National Chief Innovative Officers' Conference organised by the Information and Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) was held recently in Colombo. The conference marked the completion of four years of eGovernment, an ICTA programme intended to ensure better Government service by the use of ICT. The chief guest on the occasion was Secretary to the President and UNESCAP's ICT Committee Chairman Lalith Weertunga while the audience consisted mainly of senior government officials who are also the Chief Innovative Officers (CIOs) in their respective areas. They form the pivotal part in the machinery for implementing the eGovernment programme.
Participating at the conference as the chief guest, Mr. Weeratunga emphasised, in his key note address, the value of thinking creatively and figuring out new ways for providing service smartly to the public.
He said that in public service there were numerous instances where a little creative thinking could lead to simple and small projects that would carry out the tasks faster, at less cost, in a more pleasant manner and in a less cumbersome way both for the government servant as well as the public than would be the case bereft of this little creativity.
While the conference marked the completion of four years of ICTA's eGovernment programme it also coincided with the programme's move from phase one to phase two. This first phase consisted in the provision of business-related and Government information to the public by the production of appropriate web-sites.
Introducing the day's programme, ICTA's eGovernment programme Director, Wasantha Deshapriya said: "Today we complete four years of the eGovernment programme. As 2008 ends and 2009 dawns we move from phase one to phase two in the path of eGovernment. The year 2009 has been declared the year of ICT and English. It can also be called the year of eGovernment". To mark the completion of the above-mentioned phase one ICTA conducted a competition on the production of web-sites during the two weeks prior to the conference. The competition was extended to ministries, departments, district secretariats as well as divisional secretariats.A central part of the conference was the giving away of awards to winners at the competition on the best government web-sites. The prizes were given away to the winners by Secretary to the President Lalith Wijetunga and ICTA Chairman Professor P. W. Epasinghe.
According to the results of the competition conducted strictly on the criteria indicated above, the prizes were as follows. The prizes for the Divisional Secretariats that produced the best web-sites in their districts were bagged by the Ella, Kaduwela, Thavalama, Dompe, Weeraketiya, Walallavita, Harispattuwa, Kegalle, Pallepola, Welipitiya, Badalkumbura, Nuwara Eliya, and Godakawela Divisional Secretariats respectively from the Badulla, Colombo, Galle, Gampaha, Hambantota, Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalle, Matale, Matara, Monaragala, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura districts. While prize for the best web-site out of Divisional Secretariats was won by the Welipitiya Divisional Secretariat the prize for the best web-site out of Districts was won by the Galle District Secretariat. Similarly while the Department that was adjudged the best department in the submission of the web-site at this competition was the Department of Agriculture, the Ministry that was adjudged the Ministry that produced the best web-site was the Ministry of Industrial Development.
Topping all these prize-winners the prize for the best overall Government web-site was bagged by the double prize-winner the Department of Agriculture. As mentioned earlier the Department of Agriculture's web-site also won the prize for the best web-site out of web-sites submitted by the departments. The following are the winning web-sites and the milieus in which they are the best:
Best Divisional Secretariat web-site in the different Districts
" Best Divisional Secretariat Web-site in Badulla District - Ella Divisional Secretariat
(http://www.ella.ds.gov.lk/)
" Best Divisional Secretariat Web-site in Colombo District - Kaduwela Divisional Secretariat
(http://www.kaduwela.ds.gov.lk/)
" Best Divisional Secretariat Web-site in Galle District - Thawalama Divisional Secretariat
(http://www.thawalama.ds.gov.lk/)
" Best Divisional Secretariat Web-site in Gampaha District - Dompe Divisional Secretariat
(http://www.dompe.ds.gov.lk/)
" Best Divisional Secretariat Web-site in Hambantota District - Weeraketiya Divisional Secretariat
(http://www.weeraketiya.ds.gov.lk/)
" Best Divisional Secretariat Web-site in Kalutara District - Walallavita Divisional Secretariat
(http://www.walallavita.ds.gov.lk/)
" Best Divisional Secretariat Web-site in Kandy District - Harispattuwa Divisional Secretariat
(http://www.harispattuwa.ds.gov.lk/)
" Best Divisional Secretariat Web-site in Kegalle District - Kegalle Divisional Secretariat
(http://www.kegalle.ds.gov.lk/)
" Best Divisional Secretariat Web-site in Matale District - Pallepola Divisional Secretariat
(http://www.pallepola.ds.gov.lk/)
" Best Divisional Secretariat Web-site at Matara District - Welipitiya Divisional Secretariat
(http://www.welipitiya.ds.gov.lk/)
" Best Divisional Secretariat Web-site in Moneragala District - Badalkumbura Divisional Secretariat (http://www.badalkumbura.ds.gov.lk/)
" Best Divisional Secretariat Web-site at Nuwara Eliya District - Nuwaraeliya Divisional Secretariat (http://www.nuwaraeliya.ds.gov.lk/)
" Best Divisional Secretariat Web-site in Ratnapura District - Godakawela Divisional Secretariat
Best Overall Divisional Secretariat Web-site
" Best Overall Divisional Secretariat Web-site - Welipitiya Divisional Secretariat
(http://www.welipitiya.ds.gov.lk/)
Best District Secretariat Web-site
" Best District Secretariat Web-site - Galle District Secretariat
(http://www.ds.gov.lk/dist_galle/)
Best Department Web-site
Best Department Web-site - Department of Agriculture
(www.agridept.gov.lk)
Best Ministry Web-site
" Best Ministry Web-site - Ministry of Industrial Development
(www.industry.gov.lk)
Best Overall Government Web-site
" Best Overall Government Web-site - Department of Agriculture
(www.agridept.gov.lk)"
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