"Ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan". Translated to English word for word: "The youth is the hope of the nation". Jose Rizal is convinced t'is to be the destiny of the Filipino youth. More than a hundred years later, somewhere in the municipality of Boac in the island province of Marinduque, two out-of-school youth learners have come back to “school” through the eSkwela Center - doing their best not to disappoint him.

Boac eSkwela learners Paula (L) and Darrel (R)

Before eSkwela

Darrel Laririt simply was not that interested in attending classes. It also did not help that he worked during weekends: he helped out in construction work in every way a thirteen year-old could: he sifted sand, plastered walls, mixed cement and gravel in order to help his family bring food to the table (his father works at a hog farm, while his mother stays at home and tend to household chores). Soon enough, he dropped out of school completely and was not able to finish high school.

Now twenty-three years old, he has been doing odd jobs here and there: apart from going back to construction work, he once mounted preserved butterflies in wooden frames, apparently a specialty souvenir item in Marinduque. Outside of work, he moonlights as a drummer for a local rock band and loves to cover Pinoy alternative songs.

The validation workshop for the second draft of the 2010-2016 PhilCeC Program Roadmap was well attended by key stakeholders

There was a certain energy in the air as the Commission on ICT launched the Get Online Philippines campaign in celebration of National ICT Month 2010 on June 18.

One of the activities during the launch was the National Validation Workshop for the Strategic Roadmap of the Philippine Community eCenter (CeC) Program.  The workshop was conducted in order to present the second draft of the roadmap to the CeC stakeholders in order to get their comments and suggestions. The workshop was conducted right after the opening ceremonies which featured the various achievements in the Philippine ICT landscape as well as new partnerships which will further bolster its growing strength.

Dr. Angelo Juan Ramos, the current chair of the Philippine CeC Network (PhilCeCNet), presided over the validation workshop which started off with a sharing of reflections and learnings gained from the various workshops and consultations conducted throughout the drafting of the roadmap. The second draft of the roadmap was then presented to the group and this generated a lot of insightful comments and suggestions from the body.

In behalf of the Philippine Community eCenter Network (PhilCeCNet), I offer my congratulations and wholehearted support to the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), as it celebrates the National ICT Month this June. This is an opportune moment for all of us, be it the government, private sector and civil society, to celebrate shared achievements and accomplishments in the ICT sector. This is also a time for us to reflect and to plan our next steps towards providing digital opportunities for all Filipinos.
 
I call on all our partners and our CeC managers and knowledge workers to join in the effort and be active participants in this year’s ICT Month celebration. This year’s theme, “Get Online, Philippines!” is an inspiring call for all of us who work in providing access and services to the unserved and underserved rural and urban communities to strengthen our efforts and realize our vision to empower communities through ICTs.

Dr. Angelo Juan O. Ramos
Chair, Philippine CeC Network

Mr. Shi Yong of Boan Information Security, Shanghai shares about the steps to take to protect one’s information

“Information security starts and ends with a single person – YOU”. This was the first statement our instructor, Mr. Shi Yong of Boan Information Security of Shanghai, shared during his lecture on Information Security on our recent IT Seminar in China.

In its simplest definition, information security is the protection of information from a wide range of threats. Confidentiality + availability + integrity collectively equals to security.

Information security, however, faces constant online perils - viruses/worms, Trojan horses and spywares. The first, viruses/worms, are software programs designed to invade your computer to copy, damage or delete your data. Trojan horses are viruses that pretend to be legitimate programs but actually destroy your data and your computer, while spywares are software that either secretly watch and record your online activities or send you endless pop-up ads.