ILOILO CITY — The Iloilo City public library on Thursday received a “thin-client equipment package” from the “Technology for Education to gain Employment, train Entrepreneurs towards Economic Development (Tech4ED)”, a project of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
Relyn Nuñez, DICT focal person for the Tech4ED, said the city public library, situated on the city hall’s second floor, is one of six public libraries in Western Visayas to receive the equipment package, which consisted of a server, four desktop computers, router, printer, and headset.
“Our central office provided a list of public libraries under the National Library to be evaluated for the package,” she said.
The “thin-client equipment package” is made available only to public libraries. In Western Visayas, the public libraries of Ivisan and Sigma also qualified, along with three others in Negros Occidental.
Access to the free public WiFi, other existing connectivity, and existing computers were some of the criteria used in the evaluation.
“Since it is inside a public library, it could cater to various sectors so long as they can be accommodated,” she said.
Users can access eEduSkills if they want a high school diploma through informal education; eAssist, which provides digital and employment opportunities to vulnerable groups and marginalized communities; e-Assess for students who want to have industry partnerships for job-readiness evaluation; e-Agri for farmers; e-Marketplace; eGovServ for government frontline services; and e-Health for access to basic health information.
The ribbon-cutting and launch was graced by Iloilo City Mayor Jose S. Espinosa III, IT Development Officer Francis T. Cruz, DICT Officer-in-Charge Antonio Edward E. Padre, and PFT Lead – Iloilo province Theodore Hernando, and was witnessed by DICT staff and City Library officers and staff.
Tech4ED aims to harness ICT to enable, empower and transform society, creating an inclusive, integrated and equitable countryside by providing opportunities for employment and empowering entrepreneurs. (Perla Lena/PNA)
