ICT employment schemes for young people in Eritrea

Computer Lab in Eritrea

In 2007, FAIR started a new 3-year project in Eritrea. By 2009, 2,000 PCs will have been placed in 40 schools and 5 youth and teaching centres across the country. The target group is 20,000 Eritrean young people, many of whom will assist FAIR in distributing and installing computer equipment for this project. All young people in the regions around the youth centres are to have access to computer equipment and training from a youth centre and/or the schools, and a work centre for young people will be established that will focus on employment schemes aimed at local and global markets. The goal is economic growth through ICT, with a concomitant reduction in poverty as gauged by a variety of indicators. At the local level, the project works with the Ministry of Education, the University of Asmra and the National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students (NUEYS). Progress has been as expected. We thank NORAD, as well as Statistics Norway, Aller Edge Media, Matforsk, the Research Council of Norway, Initility, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the Norwegian Polar Institute, all of which contribute to the project financially and in other ways.

Rebuilding Eritrea with ICT

FAIR began this project in Eritrea in 2003. By 2006, 1,470 PCs had been placed in over 50 schools, and ICT training had provided for more than 500 teachers, with the result that ICT has begun to be used in the classroom and has provided direct access to new information for more than 40,000 pupils. This is information that can change their lives. To carry out this project, FAIR had 3 Eritrean citizens regularly employed for the duration of the project. The project was carried out in direct collaboration with the Ministry of Education – Eritrea and their ICT unit after the latter was established. This project alone has met the need for computer access in all the public lower and upper secondary schools in the region of Massawa, as well as a large number of schools in the country’s other regions. Through the University of Asmara and the advisory services provided by FAIR, Eritrea has drawn up its own national operating system based on GNU/Linux, with full support for Tigrigna. In official studies, the project was quickly recognized as an important contributor to the development of ICT in Eritrea. FAIR’s return scheme for discarded electronics has been up and running in two locations in Eritrea since 2005. We thank NORAD, along with St. Svithun Upper Secondary School, the Norwegian State Housing Bank, Fellesforbundet, Amnesty, the Federation of Norwegian Industries, the Fredrikstad municipal authority, Storebrand, Fast Search & Transfer and the Norwegian Consumer Council, all of which contributed to the project financially and in other ways.

Knowledge enhancement and ICT environmental schemes in Kenya

FAIR began this 3-year project in Kenya in 2003. By 2007, 1,400 PCs had placed in 45 schools, and training in ICT had been provided for more than 300 teachers, with the result that ICT has begun to be used in the classroom and has provided direct access to new information, teaching and communication for more than 30,000 pupils. This is information that can change their lives. There has been a special focus on men and district schools in this project, which has been carried out by Computers For Schools Kenya (CFSK), our outstanding local working partner. Since 2006, a return system for discarded PCs has been in place in Kenya, and in 2007, the first 25 tonnes of discarded equipment was sent back to Norway to be recycled. By the first quarter of 2008, when the project is expected to have been completed, a corresponding amount of ICT equipment that has been exported to Kenya will have been imported back to Norway. The positive environmental effects of FAIRS’s unique, unified recycling model are manifold. In the first place, the burden on Nordic recycling plants will be eased during the decade the equipment is being recycled. Secondly, Kenya will discard obsolete electronics, replacing it with functional ICT products from the Nordic countries. And finally, the global environment is spared several hundred kgs of CO2 emissions for each and every PC that FAIR places, because the used PCs are a replacement for new PCs, which would otherwise have been used in ICT development projects in the south. We thank NORAD, the Norwegian Air Shuttle, Creditinform, the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority, Technor, the Airport Express Train, GE Money Bank, the Norwegian Football Association and Höegh Autoliners, all of which contributed to the project financially and in other ways.

Women’s programme and teacher exchange in Zambia

FAIR began this 3-year project in Zambia in 2003. By 2008, 1,600 PCs will have been placed in 40 schools, and ICT training will have been provided for more than 500 teachers, so that ICT can be used in the classroom and provide access to new information, classroom instruction and communication for more than 25,000 young people. A knowledge and service centre will be established at Hone College (EHC), with special programmes for women, such as free ICT courses. The project gives young people access to information, classroom instruction and communication. The youth generation in Zambia is ready for new technology and wants to be a part of coming developments. Our project is primarily geared towards young people, because it is with them that true change and crucial development can take place. By boosting young people’s sense of worth and enhancing their ability to gather information and communicate, we are laying a foundation for a positive development of society. FAIR also has an ICT teacher exchange programme with the Peace Corps in Zambia, where a teacher from Zambia teaches in Oslo, and where a Nordic teacher teaches in Zambia. Evelyn Hone College and Forum Syd Zambia are FAIR’s local working partners in this project. Zambia has had a return system for discarded ICT equipment in place since 2006, with 2 locations. Relatively good working conditions make Zambia a promising land for a number of future projects. We thank NORAD and BBS, VPS, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, WWF, LHL, JCDecaux and MultiConsult, all of which contributed to the project financially and in other ways.

