2007
The Digital Unify Program has been ST Foundation’s major focus in 2007, with a strong logistic reorganization on reporting, donation requests and partnership queries tools and a careful analysis of existing projects’ weaknesses and difficulties in view of offering constant support for an overall improvement. Several new initiatives in the field have been launched and will take off at the beginning of 2008.
Support of deserving NGOs and organizations has also been part of the Foundation’s effort this past year. ST Foundation’s website content has been frequently adjourned and enriched throughout 2007. STMicroelectronics supported ST Foundation with a yearly donation of 1,000,000 USD.
Digital Unify Program
The Program is now active in 12 countries. The Informatics and Computer Basics Course (ICB) is available in English, French, Hindi, Italian and Thai.
| Total new trainers for 2007 | 645 |
|---|---|
| Total trainees for 2007 | 15,118 |
| Total trainers from beginning of program | 1,209 |
| Total trainees from beginning of program | 40,093 |
| Improvement compared to 2006 figures | 17% |
DU Trainers and Trainees results
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | Total | ||
| Democratic Republic Congo | Trainers Trainees |
2 209 |
21 1,572 |
633 1,472 |
656 3,253 |
||
| Ethiopia | Trainers Trainees |
1 498 |
1 498 |
||||
| India | Trainers Trainees |
17 0 |
26 102 |
9 57 |
8 203 |
60 427 |
|
| Italy | Trainers Trainees |
45 187 |
38 217 |
30 237 |
64 147 |
0 103 |
177 891 |
| Malaysia | Trainers Trainees |
17 130 |
2 278 |
1 229 |
0 88 |
20 725 |
|
| Malta | Trainers Trainees |
15 400 |
10 476 |
7 586 |
10 823 |
1 583 |
43 2,868 |
| Morocco | Trainers Trainees |
23 362 |
90 2,241 |
57 6,526 |
33 9,105 |
0 11,092 |
203 29,326 |
| Nepal | Trainers Trainees |
2 27 |
8 17 |
2 45 |
|||
| Sierra Leone | Trainers Trainees |
1 108 |
1 108 |
||||
| Thailand | Trainers Trainees |
22 302 |
0 322 |
22 624 |
|||
| Tunisia | Trainers Trainees |
12 82 |
11 615 |
0 313 |
23 1,010 |
||
| Uganda | Trainers Trainees |
1 319 |
1 319 |
||||
| Total | Trainers Trainees |
100 949 |
181 3,166 |
112 7,945 |
17 12,915 |
645 15,118 |
1,209 40,093 |
Follow up on existing initiatives
Uganda Two Wi-fi networks have been created in order to allow Internet connectivity to almost 2,000 students and 75 teacher belonging to the Bishop Cipriano Kihangire Cipriano School in Luzira and share Internet connectivity between other buildings, such as the medical center.
During the start up of the project, DUP contents on digital literacy have been provided to the school teacher of computer science. The project has been possible thanks to the financial support of ST Foundation and logistic support of the NGO MLFM (Movimento per la Lotta contro la Fame nel Mondo) and METID – Polytechnic of Milan. The School has endorsed the DU Program and has already formed 319 trainees.
Gujarat, India The water project the Foundation sponsored in connection with CIAI (Centro Italiano Aiuto all’Infanzia), aiming at improving the condition of people leaving in the Kutch District, allowed the construction of cisterns and wells in Habay, Kottay and Motavarnora. The Health Care Center in Lodai is now equipped and medical staff has been recruited
Burundi Completion of a new center dedicated to engines and automobiles for the activities of the Technical School in Ngozi, Burundi. The School was founded by WITAR (Associazione Istituto Tecnico Alessandro Rossi nel Mondo) and sponsored by ST Foundation.
Donations
- 50,000 USD have been donated to the GAID (United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development). This was done in the context of the Foundation’s membership to the Global Alliance and as a contribution to its mission of creating an inclusive global forum and platform for cross-sectoral policy dialogue on the use of ICT for enhancing the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, notably reduction of poverty. In particular, the donation sponsored the GAID Global Forum on Youth and ICT for Development, which took place in Geneva on September, 24-26 2007. This event was jointly organized with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), with other major United Nations organizations (ILO, UNESCO, UNFPA, UN-Habitat, WHO, etc.) as partners and supporters. Other civil society organizations, such as Democratic Republic CONGO, WFUNA, ICCC, ATHGO, TalkingItGlobal, UEF and EDC, among others, also contributed to the Forum.
- 13,000 USD were exceptionally donated to the OMCT (Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture) in support of its effort in fighting against torture, summary executions, enforced disappearances and all other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
- 44,000 USD have been donated to the Swiss Red Cross in support of its relief effort in Bangladesh for the victims of the cyclone which struck the country in November 2007
- DU donations: 19,450 USD have been donated to CIAI (Centro Italiano Aiuti all’Infanzia) for the funding of a Computer and Vocational Training Center in Gujarat in the village of Lodai
- DU donations: follow up ofDemocratic Republic Congo DU projects: 6,240 Euroshave been donated to our partner, METID, for Mbobero project Year 3 and 7,100 Euros have been donated to METID for Birava project Year 2
On the stocks
ST Foundation’s Board of Directors has approved important expansions for the Digital Unify Program:
- Rwanda Alessandro Sauli College, Muhura
- Bolivia Equipment of three labs in Cabezas area, based on the initiative of an ST employee from Carrolton, Texas
- Senegal Frame agreement for a remarkable project leading to the opening of 30 computer labs on three years in partnership with a governmental agency
These new projects will go hand in hand with reinforcement of ST Foundation’s existing initiatives: increase and improvement of its presence in India and Morocco; support to activities in Italy, Malaysia, Tunisia, Malta, Thailand, Democratic Republic Congo , Ethiopia, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Uganda.
In addition to this, a project has been approved in partnership with the NGO MLFM (Movimento per la Lotta contro la Fame nel Mondo) and METID – Polytechnic of Milan for the informatization of Fomulac Hospital in Democratic Republic Congo .
Total approved budget for new initiatives is 1,387,281 USD. It is meant to be allocated starting in Q1 2008 and on three years, based on the success of projects’ pilot phases and on agreement on, and respect of mutually agreed conditions between partners.