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The Project of the Open Society Fund – Lithuania
TOWARD DIGITAL COMMUNITIES
Partners:
- UNESCO Chair of Informatics for Humanities at Institute of Mathematics and Informatics;
- Centre for social studies, Faculty of Philosophy, Vilnius University
The purpose of the project TOWARD DIGITAL COMMUNITIES is to help rural communities to modernize and improve the living themselves.
Rural communities’ organizations and municipalities are fostered to strengthen their activities using information technologies.
What changes after implementing information technologies?
- rural citizens become better informed;
- relations between communities are strengthened;
- more opportunities to cooperate;
- rural communities become more public and well-known;
- rural communities are better represented;
- more opportunities to learn;
- activities in rural communities are strengthened and expanded.
The exceptional cachet of this project is that the creativeness of communities is fostered. It is aimed that rural communities would not only use information and services, but also would be able to provide information, create and offer services themselves.
 For whom this project is dedicated?
What is our approach?
How do we foster?
What has been done?
What is currently in progress?
This project is dedicated for rural communities which:
- are cohesive, active and engaged in economic, social, cultural and civic activities;
- have opportunity to use computers and internet.
The fundamental principles of the project TOWARD DIGITAL COMMUNITIES:
- the conventional face-to-face interaction is, and will stay, the main form of communication, knowledge and experience sharing. The implementation of information technologies is only a complementary mean, which supplements the conventional forms of interaction;
- interaction and information spread using information technologies, must becombined with conventional means (information booklets, telephone connection, local media and others). .
- we consult communities how to prepare strategies and projects for information technologies’ implementation;
- we provide financial support for the best projects;
- we strengthen the capabilities to implement information technologies, and educate media literacy;
- we keep rural communities informed about contests, training courses and events, we help to establish local and international relations;
- we help communities to spread information themselves about their activities, to establish relations with other communities, to exchange experience.
- the internet portal http://www.bendruomenes.lt was created. Rural communities are able to get relevant information, publish messages, present their activities, exchange experience in the discussions forum, use email, and other tools of the portal;
- the methodology and teaching material for fostering rural communities, to implement the possibilities provided by information technologies, were prepared;
- 45 rural communities, together with consultants from Open Society Fund – Lithuania, are implementing, projects integration of possibilities of computers and internet in their activities, becoming examples to other similar communities. The list of projects you can find in the portal chapter Community Projects;
- 40 local IT implementation consultants, able to work in different regions of Lithuania, were trained. They will help rural community organizations and local government institutions to implement information technologies and internet into their activities;
- contest “Internet Portals for Regional Communities’ Associations” has been organized. Three regional community associations are now preparing internet portals to improve the information spread and interaction between communities;
- best article contests for communities’ journalists, journalistic capabilities improvement seminars were organized. Journalists from communities were consulted by professional journalists.
- the contest "Strengthening Regional Networks of Cooperation and Partnership” is currently being proceeded. Networks of rural communities from regions and districts are preparing projects to strengthen the information spread, communication and cooperation with the usage of modern information technologies. Consultants from Open Society Foundation – Lithuania are helping to prepare projects for strengthening cooperation and partnership networks.
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