Pacific Youth and ICT Network

Wan Smolbag Theatre

2010-05-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

Wan Smolbag Theatre - non-government organisation based in Vanuatu runs programmes in education, youth awareness, farming/agriculture, health and ICTs – they have a computer learning centre that is connected to internet and supervised by a teacher who talks about the use of ICTs. I was just fascinated with their ICT training program which shows how ICT can be integrated into their agriculture and youth programs. They have a skills training centre which teaches them basic ICT skills that would help them to get employment or be self-employed. The young women are actually using emails/mailing lists to promote their in-house agricultural activities and market sales. Other youths are learning audio, video recording and producing plays, films, teaching resources, radio programmes and more….They are using technologies to showcase their talents and they are drawing a lot of attention during their awareness campaigns….anyway, this is just one example. I think it is very important to document these activities around the region and also to work with the youths so we understand what their needs are and how they can be encouraged to use ICTs. It’s up to us to find ways to encourage youths to use technology. But again, with the introduction of new opportunities to use ICTs and internet, comes emerging issues with challenges such as cyber crimes, internet child pornography etc..For more information on Wan Smolbag Theatre, please visit their website: http://www.wansmolbag.org/DynamicPages.asp?cid=26&navID=34

Isabel Youth Learning Network

2010-05-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

The Isabel youth learning Network centres around community radio used to help develop ideas for, and then support, participatory content development for radio. Isabel Province has a network of 8 radio stations in villages. This is a programme started by the Commonwealth of Learning with PFNet, SIDT and myself as implementing partners. David Leeming is the creator of this network and is helping things along and then substantially when there is any need for my substantive input. The project in Solomons started with a strong Youth focus, indeed it started in relation to the newly launched Isabel Province Youth Policy and Action Plan, under COL’s Learning4Peace programme. Youth leaders are involved in the program design and production, and youth drama groups who create audio dramas and perform them live to support learners. The programme has been developing radio series on health promotion, but has been discussing diversification especially in the area of agriculture and livelihoods. They also have a Pacific Youth voices youth magazine. For more information, please visit: http://isabel-youth.ning.com/

Case study - Saunaka Village Women and Youth Empowerment and Mentoring Project, Nadi, Fiji.

2010-04-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

Saunaka village is situated in Nadi, Fiji with a village population of around 900, of which an estimated 150 are children. The village, through it women’s group have started a Saunaka Mentoring Program, a pilot project that gives volunteer mentors an opportunity to tutor kids/women in Saunaka village on ICTs – using the computers, and using various software and programmes. The volunteer mentors comprise of the women of Saunaka. The goal of this program is to raise overall community awareness in ICTs so that the people are well versed on computer usage and programmes to aid students in school, and for those seeking employment, arm them with the necessary basic computing skills. The programme is being coordinated by a former Peace Corp volunteer, Terry Wozniak. The programme is managed on a small scale by Terry, and Adi Makelesi (the sister of the Village Chief), and they hope it will expand further, and to neighbouring villages, with assistance from NGO’s and the Government.

Children, Youth and ICTs

The programme includes a teaching component for primary and secondary school students and those in their youth. For the students this includes basic computer usage classes, and learning using a variety of educational software sourced by a Peace Corp Volunteer. These include CDRoms in geography, science, language, and other assorted programmes for enhancing student skills.

Young women and ICTs
The programme includes a session to train young women in ICTs, namely teaching basic computer skills. For those with basic skills, the aim is to enhance these skills, to give them skills to seek employment. The Saunaka Village is in Nadi where nearby are located numerous hotels (being a tourist bound area) and businesses, so having basic computer skills is an advantage especially for those seeking employment in nearby offices and businesses for administrative work.

PICISOC_WIT Contribution

Fiji WIT SIG have supported The Saunaka Mentoring Project by donating 3 computers and will assist in further support by providing training materials and local resource persons to assist with training delivery.

Saunaka Village, is a well populated community and many in the community hold jobs around the nearby Nadi town, in hotels, restaurants, schools, and other businesses. Students attend nearby schools. The idea of the Empowerment project in Saunaka is to enhance and build the capacity of students, and the young men and women. Students attending nearby primary schools do not get to access computers in school and the village project will allow them to access a computer, and familiarize themselves with it. Through materials and tools such as CDroms, DVDs etc, students will learn science, geography, history, maths, and lots more (through CDroms), as well as have some fun through recreational CDroms, games. The village aims to have Internet connection in the near future so that the students and those in the programme can use this interactive tool.

The young women and youth of the village, some unemployed and others employed in businesses around Nadi, would use this village project to learn, and enhance computing skills. Recognising that most nearby businesses and hotels seek staff with some word processing and computer skills, it was important to start a programme to look into addressing skill and capacity building internally for village members.

The empowerment project recognizes what ICTs can do for individuals and for the community and in this way is encouraging participation from the students and young villagers. The village project team recognize that the community will need to prepare themselves and their people for employment and what better than to work on it from within the community.

Youth Participation in Bridging the Digital Divide through ICTs

2010-04-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become an important part of development esp., in rural and remote areas of the Pacific. ICT has been playing an important role in society but there is still a digital gap - between men and women, rich and the poor, disparity between rural and urban places and persons with disabilities, especially within Pacific Island Countries, who are still not able to have full access to it. The matter of ICT accessibility for Pacific Island Countries has either been ignored or given less priority. Likewise the internet has become an important development tool but its full potential will be met when it reaches everyone. That does not just mean that everyone should be able to get online easily and cheaply, it also means that they should be able to find, understand and interact with the material they need once they do get online. That means designing websites that can be easily accessed and navigated by everyone regardless of who and where they are and regardless of any disability they may have. The concept of ‘Internet for All’ springs to mind when thinking of ‘Accessibility’ bt in reality not everyone has access to internet. Youths have an appetite to learn about the world they live in, but are inevitably prone to isolation and seclusion when living in remote communities without access to ICT. It’s challenging to help narrow the digital divide, fighting inequality of wealth and technology and providing our youths with an opportunity to lift themselves and their communities out of poverty. This blogs highlights the need in strengthening youth participation in the Pacific through the use of ICTs as well as strategies and actions for future progress to expand ICTs for youths in the Pacific region.