ICT training for hospitalized children in Russia

Acronym of the case:

HMAO

Web address of the case:

http://www.ecdl.ru

Country of the case:

Other european countries

City/region:

Nizhnevartovsk (Khanty-Mansyisk - Russia)

Posting Date:

25 July 2008

Last Edited Date:

29 July 2008

Author:

Alessandra Devitofrancesco (ECDL Foundation Brussels)

disabled | Children | hospitals

Type of initiative

Project or service

Case Abstract

The project is targeted at enabling children with severe oncological and hemaetological diseases to acquire basic ICT skills so that they can participate in the information society. During the first part of the initiative 16 children aged 6-16 from the Region Yugra and Khanty-Mansyiak (HMAO) in Russia will take the eCitizen training course at the Nizhnevartovsk city hospital. The project is expected to have an important social impact, as ICT is the only means for the hospitalized children to communicate with the outside world. The project will come to full scale in 2009 when over 300 patients of oncological hospitals in Yugra and Khanty-Mansyiak (HMAO) will be trained. eCitizen is a part of the European Computer Driving License programme, which aims to bridge the digital divide and guarantee all citizens access to the information society without discrimination based on their social status, gender, age or physical abilities.

Description of the case

Domain

eInclusion

Topic

eAccessibility | ICT and community development | (public) e-services for disadvantaged people

Sector

Education, Science and Research

Start date - End date

June 2008 (Ongoing)

Date operational

June 2008

Target Users

People with disability | People with health and long-term care problems

Target Users Description

The target group consists of children aged 6-16 with oncological and hemaetological diseases, receiving chemotherapy and other treatment at the specialized hospitals in the region Yugra and Khanty-Mansyiak (HMAO), Russia. 300 children will take the course and receive certification in 2009.

Scope

Regional (sub-national)

Status

Pilot

Language(s)

English

Other

Russian

Policy Context and Legal Framework

The project is subsidized by the regional administration of Yugra and Khanty-Mansyiak (HMAO) within the framework of the Federal target programme â€˜e-Russiaâ€™ and local by-laws governing the financing of ICT training for socially unprivileged groups.

The main focus of the project is to provide training for 16 children and teenagers of the Autonomous Region aged 6 to 16 suffering from aggravated health conditions in use of the information and communication technologies through the e-Citizen certification programme developed by the ECDL Foundation.

In the region Yugra and Khanty-Mansyiak (HMAO), the project is being implemented for the first time within the framework of â€œElectronic Yugra 2006-2008â€ and its main aim is to rehabilitate disabled children and teenagers with a history of ontological diseases in the course of a recreational camp. One of the main goals of the project is to provide assistance to the sick children, create conditions for their creative development and help them realise their potential. In addition to the ICT training, the children learn medical prevention procedures under supervision of experienced medics and psychologists, as well as take part in the creative and sports life of the camp.

Project Size and Implementation

Type of initiative

Participation

Overall Implementation approach

Public administration

Technology choice

Not applicable/not available

Funding source

Public funding regional

Project size

Implementation: €1-5,000

Yearly cost:

€1-49,000

Implementation and Management Approach

The project is managed by the public administration of the Yugra and Khanty-Mansyiak (HMAO) region with the help of the Russian branch of the ECDL Foundation. The Committee of ICT resources allocated funds and purchased the eCitizen courseware for the children. With the assistance of the Regional Ministry of Health, training courses were organized both at the hospital and at the summer recreation.

The children involved in the project will acquire basic skills in searching and processing data, learn to work with online services as well as become familiar with basic office applications, work on the Internet, research information, (download forms, questionnaires etc.), send messages, purchase goods and services, protect their computers with antiviral software, and communicate in conferences and fora.

The course enables the children to learn through various forms of a role play, for example the children will create a press centre and play the role of journalists, photographers, designers â€“ some of them will be in charge of making newspapers and info-bulletins on life in the camp.

Upon the completion of the training, participants will be tested and will obtain the international e-Citizen certificate.

Impact, innovation and results

Impact

One of the main goals of the project is to provide assistance to children who suffer from serious health problems and provide them with opportunities for creative development and to realise their potential.

In addition to the ICT training, the children learn medical prevention procedures under supervision of experienced medics and psychologists, as well as take part in the creative and sports life of the camp.

With the help of ICT the beneficiaries of the project will be able to communicate with friends, get access to e-learning resources, acquire information, access online entertainment, participate in studies and so on. During chemotherapy courses the patient is not to leave the hospital for months. Lack of digital literacy and ICT infrastructure makes life at hospital far more difficult for the young patients; the skills the children acquire during this project will make their lives considerably easier.

Interim Results of the implementation of the Regional Project in organizing and conducting training for children and teenagers in the field of Information and Communication Technologies on the premises of the Autonomous Region's sanatoria and disease prevention facilities:

Within the framework of the e-Citizen training course, starting on July 4 2008, a daily trainings of 2 groups of children have been taking place. On July 14, testing of e-Citizen participants took place for the first round of children involved. The project will, however, continue to be implemented on a larger scale.

In addition to the training course, the project participants are granted an opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge gained in practice, taking part in the role play, creating their documents, drafting documents in word processing software, and conducting topic-specific Internet search.

Track record of sharing

eCitizen is a part of the European Computer Driving License programme, which aims to bridge the digital divide and guarantee all citizens access to the information society without discrimination based on their social status, gender, age or physical abilities.

Lessons learnt

Lesson 1 - ICT is of GREAT assistance to people with disabilities. It is of vital importance to ensure that children with disabilities do not become excluded from the information society; health issues do not preclude these children from using digital literacy skills as any other child would: online chatting, surfing on the net etc.

Lesson 2 - The role of public administration is crucial in these projects; the commitment of decision makers to work on e-Inclusion issues brings great results.

Lesson 3 - The feedback is so positive that we would like to try to implement this positive experience in other regions of Russia.

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