The Eastern Province will be included in the e-Society Road Map of the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA). The feedback from the workshop and exhibition held in Batticaloa recently under the e-Society Programme of ICTA has been so eloquent that the Eastern Province is ensured of its slot in the Road Map of the e-Society ICTA.

The representatives, selected from different organisations in the Batticaloa distrct, briefed and trained at the workshop on 27th and the visitors to the exhibition on 28th ultimo were flabbergasted at the facilities the Government has developed for them.

"The feedback from the participants at the workshop and the exhibition is such that it further corroborates ICTA's decision to take its e-Society programme to the East", Programme Head, e-Society, ICTA Chitranganie Mubarak said.

A group of visitors attending a demonstration at the ICTA e-Society exhibition held at the Batticaloa branch of the Open University of Sri Lanka on 28th July

About 25 took part in the workshop that trained them on the use of ICT facilities mainly initiated under the e-Society Programme of ICTA while about 800 participated in the exhibition; these were more from an educated strata, including students, teacher trainees, teachers and those exploring opportunities for self-employment.

The consenus of opinion among all participants and stakeholders of the two-day event was that this kind of familiarisation and awareness-creation programme was a great need of the hour in the East, that programmes like this should be held more often and in the more interior areas of the East without being limited to the cities like Batticaloa and that the training component should be extended to a wider population.

"Tears of joy came to my mind when I saw the web-site on sign language that enabled children with hearing difficulties to learn even difficult subjects like Science and Mathematics on their own. This will enable them to go ahead in life without being sidelined in society." This is how a teacher at Joseph Illam, Pillayaarady, Batticaloa Mrs. S. Kuhan poured out her feelings during the feedback session at the conclusion of the Workshop.

"During this workshop I was able to test for myself how the Government Information Centre or 1919 works. Those days people asked me "Why are they telling us to contact the police?" They thought 1919 was same as 119 which is the number to contact the police. Even I thought as usual in Government Departments, telephone calls would not be answered. It would be always engaged. I won't be able to get the information unless I know Sinhala. They will just give an answer to save face.

But I was overjoyed at the promptitude, quality of the content and the courtesy with which the GIC answered my rather complicated question. I heard that someone saw a notice about 1919 when he went on a pilgrimage to Katirgamam. Neither the GIC in general nor its high quality of service in all three languages at almost no cost is known enough in the East. This must immediately be made known in a far widespread manner and with programmes in the interior of the villages", Batticaloa Provincial Irrigation Department Chief Engineer V. Rajagopalasingham said.