The prizes, which are being awarded for the first time this year, recognize excellence in the implementation of projects and initiatives which further the goals of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in improving connectivity to information and communication technologies (ICTs) in line with the 11 Action Lines laid out in the Tunis Agenda agreed at the UN World Summit on the Information Society.

More than 170 projects from 50 countries were nominated and the Community Learning Program, which won under the category, “Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content,” was not the only winner in the telecentre.org family. The Network for Information & Computer Technology in India was also recognized under the category of “ICT applications – e-Government“ for its Samadhan project, which aims to establish citizen service centers in various parts of the country to service citizens living long distances away from villages/service blocks.

For a complete list of winners, click here.

Both Telecentre.org Foundation and NICT India will be formally presented with their awards later this week at the WSIS Summit so please keep visiting our site for more updates. Congratulations to our winners! And a big thank you in particular to the TCF Community Learning Coordinators and telecentre.org members for their continued efforts in helping this community grow and stay vibrant over the years. Well done, everyone!

Applicants are asked to send in their resume and links to or copies of writing samples to recruitment@telecentre.org by Monday, May 28, 2012. For more information on the position and details on how to apply, please download the full Terms of Reference for each specific position listed below:

1. English-Portuguese Writer
2. English-Spanish (Latin America) Writer
3. English-Arabic Writer
4. English-French Writer
5. English-Sinhala Writer
6. English- Thai Writer
7. English-Spanish (Europe) Writer
8. English-Russian Writer
9. English only Writer

Among the areas covered under the MOU are the sharing of community networks, resources, and materials, as well as the exchange of human resources for training and other related services.

The signing  took place on May 11, 2012 at the TCF headquarters in Quezon City, Philippines. TCF is represented by its Executive Director, Miguel Raimilla while Kang Jung Hyup, Executive Vice President of the NIA represented his agency.

TCF Executive Director Miguel Raimilla formalizes the partnership with NIA Executive Vice-President Kang Jung Hyup.

Front row (L-R): Monchito Ibrahim, Deputy Executive Director, ICT Office of the Philippines; Vida Gabe, Communications and Community Learning Manager; Miguel Raimilla, Executive Director, TCF; Tess Camba, Director of Operations, TCF; Amparo de Asis, Capacity Building Manager, TCF; Kang Jung Hyup, Executive Vice-President, NIA; Ed Layag, Finance and Administrative Officer, TCF; Back row (L-R): Kiho Jeung, Senior Researcher, NIA; Tim Dubel, Consultant, TCF.

 

In Switzerland, TCF Executive Director Miguel Ramilla will be hosting, together with Sudan Telecentre, a thematic workshop on the “Role of Telecentres” at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). They will be joined by Susan Schorr of the ITU, who will present the Telecentre Women: Digital Literacy Campaign.WSIS 2012, an annual event led by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), will be held from May 14-18.

In Thailand, TCF will participate in the ITU Asia-Pacific Regional Development Forum to be held on May 16-18. TCF Director of Operations Tess Camba will serve as a discussant in the Panel Discussion focusing on this year’s WTISD theme of “Women and Girls in ICT”.

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day was established to help raise awareness on the possibilities that the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring socio-economic development for the ways to bridge the digital divide and achieve the MDGs. The 2012 theme of’”Women and Girls in ICT” aims to ensure that females (i.e. half of the world’s population) will be empowered to be equals in the information or smart society for all.

Although we had a difficult time judging all the excellent entries, we’ve finally selected our top 5 winners from each region. Read on below to see the winning entries and find out which runner tips also caught our attention.

WINNERS 

Messaoudi Lotfi (Africa)
Create women groups activity, and launch training session with women trainers very close to the community leaders and women. This will encourage women to attend telecentre training and ask for help without any problems. Constraints such as social and intellectual barriers are always handicaps for women in rural areas and villages, the establishment of women’s groups even encourage people to allow women to go, and mostly illiterate women to take courage to ask information.

Jasmine Mohammadsali (Asia-Pacific)
Bring services and digital literacy training to the women instead of waiting for them to come to the CeCs/telecentres. Have mobile CeCs/telecentres and trainers who can roam around the community for this purpose.

