The agriculture sector in Sri Lanka employs 31.3% of the total labor force of the country, but its contribution to the Gross Domestic Production (GDP) is just 11.9% (Central Bank of Sri Lanka). So, basically one third of the labor force is ...

The Conversation Behind Closed DoorsIt is always good to know the attitude of U.S. investors on Asia and Africa, where most of the poor people live in the world.Africa is the world’s second largest and second most populous continent after Asia, with

Poverty indeed has many faces. Many of these faces remain unrecognized or out of focus as they are linked to other aspects of deprivation, such as isolation. The Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) initiatives such as Telecentres can start attacking this vicious cycle from Isolation. The physical and social isolation may, in turn, negatively impact on economic, health ...

Yes, it can be. Telecentre is a place rich with ICTNo, it is too much to expect from a Telecentre.Most of the telecentres are located in rural areas; most of those areas are prone to disasters, natural or man-made. Telecentres located in ...

Appreciation: Pragathi Mahilal (1964-2009)Sri Lanka’s relatively higher PC literacy rate (16.9%) is often erroneously attributed to Nenasala telecenter network, under World Bank’s e-Sri Lanka program. No doubt, Nenasalas have played a minor role, but Pragathi Mahilal, as the co-founder of three successful Information and Communication Technology (ICT) publications, alone contributed more to bridge the digital divide in Sri Lanka. In ...

Sri Lanka’s First Mass Alert Emergency Warning System Launched 30 January 2009, Colombo: The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) of Sri Lanka, together with Dialog Telekom launched Sri Lanka’s first mass alert warning system – the Disaster & Emergency Wa

Note: My intention is not to promote any product, brand or company, but to promote sustainability of Telecentres.On my way to Hambantota (A district in the deep south of Sri Lanka), I could see many Telecentres (Nenasalas). Out of those Telecentres some .

“A 10% increase of mobile phone penetration in a country will contribute to the Gross Domestic Production (GDP) growth by 1.2%” – Dr. Hamdoun Toure, Secretay General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU).Poverty can be described as the inability of enjoying the minimal standards of living. Poverty has many dimensions to it and one way it can be explained is by using ...

Economic System vs Free Education SystemThroughout the last five decades the welfare oriented policies have helped Sri Lanka to leapfrog in terms of education and health sectors when compared with other developing countries in the region. Good health facilities and health indicators, very high literacy rate (over 90%) are can be shown as good examples.But other countries in the region ...

“My farther reads the news paper online, now he does not want to buy the papers” – some anecdotes tries to prove that Telecentres are fully integrated with rural societies and they depen

The concept of ICT4D is being abused by many people / companies / organizations for their own benefit. So now it is a challenge to convince people and get their support for genuine ICT4 Development (ICT4D) initiatives

With the exponential growth of mobile telephony in developing world, mainly in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the mobile phone has become one of the best channels to reach the rural farmers.Here in Sri Lanka,

“Telecentres are not sustainable; it is just waste of money”.Let’s stop blaming telecentres, understand what went wrong and what went well. Let’s get things corrected. Now we should promote Telecentre Management as a profession not as just looking a