The Digital Services Chapter of the Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) is to host a two day virtual conference called Internet Day on April 6. The conference looks to emulate ‘Internet Day in India’ which looks to promote usage of digital methods within society.
The 2 day event will feature multiple prominent speakers inclusive of policymakers, leading Sri Lankan technology players, Sri Lankans who are leading figures in technology abroad, and international participants. The Chief Guest of the event will be President Gotabaya Rajapaksa who in his keynote address will outline the digital vision for the country. Founder of PickMe Sri Lanka and President of the Digital Services chapter of FITIS Jiffry Zulfer said, “If we do this right we could get into a golden era of growth. We are happy that the President shares this vision and we want to see it achieved.” Zulfer was speaking at the press conference to promote the event on 30 March held at the SLIIT office in the Bank of Ceylon Merchant Tower.
Sri Lanka is currently at the inflexion point of digital adoption. The populous has access to digital devices like smart phones and internet connectivity but is yet to achieve rapid growth in digital services. Though over 80% of the population has a phone with over 50% being smart phones the country is estimated to have only 2% of GDP enabled through digital services.
Chairman FITIS Abbas Kamurdeen noted that Malaysia has 34.5% of its GDP enabled with some aspect of digital services. Kamurdeen said, “We Sri Lankans have missed the 3rd Industrial Revolution. Countries like Singapore really benefited from it. The digital economy is going to be the 4th industrial revolution. Digital economies will grow faster than those that are not.” Internet Day will feature 37 sessions with 1,500 minutes of content.
There are a confirmed 120 speakers and moderators for the event. The content will be recorded and uploaded to social media sites for access after the event. The event will have sessions for all ages and levels of digital literacy. The organizers have included sessions on information and misinformation in the digital age. The event is accessible to all and people can register for free. The event will have in participation cloud service providers who will look to assist Sri Lankan businesses switch from on premise infrastructure to that which is hosted on the cloud.
