César Cernuda, President of Microsoft Asia Pacific, who was on a 2-day official visit to Colombo, met with a number of government officials and the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) to discuss how the software company can further align with the government’s plan to make the country the IT hub in the region.

The Head of Microsoft Asia Pacific also met with President Mahinda Rajapaksa at ‘Temple Trees’, where he gifted up to the minute Microsoft software to the value of US $ 2,125.748 ( US Dollars two million one hundred and twenty five thousand seven hundred and forty eight) to be used in the Nenasala (Wisdom Outlet) programme headed by ICTA.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa who met with César Cernuda said, “We are moving successfully forward with this programme, and I have no doubt we will achieve the 75 percent target in ICT literary rate by 2016.”César Cernuda, speaking on behalf of Microsoft said he was i mpressed with the work already done through the Nenasala programme. He said “Providing free access to computers and the Internet to underserved Sri Lankans through the Nenesala programme will only help to boost digital literacy and encourage economic development throughout the country.”

The Nenasala Programme also won the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s 2014 Access to Learning Award earlier this year, receiving a cash grant of US $1 million to the e-Library Nenasala Program (eLNP), in recognition of its work.The President of Microsoft Asia Pacific said that Microsoft as a partner of the foundation made the software donation to eLNP, as a part of the company’s commitment to bring the benefits of relevant and accessible technology to local communities around the world.

Microsoft Sri Lanka has partnered the Ministry of Education (MoE) on a number of initiatives to uplift secondary and university level education in Sri Lanka.
Nenesala Centers are located in rural areas to give residents increased access to high-quality equipment, training, and locally tailored information to help them improve their lives. Majority of the Nenasalas are to be found within religious i nstitutions, which have served as community centers and places of learning for centuries. This strategy has helped t he government earn the confidence and trust of Sri Lanka’s rural residents, who have had little access to technology until now. Whether housed in a Buddhist temple, Hindu kovil, Muslim mosque, or Christian church, each Nenasala is free and open to people of all religions and income levels.

The Nenasala programme will use the donated Microsoft software t o further develop instruction for children living in the most remote areas. This will be a part of a larger country-wide strategy to “take the dividends of ICT to every village and every citizen.”