{"id":117539,"date":"2021-08-27T15:52:10","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T22:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=117539"},"modified":"2021-08-27T15:52:10","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T22:52:10","slug":"government-is-actively-pursuing-block-chain-technology-to-facilitate-digital-currencies-minister-namal-rajapaksa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/08\/27\/government-is-actively-pursuing-block-chain-technology-to-facilitate-digital-currencies-minister-namal-rajapaksa\/","title":{"rendered":"Government is Actively Pursuing Block-Chain Technology to Facilitate Digital Currencies: Minister Namal Rajapaksa."},"content":{"rendered":"

Ministry of Youth and Sports,<\/strong> Ministry of Development Coordination and Supervision,<\/strong> State Ministry of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The\nState Minister of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development Hon. Namal\nRajapaksa delivered the keynote address on the theme “Digital Inclusion\nand Transformation in South Asia\u201d at a virtual event that took place on Friday,\nAug. 27, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nevent, organized jointly by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) of India,\nColombo Initiative in Sri Lanka and the Sappani Foundation in Canada, aimed to\npromote engagements between Sri Lanka, India and other nations in the region,\nwhich also aligns with Minister Rajapaksa\u2019s\nvision to elevate Sri Lanka as a global hub for digital technology and\ncommerce. The event featured prominent digital industry leaders from India and\nSri Lanka, who unanimously agreed on the need to create a truly inclusive\u201d\ndigital growth in the South Asian region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During\nthe keynote address, Minister Rajapaksa announced that the Sri Lankan\nGovernment is actively pursuing Block-Chain technology, which would facilitate\ndigital currencies and a larger digital economy in the future. This initiative\nfalls in line with the vision of the Government to build a technology-based\nsociety: Smart Nation.\u201d Minister Rajapaksa also invited corporations to start\ninvesting more in digital platforms and online trading, assuring a simplified\nprocesses for e-businesses in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\nare looking at attracting more investment in the e-ommerce space,\u201d Minister\nRajapaksa said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting\nabout the significant business opportunities in the e-sports industry, Minister\nRajapaksa said, We are also looking at promoting e-sports and gaming, with so\nmany talented youth and an already vibrant community of gamers and developers a\nlike, we see a lot of promise in this, especially for the younger generations.\nGlobally e-sports remains a $100 billion dollar industry with infinite\npotential.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nMinister encouraged Sri Lankan youth to explore these avenues to create a\nlivelihood for themselves, while contributing to develop new industries. He\nalso urged the youth who are stuck indoors during the pandemic to capitalize on\nthe digital space, not only to express their creativity but also to monetize it\nand thereby contribute towards the post-pandemic economic recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minister\nRajapaksa also highlighted that Governments, civil society and the private\nsector must work together to ensure that digital technologies benefit not only\nthe economy but also society and the environment and have inclusion at their\nheart. It was also pointed out that the aforesaid collaboration between\nmultiple stakeholders will pave the way to realize the true transformative\npotential of digital technologies in accelerating the progress of the United\nNations Sustainable Development Goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keynote Address by Minister Namal\nRajapaksa for the Roundtable Discussion on Digital Inclusion and\nTransformation in South Asia\u201d Organized by the Observer Research Foundation\n(ORF) of India, the Sappani Foundation of Canada and the Colombo Initiative in\nSri Lanka.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ayubowan ! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It gives me great\npleasure to be with you at this webinar on Digital Inclusion and\nTransformation in South Asia\u201d Organized by ORF India in collaboration with\nColombo Initiative and the Sappani Foundation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First of all I would\nlike to thank the organizers for taking the initiative and conducting this much\nneeded forum amidst current challenges we face due to this global pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital\ntransformation is affecting how we work, socialize, and create economic value.\nThe COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the need for significant support and\ninvestments on digital transformation and effective digital governance across\nall countries in the region, particularly to ensure the continuity and delivery\nof core government functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The COVID-19\npandemic\u2019s devasting impact is reaching every corner of the world. As we look\nback at this period, we will see history divided into a pre-COVID and a\npost-COVID world. A defining feature of the post-COVID world will be the\ndigital transformation that has permeated every aspect of our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Forbes\nmagazine highlights there are six pillars of digital transformation.