Mohamad Abu Bakar received the award at a gala event at Certiport Pathways 2007, an international conference in Orlando, USA, in July of this year.In a press statement, Mohamad had stressed that Brunei's e-government projects had "set the stage for widespread digital literacy", and that the project would require more than 10,000 government personnel to receive ICT training.
In response to this expected demand for staff skilled in ICT, the Ministry of Education has tasked Seameo Voctech with providing the curriculum for the training.
The ministry has also furnished the new Creativity and Innovation Centre at the Seameo Voctech with laptops and other peripherals, all of which is now being used for training civil servants.
According to the director, 1,600 of the ministry's staff are to be trained at the centre, with 425 already tested. The training programme will run till 2009.
Certiport, a world leader in standards-based certification solutions, announced the recipients of the 2007 Champions of Digital Literacy award at the Pathways conference. A total of 11 individuals from seven countries - Brunei, Costa Rica, Jordan, Libya, Malaysia, New Zealand and the United States - received recognition at the event.
Other recipients of this year's award are New Zealander Peter Macaulay, creator of the New Zealand Digital Strategy, American Marilynn King-Johnson, department manager for Navajo Nation Web Warrior Program under the Department of Youth, and Malaysian Mohd Jasmi Hassan, chief executive officer of MSD Technology Sdn Bhd."The Champions of Digital Literacy program exemplifies the power of one individual to transform the lives of others," David Saedi, president and CEO of Certiport, is quoted as saying.
"As leading countries and communities make tremendous strides in bridging the digital divide among their citizenry, we must first honour the role of the individual who champions the cause of digital literacy and his or her impact on lives as a result."
The Champions of Digital Literacy award offers recognition to individuals who have made efforts in addressing the digital divide in their respective communities.Nominations are received from all over the world, and the final recipients of the award are selected based on the scale of their influence on society.
Quelle/Source: The Brunei Times, 18.07.2007