Tamara Shevchenko (Eurasia)

Informational-advertisement campaign “Women of Informational Future” should be conducted with the support of telecentre volunteer activists women and engagement of women NGOs in order to deliver message to women on opportunities and benefits ICT/telecentres offers them, like: possibility of home-based work/income, improvement of professional skills via acquiring of ICT, etc

Aicela Gomez Rueda (Latin American and the Caribbean)
Carry out special programs for the interactive mom, which encourages attendance of children in the company of their mother, receiving a discount on internet use so that as the child earns the discount, the mother and the telecentre enables users increases, everyone wins and the interactive mom program is promoted. 

Mona Mohammed (Middle East and Northern Africa)

Every woman who has studied IT or graduated from with an IT computer department should be required to teach another woman on digital literacy. The telecentre must play a vital role in moving this idea, putting it forth into discussion, and then drafting the moral law, which should then be circulated around the world and activated as a law in international curricula so it someday becomes a global culture. 

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Congratulations to all our winners! Please expect an email from us soon to coordinate the receipt of your prizes.

Because there were so many great entries to this contest, we also wanted to take the time to highlight some of the tips even if they weren’t declared the winners. We bring you, therefore, our staff picks for tips, which deserve special mention.

Florence Henrietta Etta (Africa)                      

Couple a telecentre service with a need that is popular with Women in the particular community and make it dedicated to them (i.e. time for Women only) and if possible free for a time or discounted to draw the initial crowd. Coupling suggestions; 1 Child care information sessions with Vitamin or food gifts & short lessons on the computer and how it can be used 2 Agric information with how to use the mobile phone more innovatively or for a mobile business.

Eleonore (Africa)

Organize in the telecentre training session with Common Initiative Group, where women producers gather to defend their interests, give them the basics skills of marketing in order to enhance as much as possible their food crops and medicinal campaigns, Plan Internet search with women for example on new variety of potato (Spunta, Dosa, Spira …) or an herb (Artemisia Paludan, thyme, Moringa Olifeira …) 

Sanjay R. Vyas (Asia-Pacific)

Housemaker women should be provided counseling to learn computers. -learning centers should be easily accessible and -interior places must be equipped with centers with availability of volunteers. 

Ira Dwi (Asia-Pacific)

First, we give the women some movies, funny movie in using internet and persuasion movie “Internet as woman’s best friend”. The persuasion movie tells about easiness and flexibility of using internet, useful sites for woman and family, and their impacts to improve the family quality’s life. Second, we make games for the participants. They should make a group and choose one website that useful to woman. And they share it to other groups. 

Jana Gasayeva (Eurasia)
Create in a telecentre baby mini-corners with toys and entertainment stuff for children. Thus Mom’s dilemma be with baby or work on self-development will be solved.

Maria (Eurasia)

Distribute advertisement flyers in magazines and beauty salons in order to reach out to broader women audience; better to offer some campaigns, like “course attendance certificate to our magazine customer,” “customer purchasing stuff for the sum…will be awarded attending on training as gift”

Tania Esteban (Latin America and the Caribbean)

Go to associations or groups of women in the municipality: Homemakers, Parents’ Association, etc. and focus on the use of Internet to the needs of each group. Working in groups allows women not to have fear and makes sessions more interesting and fun. 

Robinson Erazo (Latin America and the Caribbean)

In all municipalities in Colombia, women (secretaries, mothers, etc) are given an award in their International Day, and the prizes can range from: receiving an ultrasound, mammography, dental review, weight control measures,… But, NEVER! in those days has it been included in that package, a program that allows them to overcome digital literacy and obtain training that allows them to develop skills in the management of the technologies they need for their daily work. JUST THINK THIS IS NOT A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM, but something for ALL Telecentre Leaders: WE HAVE TO PLAN AND EXECUTE. Then the little free time which have now is a good advantage: “Little Novels, TVs, and more self-training” 

Fathy Hamdallah (Middle East and Northern Africa)

The telecentre should produce an integrated system that involves women trainees in an integrated training program on crafts and heritage, such as the creation of carpet looms and food products, together with a simplified digital literacy course that provides them with training for self-development, communication skills, marketing/obtaining funding from companies which have a social responsibility, web design for marketing products to producing e-village projects, etc.

Seham al Jaaferah (Middle East and Northern Africa)

Establish an Academy “for you” that includes an integrated system in e-learning for women of all ages and education levels: [(i) beginner level: basic of IT and using mobile phone; (ii) intermediate level: training on higher level computer applications such as MS Office programs and basic software; (iii) specialist level: where women have training on areas such as marketing, e-business management, small and medium enterprises, programming languages, computer program design] and also provides training on handicrafts through a specialized website including video training to help women on practical applications and finally holding an annual ceremony for all women to receive material support and prizes.

