in touch with the Fusion team if they wish to be part of this knowledge sharing experience.”

Sarvodaya-Fusion is Sri Lanka’s foremost organisation for ICT for development and mobile for development. The organisation exists to support the ‘e-empowerment of rural communities’. Sarvodaya-Fusion is an early stage social enterprise that has pioneered the use of rural telecentres.

In 2009 Fusion launched Sri Lanka’s first-ever mobile for development application for rural trading called ‘FarmerNet’ (www.farmer.lk). Fusion operates the SmartVillage project that has integrated smartphones and social networking for community development. Fusion Education offers recognised qualifications up to diploma level through over 100 telecentres islandwide

Fusion collaborates with the Government, corporations, communities and international development agencies to support rural communities throughout Sri Lanka. Fusion is a part of the Sarvodaya Shramanda movement, the oldest and largest NGO in Sri Lanka.