Sri Lankan e-TukTuk gets Stockholm award

Prithwi, Thursday, February 14, 2008, —iGovernment Bureau under e-Gov and News

Colombo: The ‘e’ Tuk-Tuk Project of Sri Lanka has bagged the Stockholm Challenge award under the Public Administration category for Information Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives supporting development.

The project is a community building initiative that aims to share the benefits of modern technology with the rural communities.

It is a mobile telecentre using three wheelers, where the equipment is located in an auto rickshaw—a favoured mode of transport in South Asia.

The vehicle utilises wireless Internet connection, loudspeakers and multimedia projectors and visits more than 20 villages in Kothmale everyday disseminating knowledge, providing training and participatory programming to the community.

It has been described as a project that electronically expands the community centre into isolated rural areas.

Kothmale Community Radio and Dilmah Tea with the assistance of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) had launched the ‘e’ Tuk-Tuk Project in Kothmale in 2005.