Program to raise IT awareness wins grant
================= Tantri Yuliandini The Jakarta Post Jakarta -----------------
The Bandung-based LPM Indonesia (Sutera Foundation), has recently been named one of 15 winners of this year's Samsung DigitAll Hope awards, and has be awarded a grant of about US$57,000.
The awards, which offer a total of $600,000 in grants, is Samsung Electronics' single largest social program outside of Korea, and is targeted at young people in Samsung's eight Asia- Pacific markets -- Australia, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore.
The Sutera Foundation's proposal for a Community Information Technology Center for Youth (CommIT for Youth) was chosen based on its relevance to social and technological issues currently prevalent in Indonesia.
"The program is not only efficient and educational, but also involves a substantial number of young people," the Indonesian judge on the awards committee, House of Representatives' member Marwah Daud, said in a press conference last Tuesday.
The program involves building Community Information Technology Centers for Youth (CITCY) in Bandung, Yogyakarta and Surabaya to provide IT awareness training and allow low-cost or free access to a wide variety of computer technologies.
"Hopefully, this will create a society that is aware of information technology and its uses," LPM Indonesia's executive director I. Teja Harjaya said, explaining that the organization will work together with other human development organizations as well as schools.
Creating an awareness of IT was just one part of CommIT for Youth's three goals in bridging the IT gap, Teja said, adding that the questions of knowledge and content also played a part.
To address the question of knowledge, the organization recognized the individual's need for adequate training so as to attain the relevant skills to operate in the information society.
Meanwhile, content would be addressed by creating a youth portal to accommodate the aspirations of young people, allow them to express themselves and promote youth creativity, Teja said.
"In order to enhance the information technology experience, individuals must first be interested in what they are doing - what they can find on the Internet and in the computer programs thus play an important part in engaging their interest," he said.
Other winners of Samsung DigitAll Hope awards are the Fitzroy Learning Network and The Smith Family from Australia, Development Alternatives and National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People from India, and the Farmers' Organization Area C- 2 Kerpan and Federation of Family Planning Associations from Malaysia.
Also winning this year's awards are the Salesians of St John Bosco from the Philippines, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and YMCA from Singapore, Bangkok College of Nursing, Children's News Agency, and Internet for School & Community Foundation Organizations from Thailand, and Health for Women and Children and the Sao Mai Computer Centre for the Blind from Vietnam.