Tech4ED to expand ICT services, opportunities

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Technology (DOST-ICT) Office and the National Library of the Philippines (NLP) have forged a partnership to implement the Tech4ED project in over 1,000 public libraries for digital inclusion.

Led by the DOST-ICT Office, the Technology for Economic Development (Tech4ED) project establishes centers in rural and underserved areas to expand access to ICT services, learning resources and opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment.

The establishment of Tech4ED centers will be a breakthrough in addressing digital inclusion.

“We aim to make our public libraries more relevant to the community and further increase their utilization. With Tech4ED in our libraries, we can bring the benefits of ICT to more Filipinos,” Jilven Amar, librarian III of the NLP said.

“Tech4ED is about creating equal opportunities for everybody,” Bettina Quimson, deputy executive director for eSociety, DOST-ICT Office said.

“Librarians are essential in enabling a person to be trained in special skills sets toward employment and entrepreneurship. If the public library has at least three computers and Internet connectivity, we will work with them immediately to set up the Tech4ED platform,” Quimson added.

Key services under Tech4ED are eGovServ for government transactions such as applications for birth certificate, driver’s license and clearance from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI); eEduSkills for learning on demand, including the Alternative Learning System and courses under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); and eAssist, which aims to enhance digital and financial literacy.

The NLP is optimistic that Tech4ED will make public libraries more responsive to the needs of different sectors.

The NLP will contribute digitized materials to the Tech4ED project.

“This is a long-awaited partnership, and it’s happening now,” said Blesila Velasco, chief of the public libraries division, NLP. “This project is really innovative, collaborative, relevant and citizen-centric. Every member of the community will benefit.”

The partnership was announced during the National Conference of Public Librarians organized by the NLP in partnership with the Association of Librarians in Public Sector Inc. and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts through the national committee on library and information services.