IICD supported project: ColdReed Training - Zambia

Besides offering ICT services, ColdReed focuses on providing systematic and dependable training in ICT skills and knowledge in Zambia, and is raising awareness about the potential application of ICT for development. Educating public, commercial and civil society organisations about ICT and open source applications is followed up by quality skills training as well as technical support, which up until now has only been available in Zambia on a very small scale.

In addition to IICD partners, secondary schools, hospitals and business groups, training has been given to a number of large national and international NGOs such as Transparency International and the IICD project partner, the Zambian Association of Research and Development (ZARD). Moving forward, ColdReed is well-positioned to pioneer the development and application of ICT in development projects and programmes across Zambia.

In 2002, home users of personal computers in Zambia numbered only around 75,000, or one percent of the population. Since then, the numbers have grown steadily, but many users are still self-taught and have very little awareness of the capabilities of certain software. Furthermore, few organisations have been able to offer adequate training, and as a result, ICT literacy in Zambia has advanced slowly.

In 2004, ColdReed Training (CRT) stepped in to fill this void by designing and offering internationally certified courses in computer training. In addition, as most commercial software is expensive, CRT has also advocated the use of OSS and trained users in how to take full advantage of this inexpensive alternative to commercial products.

Read more about IICD's Zambia Country Programme.

The objectives of the ColdReed Training Centre include:

• Enhancing local knowledge of ICTs to improve efficiency and productivity
• Providing high-quality skills-based training in subjects such as office productivity, database and website development
• Raising awareness of OSS in Zambia
• Designing and providing customized training for OSS users
• Increasing the number of qualified ICT personnel in Zambia.

CRT’s work in capacity development is helping to create a more computer-savvy population, capable of applying ICTs to address the country’s needs. CRT taught over 650 participants from over 80 organizations in its first 18 months, with demand for workshops increasing over 70% in this period. Included among CRT’s pupils are over 200 youths who are using their ICT skills to help provide more efficient and effective services in HIV/AIDS programmes across the country. In 2006 CRT began training teachers on the use of ICTs for education, so far teaching over 120 teachers from 18 secondary schools across the country. CRT has also become the country’s leading advocate of OSS.

Read more about IICD's approach towards Education.