CSSL elects new Council for 2020
The Annual General Meeting of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) was held recently and the new executive council for the year 2020 was duly elected.
Prabath S. Wickramaratne was re-elected as the President, whilst Damith Hettihewa was re-elected as the Vice President.
The other members of the Executive Council are Secretary Dr.ajantha Athukorale, tresurer Dr. Parakum Pathirana, Asst. Secretary Heshan Karunarathne, Asst. Tresurer S. Shageevan, Student Counsellor Heminda Jayaweera, Publication Secretary Commodore J. Gunaseela, and Council Members Prof. Koliya Pulasinghe, Rasantha Hettithanthrige, Indika De Zoysa, and Prof. Priyantha Kumarawadu.
Prabath S. Wickramaratne will continue to lead the Executive Council of CSSL for another term. He has been with CSSL Executive Council over the past seven years prior to being elected as the President in 2019. He is currently attached to Deutsche Bank AG, Sri Lanka as the Vice President / Head of Operations and Head of Information Technology. In addition, he is a visiting lecturer at a number of leading government and private universities in Sri Lanka and a member of the steering committee Sri Lanka Financial Sector Computer Security Incident Response Team (FINCSIRT).
The President thanked all outgoing Executive Committee members, especially to the Immediate Past President Yasas V. Abeywickramafor his successful two year term as President, during which he guided the country’s apex ICT professional’s body to a new height with innovative strategies.
The President presented the annual report which articulated a number of successful projects which were either implemented or flagged off during the year 2019 based on the five pillar vision themed ‘Strategy 2020 and Beyond”, which was unveiled a year ago.
The CSSL was established in 1976 in Sri Lanka by a group of dedicated industry professionals for the purpose of promoting Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and professionalism among those engaged in this field, and to maintain the highest professional standards among the ICT professionals.
The CSSL, a not-forprofit body has played this role for over 40 years. The CSSL is best known in Sri Lanka for hosting the National IT Conference (NITC) which provides a platform for national and international researchers to publicize their research outcomes. The NITC 2019 was a huge success with an increased participation of both public and private sectors, where special sessions were conducted for key government officials on e-governance. The CSSL also organizes the National Schools’ Software Competition (NSSC) as well as the popular IT Mastermind Television Quiz Show that is nationally televised on ITN.
These activities have collectively lead to a surge in popularity for the CSSL and also for a renewed energy in driving large projects for building awareness and capacity. The CSSL also provides networking opportunities as well as workshops and seminars that are organized on a regular basis. One of the major achievements in the recent past is obtaining the Provisional Signatory status of Seoul Accord, which would assist to shape the dimensions of ICT higher education in Sri Lanka.