Friendship cities for ICT assistance in Madagascar

In 2007, FAIR began a 3-year project in Antsirabé on Madagascar; and until 2008 it will have placed 2,000 PCs in 40 schools and several hospitals. ICT Training is being given to 300 teachers, which means that ICT will be used in the classroom and provides direct access to new information, classroom instruction and communication for more than 30,000 young people. FAIR began planning the project with the Stavanger municipal authority in 2005. Stavanger has been a friendship (sister) of Antsirabé on Madagascar since 2000, and has carried out a number of aid projects in Antsirabé during this time, including other types of technology transfer. By making ICT an integral part of classroom instruction in over 40 schools with a focus on women, the project seeks to achieve economic growth and a concomitant reduction in poverty. The project works directly with the Antisirabé and Stavanger municipal authorities on the implementation. The return system was put in place in 2007, and good progress is being made in the project. We thank NORAD and the Stavanger municipal authority, along with Stavanger Aftenblad, Oslo University College, Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services, the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, ABM-utvikling, GIEK, NTE and Linpro, all of which contribute to the project with financial assistance, equipment and personnel.

A hope for peace and economic growth in the war-torn land of Guatemala

The project was begun in 2007 in light of the fact that the authorities in Guatemala have an ICT strategy for the school sector but lack the expertise and resources to realize their plans. So FAIR entered into a collaboration with the international aid organization Save the Children in Guatemala to transfer technology and expertise in hardware, software and information services that support the development of war-torn Guatemala. The target group is the educational sector, with a special focus on lower and upper secondary schools. The project is scheduled to last until 2010; during this time, 2,000 PCs will be placed in schools and institutions, and system administrators and teachers will be trained. We thank NORAD and SV, AP, Star Tour, Heidenreich, Will. Wilhelmsen, Allkopi, Manpower and Norwegian Air Ambulance, all of which have contributed to the project financially and in other ways.

In defence of women’s legal rights in Guatemala

The project was carried out in 2005 in collaboration with JURK, a part of FOKUS (Forum for Woman Development), which combats the subjugation of women and improves women’s legal standing by providing legal aid to women, free of charge, in a variety of legal conflicts. This project aimed primarily at helping women in a war-torn country.

ICT in the schools as a springboard to social and economic growth in Indonesia

The aid agreement with the city of Tanjungpinang has now been expanded to include the Bintan region. FAIR will now carry out an ambitious project that was begun in 2007 and will last until the end of 2009. The entire school system on the major island of Bintan will be modernized with ICT in both classroom teaching and administration. During the project period, computer classrooms will be installed in as many as 136 schools, and broad access to ICT in classroom teaching and for administrative personnel will be provided. The intention is to meet all the ICT needs of the school system on the island of Bintan by supplying 3,200 PCs. By 2010, as many as 50,000 new school children will have access to ICT in the classroom and direct access to new information and communication in a rapidly changing world. The goal is a reduction of poverty through economic growth based on an increase in knowledge and access to information and communication tools. The project is being carried out in collaboration with Bintan Regency, the Indonesian Embassy (Oslo) and the membership union School For Life, and is supported by FO, Sørmarka AS, the Norwegian Civil Service Union, the Norwegian Medical Association, Expology and A-pressen.

ICT as a bridge-builder between western and Islamic culture in Indonesia

FAIR began this project in 2005; and up to 2007, 450 PCs were placed in computer classrooms at all 21 lower and secondary schools in the city of Tanjungpinang. ICT has been integrated into classroom teaching and has provided direct access to new information, teaching and communication for more than 12,000 Indonesian school pupils, with an emphasis on cultural exchange and religious tolerance. The project also includes individual courses for more than 400 teachers in the effective use of ICT in their teaching. In the practical part of the project, installation, training and support have mostly been attended to by our local employees, for whom it has served as a training tool for becoming self-supporting ICT consultants in a growing market where technical ICT expertise is in great demand. The return system for discarded electronics is also being implemented in this region. The project was carried out in a direct collaboration with the city of Tanjung Pinang and the membership union School For Life, with support from The Norwegian Institute of Public Health, the debt-collection agency Lindorff, the University for Environmental and Biosciences, the Norwegian Immigration Appeals Board, Norconsult, SAS and the Vestfold Hospital Health Authority.