To view more of the tips submitted by telecentre.org members, please visit the Telewise Discussion Forum in your community.

I landed in Cairo earlier today a few hours ago expecting to see significant changes. In many ways everything has changed yet on the drive from the airport to the hotel in Zamalek to across the Nile, Cairo is still the same. The wonderful energy, the crazy traffic with cars moving in a slow dance – it was Friday evening after all and people were out and about enjoying the beautiful evening. Traffic was snarled in some places with the Presidential campaign in full swing and supporters out in the streets waving signs and banners in support of their candidates. For life in a very big city it seems very normal. Yet for many their whole world has been changed completely. Many of us hope for the better but not everyone is that sure.

Right after my arrival I met with 25 youth leaders that have been part of the Microsoft Tech Hope program. This is a program where they are using technology to bring about social change. After the initial introductions the conversation quickly turned to the Arab Spring and the revolution. I asked them if they had been part of the demonstrations in Thahrir Square and all but two raised their hands. The other two were from outside Cairo and participated in local demonstrations. I was surprised as the room had equal number of men and women.

I wanted to know their opinion on the revolution and how they all felt. Almost all of them felt that they, the middle class youth, now felt more empowered. They all felt that they can now do something on their own. They do not have to go into just another job. One of them was very clear, he told me ‘before the revolution my plan was to leave the country and study abroad, find a job there and stay there’. There was no future for him in Egypt. Now he is full of optimism and will stay here and work to bring about positive change in the underserved communities.

Every single one of them felt the revolution had impacted them, but for the poor there has been no immediate impact and for them change will be very slow. All of the youth in the room were concerned about this and as a group felt that they should work together towards equitable change.

I also asked them for their experience with the revolution and if anyone deserves any or some credit for it. One of the young men said the Ministry of Interior. I was taken aback and asked him to explain. He said that January 25 started out as a day of protest as it was Police Day – a day to celebrate the police- and what started out as a protest against the Ministry of Interior spun out of control over the next several days because of the brutal force the Ministry used to squelch the demonstrations. His opinion was if the Ministry had not taken this approach there would not have been a revolution as no one started out wanting a change in power.

One young lady put it best, she said it was the ‘butterfly effect’, one butterfly takes off and then another and suddenly you have a whole flight of butterflies. Everyone got involved, young and old, men and women, rich and poor and that is why she believes everyone is a hero. I just thought that was a great sentiment.

The conversation lasted late into the night and they were all bouncing different ideas off each other about how they can continue to drive positive change and how they all can make a difference together.

At one point, someone asked if the women in the room felt they would lose out when the new regime comes into power. They felt that was not the case, everyone participated and even some try people will not go back and not let anyone push them back.

Hope was the common sentiment in the room, though many are wondering how they can ensure that everyone will benefit from this change.

On Sunday we will launch Innovate4Good@Microsoft for the Arab region and if this conversation was any indication we’re in for a fantastic event. We have young leaders from across the region including Libya, Tunisia, and Iraq attending the event. I cannot wait to hear their stories.

The butterfly effect – what a great way to start the conversation in Cairo.

Calling all partners! Telecentre.org Foundation (TCF) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) are hosting a contest (“Contest”) to award ICT equipment to the telecentre that trains the most  number of women to become digitally literate.  This Contest is in support of the Telecentre Women: Digital Literacy Campaign (the “Campaign”) (http://women.telecentre.org) under the Cooperation Agreement signed by TCF and ITU.

Since the Campaign was launched, you have already succeeded in training nearly one quarter of a million women to become digitally literate.  This Contest is designed to achieve our goal of training 1 million women by year end—both  ensuring that all women who were trained have been fully reported and to encourage telecentres to continue their training efforts.

All partners of the TCW Campaign are invited to submit to TCF verifiable reports of the digital literacy trainings they’ve conducted for women up through 1 September 2012. TCF will be responsible for tallying and verifying the reports and submit the final results to ITU for purposes of awarding the ICT equipment.  ITU will award the telecentre that succeeds in training the most number of women under the Campaign ICT equipment for their telecentre worth 15,000 Swiss Francs.

