As part of their on-going support to the Digital Transformation Centres (DTCs) through the Project “Boosting digital skills through Digital Transformation Centres”, ITU and the Norwegian Government funded SMART Zambia Institute (SZI)’s latest digital literacy programme for citizens. From 15 July to 26 September 2024, the DTC in Zambia conducted a series of training activities across the six (6) localities of Mongu, Mumbwa, Chipata, Chibombo, Kafue and Choma, reaching 243 beneficiaries (56 per cent of which were female) in total. The sessions were designed for members of cooperatives and brought together women, out-of-school youth and elderly people based in rural and underserved areas. Through this programme, SZI aimed to provide beneficiaries with basic digital skills, focusing on essential computer literacy, Internet usage, cybersecurity and digital communication. Activities were implemented by the DTC in close collaboration with local entities, governmental bodies, and corporate benefactors.
Although the activity was designed and delivered as a citizens training, each training cohort participant has committed to train five (5) members from his/her respective cooperative. SZI relies on this scaling model to ensure that the knowledge and skills acquired can be effectively cascaded within cooperatives and to maximise the programme’s impact within communities. As a follow-up to the training, SZI will be organising evaluation sessions to monitor and assess the progress made by participants in transferring their skills and enhancing digital literacy in their cooperatives.