\nexperiences, people, change, innovation, leadership, and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believe that\ninclusion must be at the heart of digital transformation to leave no one\nbehind\u201d. We need to embed inclusive objectives in the four core foundations of\nthe digital economy: Internet access, digital skills, digital financing and\ne-commerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a nation is to\nmove forward in the current context Community Led Digital transformation is\nvital. Irrespective of the government policies, the community needs to embrace\nthe digital transformation fundamentals and take lead in this journey,\ngovernments will be then compelled to make the step toward digitalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to educate\nthe public on the importance of Digital transformation and benefits of Digital\nEducation specially during the pandemic. For example, digital education in Sri\nLanka even though at the early stage is growing at a rapid rate, due to the\npandemic the school system has had to embrace online education which they were\nreluctant to do before and now it is one of the fastest growing sectors in the\ncountry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United Nations\nhas recognized digital education as one key pillar in their sustainable\ndevelopment goals. One of the objectives under this pillar is by 2030,\nsubstantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills,\nincluding technical and vocational skills, for employment and entrepreneurship.\nThis too is a key priority for us in Sri Lanka, we are committed to provide our\nyouth with the skills and the tools to further their ambitions and promote\nentrepreneurship and assist them to find skilled employment. This is vital for\ncountries such as ours. We need to keep our youth occupied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 21st Century is\nknown as the knowledge-centric century. Therefore to remain globally competitive,\nwe must be efficient and technology needs to be integrated with every sector of\nthe economy, be it agriculture, industry, or the service sector. It is vital\nthat we invest strategically in new technologies and include such innovations\ninto our education systems, and economy. A culture of technological innovations\nmust be nurtured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the leadership\nof his Excellency the President a key priority of our government is to work\ntoward a digitally inclusive Sri Lanka\u201d<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we drive all\nthis vision forward the convenience of our citizens would be the foremost\nconsideration in setting up a Citizen Centric Digital Government. We will\nensure that we put in place a process where people would not have to be\ninconvenienced due to inefficiency, delays, and having to commute to many\npoints of service delivery to obtain public services, when such services could\nbe obtained via the internet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we have already\nimplemented digital access to vital documents such as birth & death\ncertificates, we are working toward establishing a fully digital ID. The\nprocess of establishing a centralized Digital ID has already begun and we hope\nto begin work by the end of the year along with an E-Gramasevaka service which\nwill allow the public access to essential public services from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While education,\npublic services and work is shifting to the digital space Economies too have\nhad to follow suit. With covid19 our entire lifestyles have changed we no\nlonger interact or go about like we used to, we cannot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corporations and\ncountries alike need to start investing more in digital platforms and online\ntrading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Sri Lanka we hope\nto simplify the processes for E-businesses and we are looking at attracting\nmore investment in E-Commerce space. We are also actively pursuing Block-Chain\ntechnology which would facilitate for digital currencies and a larger digital\neconomy. We are also looking at promoting Esports and Gaming with so many\ntalented youth and an already vibrant community of gamers and developers a like\nwe see a lot of promise in this, especially for the younger generations.\nGlobally Esports remains a 100 Billion dollar industry with infinite potential.\nWe should encourage our youth to explore these avenues to create a livelihood\nfor themselves but also create new industries. While youth are stuck in doors\ndigital space provides them with an escape to not only express their creativity\nbut also monetize it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While digital\ntransformation is certain, its direction is not. Governments, civil society and\nthe private sector must work together to ensure that digital technologies\nbenefit not only the economy but society and the environment and have inclusion\nat their heart. Only then do we stand a chance of realizing the true\ntransformative potential of digital technologies to accelerate progress on the\nSustainable Development Goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media\nUnit,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ministry of Youth and Sports,<\/strong> Ministry of Development Coordination and Supervision,<\/strong> State Ministry of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Development Coordination and Supervision, State Ministry of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development. The State Minister of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development Hon. Namal Rajapaksa delivered the keynote address on the theme “Digital Inclusion and Transformation in South Asia\u201d at a virtual event that took place on Friday, Aug. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,158],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117539\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}