Mechanics of the Contest:

• The Contest is open to telecentres in the Campaign. Telecentre networks are excluded from this contest.
• Only Campaign partners who are also members of the telecentre.org community can participate in the Contest.  To become an official Campaign partner, a telecentre must complete the Campaign Reply Form available for download at the Campaign website. To become a member of the telecentre.org community, the partner must sign up for membership in any of TCF’s community sites no later than September 1  (Note: Membership is free but subject to approval by TCF management).
• English community
• Spanish community
• French community
• Arabic community
• Russian community

• Only reports submitted using the official TCW Data Monitoring Form and verified by TCF as complete will be counted. Once a report has been verified by TCF as complete, it will be shared on the women’s campaign website.  TCF reserves the right to request for additional material (e.g., photos, attendance sheets, etc.) to verify the report.
• Reports should be submitted to women@telecentre.org no later than 1 September 2012.
• Training reports should cover only training that 1) took place within the campaign period (beginning no earlier than April 7, 2011) until September 1, 2012; 2) were provided to women of any ages (including teenagers); and 3) centered on providing digital literacy skills. Training of trainers for digital literacy programs are not included within the scope of this Contest.
• The equipment to be awarded by ITU under this Contest is exclusively for use in the winning telecentre (e.g., hardware or software such as laptops, PCs, printers, computer monitors, assistive technology for persons with disabilities, telecentre-related software, etc.) and must be identified by the telecentre as a need and agreed by ITU.
• The winning telecentre must provide ITU with contact details for three local suppliers by September 15 and a list of technical specifications for the equipment to be procured without identifying the brand and prices.
• ITU will select the supplier and issue a purchase order for the equipment in accordance with its rules and procedures.
• The winning telecentre will be required to sign 1) a receipt and ownership of the equipment procured by ITU through this contest, and 2) a waiver acknowledging that ITU bears no responsibility for the maintenance of the equipment following delivery to the winning telecentre.
• Once the ICT equipment is received, the recipient is requested to share a blog post in the TCF community site within one month demonstrating the use of this equipment to support their telecentre and to send information to ITU about women’s digital literacy training provided in the telecentre and photos of the equipment being used by women.
• ITU and/or TCF may wish to visit the telecentre and take photos/films of the equipment provided by ITU.

Applicants are asked to send in their resume, including the names and coordinates of two references and a brief statement of interest (not exceeding 500 words) no later than April 20, 2012 to recruitment@telecentre.org.

For more information on the position and details on how to apply, please download the full job advertisement here.

Participants of the Regional Telecentre Network Leaders Meeting, 5-7 March 2012

More than 20 telecentre stakeholders from approximately 17 countries gathered in Barcelona, Spain last March 5 to participate in the Regional Telecentre Network Leaders Meeting organized by Telecentre.org Foundation (TCF). The meeting, which was declared “a first” by TCF Chairman of the Board Akhtar Badshah in his Welcome Address, sought to bring together representatives of the six regional telecentre networks to identify and discuss areas of collaboration with TCF and among networks in the coming months and beyond.

In addition to the core meeting and workshop areas, the Barcelona program also included: the 8th TCF Board of Trustees Meeting and a Recognition Ceremony for Ester Collado, winner of the Most Outstanding Telecentre Woman Manager distinction for the Europe region. The award, which was announced last December 2011 is one of the awards bestowed under the Global Search competition sponsored by the Telecentre Women: Digital Literacy Campaign. To read more about the recognition ceremony, click here.

TCF Executive Director, Miguel Raimilla, addressing the network leaders.

The meeting concluded on March 7 with preliminary discussions on the 4th Global Forum on Telecentres, targeted to take place in Europe in early 2013, followed by a visit to Citilab, a social and digital innovation hub in Cornellà de Llobregat, Barcelona.

A full report on the Barcelona meeting, which includes copies of all the slides presented and workshop outputs, can be downloaded here.

Related videos:

• Welcome Address by TCF Chairman of the Board Akhtar Badshah
• Welcome and Rationale of the Meeting by TCF Executive Director Miguel Raimilla

Governance Committee
Chairperson: Rebecca Masisak
Members: Gabriela Barna, Sheriff El-Tokali, José Ignacio López Silva

Finance Committee
Chairperson: Louis Casambre
Members: Dondi Mapa, Reshan Dewapura, Rita Mijumbi Epodoi

Fundraising Committee
Chairperson: Richard Fuchs
Members: Sheriff El-Tokali, Gabriela Barna

The Board also invited Walter Fust, former Head of the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation, to serve as Trustee Emeritus with the Foundation. Mr. Fust accepted the invitation on March 22, 2012.