Bridging the digital divide

By YAM PHUI YEE

Youngsters from Asean countries bond and discover fun ways to communicate with their peers at the Asean Cyberkids Camp.

SHY and soft spoken, Soulisak Sisombounh’s demeanour changed once he was seated front of the laptop and started the photo editing programme.

The 12-year-old from Vientiene, Laos, showed his Malaysian friend Yohan Philip, 12, a photo he had added wacky effects to, and the two boys broke into laughter.

Laotian Soulisak Sisimbounh (left) showing his Malaysian friend Yohan Philip a wacky photo he edited using a software taught at the Asean Cyberkids Camp.

The five-day inaugural Asean Cyberkids Camp (ACC) held recently in Subang Jaya, Selangor, opened up opportunities for children like Soulisak to communicate with the world using ICT tools.

In one of the sessions, the 120 participating students and teachers from Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia were asked to collect information and photos from the Internet for a presentation about their country.

“I have never used the Internet before because we don’t have it in our school. While looking for information on Laos, I was so happy to see so much about my country on the Internet,” said Soulisak through a translator.

The ACC was jointly organised by the Energy, Water and Communications Ministry (KTAK), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM), and Maxis Communications Bhd, to bridge the digital divide.

The camp’s structure is an extension of Maxis Cyberkids Camp that has trained more than 7,000 Malaysian school children from over 1,300 schools in basic ICT and Internet skills since 2002.

Other than learning about gadgets and technologies, Ye Yint from Myanmar (second from right) also learned about the culture of her friends from other Asean countries.

In August this year, the Malaysian initiative was endorsed by ministers at the 8th Asean Telecommunications and IT Ministers Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, as a key activity to promote regional integration and co-operation.

“By opening their eyes to new possibilities, we hope they will be ambassadors who will generate awareness among their peers when they return to their respective countries,” said Energy, Water and Communications Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Halim Man.

Although some of the participants had prior knowledge of the Internet, it was used mostly for e-mailing, chatting, downloading music, gaming and searching for information.

At ACC, the children were exposed to more ways of communicating and sharing information. Using ICT tools became a fun thing to do.

“I learned new things like MMS, blog, Mgreet and Morphing. “We can have our face matched to a celebrity’s face with Morphing,” said an excited Nur Ainina Basyirah Mahadi, 14, from Negri Sembilan.

With the Internet, the world becomes smaller and connected for these children living in different countries.

The camp became a starting point for participants to share stories about themselves and their countries.

“I’m blogging for the first time. I wrote about the famous places in Myanmar, our traditional food, culture and songs. I’ve learned a lot of other cultures as well and I want to tell my friends back home,” said 12-year-old Ye Yint from Yangon, Myanmar.

Participants of the Asean Cyberkids Camp having a splashing time feeding the fish at KLCC Aquaria during their week-long stay in Malaysia.

Other than fiddling with their gadgets, the children also played games, took part in a Treasure Hunt that made use of their newly acquired skills, and visited Petrosains and Aquaria in Kuala Lumpur.

Friendships were forged and the students shared meals with their new friends, learned each other’s languages and dances, and promised to stay in touch.

“We’ll keep each other updated about our lives when we go home. The camp has made the relationship among the Asean countries closer,” says Nurkhadijah Adib, 12, from Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

The students also learned to work in teams for their presentation. The skills they gained from ACC will hopefully benefit them and their communities in the future.

“I’ll be helping out in my school’s project to teach parents how to use the computer while they wait to pick up their children. Now, I can also do presentations in my church and edit photos to make them funny and catch people’s attention,” said Yohan Philip from Perak.

As the campers said their goodbyes towards the end of the camp, Soulisak couldn’t wait to show his Laotian friends how to edit photographs. “If I have the chance to use the Internet, I will make use of the knowledge that I gained at this camp,” he said.