As our regular readers know, LIRNEasia is normally modest about our achievements. We see no reason blowing our own horn when we have others to do so.
Still when International Research Development Center (IDRC) profiles Harsha De Silva, we see no reason not reproduce the same – particularly, when it refers to our research.
Extract:
After his studies, de Silva returned to Sri Lanka to work as the chief economist and treasurer of the country’s largest development bank, declining employment offers in North America.
“I belong in my country and that’s how I see it,” says de Silva. “Developing-country researchers have got to go get PhDs, be able to integrate with the system, understand it, and then come back and share that knowledge.”
He went on to work for the Sri Lankan government, designing a strategy to bring ICTs to rural areas of the country. During this time, he became intrigued by the potential of technologies such as mobile phones to improve the efficiency of agricultural markets and ultimately improve the lives of the poor.
“Telephones in the hands of farmers or tuk-tuk drivers — it wasn’t expected, but it happened,” says de Silva.
In 2004, the government decided the project wasn’t a priority, but de Silva and colleague Rohan Samarajiva decided to continue their research and created LIRNEasia, a regional organization that conducts research to identify ways ICTs can be used to improve the lives of Asia’s people. In addition to their work exploring technology and its application in improving people’s livelihoods, LIRNEasia has also helped pilot an early disaster warning system to alert coastal villages to dangers coming from the sea, like the 2004 tsunami.
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