Computers hand-over ceremony marks the second year of ICT-Enabled Education for Poverty Reduction project

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At the beginning of 2012, the UNU-IIST ICT-Enabled Education for Poverty Reduction project team visited Lao PDR again to further the collaborative effort between the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Wetlands Alliance Program, the University of Bremen and the institute in the country.  On 5 Jan 2012, 24 computers, donated by the Singapore office of Elsevier, were handed over to the Ministry and will be placed in the Poverty Reduction Focal Areas (Jut Sum) in Laos in order to bring the power of ICT to facilitate building of local capacity for poverty reduction. The project began approximately one year ago has now produced the first version of PRAM Knowledge Sharing Network (PRAM KSN) software specifically designed to serve the needs of district officers in their work to alleviate poverty and these computers are a critical resource enabling the project team to take the important first step in the process of deploying the software in some of the districts with the greatest needs.  While computing devices are becoming increasingly prevalent in rural areas of Laos, this donation will help to jump start the process of deployment of the software.

Following the hand-over, members of the project team visited the field to install the computers, deploy the software, and train the district officers in its use.  (http://pramksn.iist.unu.edu).  Within days the district officers already started to make good use of the platform, which supports both English and Lao languages, to share local stories and experiences and post questions to experts.   In addition, the software supports dissemination of information from MAF to the district offices.  A meeting of the MAF information working group is planned for late January to decide on the first content to disseminate through the PRAM KSN.