Digital summer schools program initiated by Telenor and its partnered organizations sets its target to give free digital training to 100,000 Myanmar youths annually after 2018 program was successfully concluded. The program conducted four batches of digital skill trainings from the month of March to May and provided free training for 25,000 middle and high school students all around the country.
Digital summer schools program was one of the key initiatives that Telenor has been implementing to promote digital literacy in Myanmar and to minimize the opportunity gap between rural and urban areas of the country. As part of the social responsibility mission, Telenor has partnered with KMD under the approval of Ministry of Education with the support of Ericsson, Irrawaddy Green Towers and Myanmar ICT for Development Organization (MIDO) and run this activity throughout the threemonth summer break.
“With the second fastest mobile internet infrastructure in ASEAN after Singapore, Myanmar has most of the digital foundations to implement the government’s future digital economy roadmap. However, a digital economy also requires digital skills. Every youth in Myanmar deserves equally to get the opportunity to build the digital foundation of their lives in preparation to their critical roles in the future socio-economic development of the country. Hence Telenor is very proud to contribute in empowering Myanmar youths with Digital Summer Schools program which would equip them with the essential computer skills and how to stay safe online. Telenor will continue to supplement the government’s endeavour to build Myanmar’s digital economy by providing solid digital infrastructure and digital skills,” said Min Thu, Head of Business Sustainability at Telenor Myanmar. Research from LirneAsia shows that nearly 80 percent of the internet users in the country have poor digital literacy although Myanmar is leading in the region with more than 105% SIM penetration and 80% smartphone penetration. The program was initially started by a small pilot training in Loikaw, Kayah State in May, 2017 and provided free digital literacy and safe internet training to 120 local youths. When it came to operate nationwide this year, a total of 25,000 students gained their basic digital skills under the Digital summer schools program across the country.