Not everyone can play football in Cameroon

Since 2006, FAIR has been supporting the organization AFREDUC in an ICT placement and training project directed towards 6 schools in Cameroon. The project in Cameroon has familiarized a number of teachers with all the usual and most up-to-date user applications, in order to hasten the adoption of ICT as a tool that is actually used in teaching.

Communication through the keyboard – ICT transfer for education in Gambia

The project was begun in 2005, and a number of full value computer classrooms have been installed at four schools in all. So far, up to 160 PCs have been donated to the schools, which means that modern classroom teaching with the use of ICT has become available for several thousand school pupils in this underdeveloped country. In Gambia, FAIR collaborates with the humanitarian organization ScanAid, which builds and runs lower and upper secondary schools. In this collaboration, FAIR has helped in the construction of full value computer classrooms. In addition to installation and networking, FAIR has also assisted by training teachers and providing ICT support services.

A friendly helping hand to women and children in Serbia-Montenegro

In 2005, in the city of Kikinda, FAIR completed donations and ICT development work at a resource centre for women and schools, where the focus was on women and children in a country with more than its share of problems in recent years. The project was carried out in collaboration with the Narvik Peace Foundation and Narvik’s friendship (sister) city, Kikinda.

A worthy future for needy children and young people in Russia

The project in northwest Russia, which has been in progress since 2004, presently covers 14 orphanages and children’s hospitals, where a future is being secured for orphans up to the age of 21. All the orphanages have received donations of ICT resources, and the project also includes a day centre for former orphanage children, and is engaged in the reunion of orphanage children with their biological families. The goal is to enhance skills and boost work capacity and to improve the quality of life for a minority group. The project is being carried out in collaboration with the membership organization Barnas Vel and Adoptionsforum.

Friendship schools for a common future in Uganda

In the project in Uganda, FAIR has served in an advisory capacity; it has donated a full value computer classroom to Gjøvik Upper Secondary School’s friendship school in Uganda. A teacher from Gjøvik Upper Secondary School, Transberg Dept., was trained in network installation and configuration at FAIR in Norway and travelled to Uganda at the same time with the equipment, which was installed in 2005 and which has been operated and maintained ever since by the receptor school and Gjøvik Upper Secondary School. We thank the Immigration Appeals Board, Norconsult and the University for Environmental and Biosciences, all of which contributed to this project with financial aid and equipment.

There is hope for the weakest – orphanage children in Romania

For the past decade, FAIR has been actively introducing ICT for orphans, those who have the least in society and are faced with grim prospects for the future in a country where material benefits are scarce and the burdens legion. They too are entitled to a worthy life and equal opportunity to shape their own future. This is a vital task, one that mustn’t be neglected; and in 2004, FAIR helped transfer ICT to orphanages in Romania in collaboration with Agathos. We thank Grønn hverdag (Green Living) for its contributions to this project.

There is hope in the face of hopelessness – the ICT campaign in Tanzania

The project was carried out from 2004 to 2005 in collaboration with JURK, a part of FOKUS (Forum for Woman Development). The project’s target group was women and their position in a difficult and male-dominated society. The transfer of ICT to developing countries is dependent on a more equitable distribution with respect to gender and minorities. Experience tells us that women are often the key to economic growth, when they are given the chance. We thank Oslo University College for its contributions to this project.

Erik Solheim brought peace to Sri Lanka; we bring possibilities

The project began in 2003 in collaboration with the Peace Corps and Fremtiden i Våre Hender. FAIR has served in an advisory capacity in ICT and donated computer classrooms to the schools affiliated with the project. We thank the Norwegian State Housing Bank for its contributions to this project.

The Internet follows the historic Silk Road through Georgia

The project was a link in President Shevardnadze’s initiative to bridge the ICT gap on behalf of poor children along the Silk Road in the newly independent Georgia. In this project, more than 420 PCs were donated to a number of schools. Tens of thousands of pupils got access to modern ICT in the classroom. The project was carried out by WCE Stockholm, where FAIR served in an advisory capacity and tested all the equipment for WCE before it was shipped out. The project became a milestone for WCE, because the technical preparatory work meant that 100% of the ICT equipment was working upon its arrival. This was the first time in World Computer Exchange’s history that they achieved an error-free shipment! FAIR’s own in-house developed test systems and technical certification before shipping is very important when technology is being transferred to poor countries, because the recipients have limited skills and resources to make repairs or replace parts themselves.