The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has recently announced a project entitled “Enhancing computer use and internet access ability in Vietnam”. The project worth over US$2 million is funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a US non-refundable organization.
The project is carried out from February 2009 to July 2010 in Thai Nguyen, Nghe An and Tra Vinh provinces. The project offers opportunities for rural people to access IT and communication services, contributing to poverty reduction.
According to the MIC, the pilot project will be implemented at 99 commune post offices, public libraries, school libraries and hospitals in these provinces. The project will bring computers and specialised equipment to local people. In addition, the project will help rural people t become fully aware of just how useful IT services can be when applied to their daily lives.
Under the project, websites with appropriate content will be developed by ministries, such as the ministries of Health, Agriculture and Rural Development, to provide necessary information to people.
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The project serves as a foundation for Vietnam to build a national project to encourage widespread use of IT which will run for the next five years, from 2010 to 2015.
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Deborah Jacobs, director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Global Libraries Programme said, this is the first project in Asia funded by the programme. The project will help connect people and valuable resources, expected to help people learn more, increase their income, their productivity, thus, improve their lives in many ways.
The project has received strong support from concerned agencies such as Government Office and the ministries of Finance and Planning and Investment as well as local people. Particularly, Microsoft also offered software copyright for computers. The project provides training courses for Vietnamese library cadres via the fund’s additional aid.
MIC Deputy Minister Tran Duc Lai said the project will help people in disadvantaged areas to update information in a very quick and cheap way, raising their knowledge and contributing to the poverty reduction. This plays an important part in narrowing gap in computer and internet use gap in Vietnam.
He also expressed hope to receive more support from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as well as local and foreign organizations for bigger projects.
Huyen Nhi
Vietnamese
