Women from Bato Leyte undergoing Internet literacy training at the CeC

The Basic Internet Literacy training, a course developed by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the Asia Pacific Women’s Information Network Center (APWINC) for the "Development and Delivery of ICT Training Tools for the Promotion of Livelihood of Women in Rural Areas" project, is currently conducting its pilot run in Bato, Leyte Community eCenter. Participating in this training are the community’s womenfolk of all ages.

On the first day, participants were visibly overwhelmed, as most of them were new to computers and the Internet. Before they could proceed with the Internet literacy training, participants were given a quick but thorough lesson on basic computer hardware. Watching the participants familiarize themselves with the keyboard and the mouse, I remember the first time I visited a website and how it felt to receive an email.

Despite the challenge of learning the Internet, participants progressed well, managing to research farming information online and joining forums on agriculture. We still have two more days before training ends and I can already see how this course will benefit the communities. Amazing!

The Basic Internet Literacy course will be followed by a customized training focusing on the participants’ utilization of available information from the World Wide Web. This training tool will soon be available for replication to other CeCs in the near future.