Hole-in-the-Wall Education Ltd. (HiWEL) -an initiative of NIIT, a leading Global Talent Development Corporation and International Finance Corporation-has been conferred the coveted ‘Digital Opportunity Award’ for its path breaking work in spreading computer literacy and improving the quality of education at the grass root levels, by the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA).

WITSA is a consortium of over 60 Information Technology industry associations from economies around the world. Mr. Phil Bond, President and CEO, Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) gave away the award to NIIT CEO Vijay K Thadani at 16th World Congress on IT (WCIT) 2008 Awards’ Ceremony, the annual congregation of world’s leading technology companies and associations held at Kuala Lumpur, last evening.

Receiving the award, an elated Thadani said, ”This is a rare honour not just for NIIT HiWEL, but for the Indian ICT industry as well. It is a recognition of our innovative efforts in enabling computers touch millions of lives globally by making Information Technology reach the grass root

levels.”

WITSA Global ICT Excellence Awards held every two years, aim at identifying and honouring the most outstanding users of Information and Communication Technology. The prestigious ‘Digital Opportunity Award’ is bestowed upon individuals, academic institutions, corporations, NGOs or government entities that have made a remarkable and successful effort at reducing the digital divide, by ‘connecting’ previously ‘unconnected’ people. The eminent jury adjudges nominees on various parameters including the effectiveness of the program, number of people benefiting from the deployment of technology, degree of the program(s) technology intensiveness, and level of innovation demonstrated in achieving the program(s) goals.

NIIT (HiWEL) has been honoured for its commitment and efforts to help underserved groups bridge the digital divide, by offering exciting and effective education and learning experiences through innovative technologies in remote areas.

Born out of an idea called ‘Minimally Invasive Education’ to maximize the reach of functional IT literacy, NIIT HiWEL has become a developmental initiative with governments globally to positively impact learning outcomes in elementary education and computer literacy. World over the governments are now looking at this innovation to address the digital divide issue.

NIIT experimented with ‘Minimally Invasive Education’ kiosk for the first time in 1999 in Madangir-a slum in South Delhi. This experimental education project undertaken by NIIT is aimed at promoting literacy amongst underprivileged children of the slum. As part of the project, NIIT along with Government of Delhi set up 6 unmanned, remotely monitored computer kiosks in the area, which generated tremendous curiosity among children who became regular visitors of the place. What started as a play tool-Mouse and Keyboard-soon became means of computer literacy in absence of a teacher.

NIIT HiWEL has since then, reached more than 200,000 children in 150 remotest of the rural areas and urban slums, through its installations. Asia (India, Cambodia) and Africa (Mozambique, Zambia, Uganda, Botswana, Nigeria and Rwanda) are the key geographies where HiWEL is working with Governments to help reduce school dropout rate and is enabling the education system in these countries to provide effective and interesting teaching-learning experience.

Sourced from: NIIT

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