Internet Access and Training Program (IATP)

In July, four schoolgirls from Shtormove village (Luhansk region, Ukraine) – participants in the Tech Age Girls (TAG) project – and their teacher concluded their community project entitled, “Ukrainian Orchid,” which is dedicated to establishing an orchid reserve in their village.

For the last few months, IATP had been focusing on helping disabled people to integrate into society in cooperation with local nongovernmental organizations. In July, IATP sponsored an international online forum on problems facing disabled people, provided a series of trainings for ten members of the Disabled Women’s Association in Siyazan and hosted a series of seminars in Imishli and Ali Bayramli.

In June IATP and partners began work on a new online portal dedicated to providing a unique online public consultation center addressing corruption issues from citizens across the country through the Internet.

Officials from the Ministry of Defense of Georgia, political parties in Azerbaijan, and libraries and cultural departments in Ukraine are among the most recent beneficiaries of partnerships with IATP. As these institutions attempt to provide better services to their constituents and to bring thier capacities to modern standards, IATP has been filling an important role in the process throughout the region.

In July, IATP centers throughout Ukraine hosted a series of events for support of disabled citizens. The network of IATP centers supports disabled people’s initiatives and contributes to their personal and professional development by providing free trainings on IT use for NGO staff and disabled people, providing a free Web hosting platform for disabled people to spread ideas and establish connections with Ukrainian and foreign partners, and by hosting online discussions addressing the issues and challenges facing disabled people in Ukraine.

Over 40 young people gained skills in computer and Internet use necessary for their studies and professional development in a series of IATP-sponsored trainings in July. IATP sponsored a total of 7 events throughout Georgia, including computer basics trainings and an online forum on the Scouting organization in Georgia.

On July 20, the IATP Training Laboratory in Chisinau, Moldova, hosted a seminar on small business development conducted by Irina Druta (UGRAD 07) for 10 students of Moldovan State University. The aim of the seminar was to introduce the audience to the basics of launching and running a small business.

IATP centers in Kyrgyzstan hosted a series of online discussions in May to address the issues surrounding labor emigration from the country. Between 350,000 to 500,000 Kyrgyz nationals, out of an overall population of roughly 6 million, work either seasonally or full-time in foreign countries, according to some estimates. While labor migration brings money into the economy from abroad, some leaving the country are well-educated, energetic, and experienced people who often take their families with them.

In May, over 100 government officials of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Ukraine received basic computer and Internet training at IATP centers across Eurasia. Developing better computer skills among government officials has a direct impact on the services provided to citizens and diminishes many bureaucratic steps in the process.

In May IATP engaged in wide variety of activities aimed at youth development such as healthy lifestyle campaigns, conflict mitigation seminars and labor rights workshops.