First overseas ‘Nenasala’ launched in Abu Dhabi

The first ‘Nenasala’ – wisdom outlet – outside Sri Lanka was set up in the United Arab Emirates recently.

The ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) said that this Nenasala was set up at the UAE Embassy in Sri Lanka located in Abu Dhabi. ICTA said that this wisdom outlet was set up for the benefit of Sri Lankans in the UAE. It enables them to communicate with their relatives in Sri Lanka with greater ease and minimum cost.

Run by the staff and volunteers at the embassy, this first-ever overseas ‘Nenasala’ lays special attention on imparting free training to expatriates to improve their IT and English language skills. According to Embassy sources, the number of Sri Lankan nationals currently in the UAE is more than 300,000. About 45 per cent of them have white-collar jobs and the rest hold middle and lower rung jobs.

Currently there are 665 ‘Nenasalas’ set up under the project that implements the 1,000 Nenasala concept of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The goal of the project is to take the computer to the village and make the benefits of ICT reach every citizen. Modern ICT facilities are available in these ‘Nenasalas’.

These ‘Nenasalas’ empower the rural community with ICT. The project is implemented by ICTA. A ‘Nenasala’ outlet or wisdom outlet is a centre that provides multiple Information Communication Technology (ICT) based services to the community. It acts as a hub of local, national and global information resources that has a catalytic effect on rural communities in poverty reduction, social and economic development and peace building.

The e-Sri Lanka Development Project initiated by the Government of Sri Lanka aims to provide access to “diverse and unrestricted sources of information and means of communication” to all citizens. The ‘Nenasala’ does just this under the e-Sri Lanka initiative.

The objective of the ‘Nenasala’ Project is to upgrade the living standards of all rural communities across Sri Lanka with equal affordable access to ICT-based services.