Maprik Secondary School's teachers and lead farmers went through an intensive training on Digital Skills and Financial Literacy modules.
The training was facilitated by the EU Funded UN Joint STREIT Programme in a bid to strengthen community-embedded capacities in digital skills, digital agriculture, and financial inclusion in the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea. The training was aimed at building trainees' capacities as future Trainers of Trainers (ToTs) or Coaches.
Held in close collaboration with the PNG National Information & Communication Technology Authority (NICTA), this two-day event attracted 30 participants, including three model farmers and female teachers (comprising 40% of total attendees). It was the first of a series of similar trainings envisaged by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), as part of the EU-STREIT PNG Programme, for stakeholders in East Sepik Province using resource centre as a conduit.
"This training enhanced the capacity of local farmers and MSMEs on relevant ICT applications and financial services to improve teachers and lead farmers' understanding and use of communication tools, including messenger services and social media applications. The training also increased understanding and appreciation of the enabling role of digital technologies, the gaps and barriers that constrain farmers and MSMEs from using ICTs in their agri-businesses and means to overcome the barriers using relevant and available tools, processes, and systems," said Kanagat Alyshbaev, the ITU Project Officer.
This learning opportunity was organised to "Improve agriculture productivity, financial management and marketing for cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability, and to increase literacy and knowledge on financial services and personal financial management," explained Sharad Bangari, the UNCDF Digital & Agri Finance Specialist.
This training covered six modules, including Digital Literacy, Internet and Web 2.0, Social Networking for Development, Social Media for Agri-Business and Marketing, Financial Literacy, Remote Collaboration (Google Services and Dropbox), and Online Virtual Communication.