This is one of our thought-provoking projects of this year 2014 and will help young people master new technologies of information and communication to share experiences and use those tools in their story telling. Our main idea is to use social media and other tools to deliver our mission; to show young people with new technologies of information and communication they can do amazing things liable to help them be knowledgeable and ready to focus on their field of interest as young undergraduate from disadvantaged area.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
• Abomey-Calavi
Describe the specific population with whom you will be working.
• Among a high number of young undergraduates (women and men) of Abomey-Calavi, the biggest city of BENIN where our NGO is located, we’re going to select hundred of them. Those selected young people will be aged 18 to 22 and will have completed their Bachelor studies, I mean those willing to start their own business or compete in the jobmarket. As their study schedules and materials rarely embrace serious computer using classes, most of the students of this targeted age seem not being able to adequately use new technologies of information and communication. They’re beginner learners of those tools since they do not have a solid background on using them and may be dealing with them once a month or in an unsteady basis. Consequently they’re not more familiar with internet and citizen media.
Who else will be on your team to help implement the project?
• DJEGBETON Hippolyte, facebook account: www.facebook.com/dhsgentleman, Jean-Pierre SESSINOU, facebook account: www.facebook.com/jean-pierreSess, BACHABI Kenneth, facebook account: www.facebook.com/BachabiKenneth, Raoul ACATCHA, facebook account: www.facebook.com/RaoulAcatcha, Miguel TEDJI, facebook account : www.facebook.com/armellemiguelafiavitedji ; DJEGBETON Achyl : facebook account :www.facebook.com/achyl djegbeton…
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
• The citizen media (facebook and twitter networks) the project participants are going to create under our auspices will be linking them lifetime and help them share knowledge, experience and in their story telling. They’ll be sharing their success stories, how to tackle together a specific social plague, how to put an emphasis on a special event that has a direct impact on our community (an environmental problem for instance), their upcoming projects and get advice from other experienced people involved in the discussion; they’ll share specific knowledge about social entrepreneurship, business running and public administration managing to bring about meaningful changes and added value to the development of our community.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established or plan to establish that will contribute to the success of the project.
• As the NGO Founder and English department Manager, I already started telling about such a project to some partners (Mr GERALDO AGOHOUE and Mr Damien MOUZOUN, young leaders and successively trainers in ‘’new technologies of information and communication’’ as well as personal and professional development) and I’ve also already registered in a regional association (Young Leaders of Africa). I’m part of the international network (Young African Leaders Network) where I’m acquiring outstanding and relevant experience likely to help us make this project a success since during the training; we’ll get all those young people register on the platforms ( our facebook and twitter networks) for socializing and everyday practice. i told them about the microgrants. those are existing partnerships.
How many participants do you think will be trained in your project?
• We’ll select 100 young people aged 18 to 22 living in Abomey-Calavi city. We’ll announce such an opportunity on a local radio, on a TV broadcasting, our facebook page, on our blog and in a newspaper. We’ll then ask them to bring their birth certificates, their CVs, a copy of their latest degree, a copy of their National ID card and 2 photos. After that we’ll make selection (50 young women and 50 young men, an emphasis will be put on the younger people) and call candidates who are selected to be aware of our ways of delivering such a project. There is an alternative when they’ll be filling our forms: either they choose weekends’ trainings or the ones of other days of the week. We’ll hire a bus to pick them up on regular basis, prepare training’s hard copy so that they're highly motivated.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
• We’ll focus on trainings how to create blogs, microblogs, websites; how to make the best use of the social networking tools such as (facebook, twitter, whatsapp, newsletter, Linkedin…) to share experience, stories and boost business and collaboration with other people and organizations around the world. In short how they could get the best help from citizen media to achieve the community projects they have in mind and share stories, knowledge as well as experience with colleagues.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
• Workshops will take place in two facilities: one equipped with a conference board, a projector, 25 computers and ADSL internet connection (Abomey-Calavi, Manhattan city, BENIN) and the other (Bidossèssi Crossroad, Abomey-Calavi) equipped with a conference board, a projector with 15 computers and 5 USB modems to get internet connection.
What is your current relationship with the community with whom you plan to work? What makes you the most appropriate individual or organization to implement this project?
• The NGO AFRITECH-BENIN is located in Abomey-Calavi city. The NGO commits to help young people of this biggest city of BENIN achieve significant changes and thereby giving the good example to young people of other parts of our country and region so that they can join our work. In our statutes we already stated those trainings and other community-based projects (agriculture, access to clean water, animal husbandry and sanitation) we’re going to implement as a result of our growth. As the leader of the team, I’ll not be satisfied with my endeavors until most of Abomey-Calavi young people are self committed to develop ideas and activate their leadership skills in order to bring about important changes in our country and thereby be inspirational to other Beninese young people.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
• When implementing and planning this project, the specifc challenges i expect to face is ‘’light power’’ and internet connection (as Abomey-Calavi is an undeserved area). I started coping with that by buying a power producing machine and will assure many USB modems are available in our facilities during the entire project.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
• Trainings on networking are almost practical, so every participant will be applying and sharing the knowledge received with its colleagues and later on our facebook network, our twitter network or later on the Young Leaders of Africa network or the international facebook network ‘’young African leaders network’’. Our project will be successful from the moment, all of our participants are involved in every of our networks and share stories.
• For other trainings, different activities will help us get participants involved in practising english language and other tips (on personal and professional development) shared during the trainings. Since the stories and other ideas will be shared in english, we’ll constantly notice progress.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2014?
• 5th – 10th May: information about the project (on a local radio, in a newspaper, on our facebook page and on our blog) and invitation to the willing participants to send their hard copies or electronic ones.
• 15th May: selection process; notification to the selected participants; launching event preparation.
• 24th May: launching of the project.
• 26th may – 17th july: trainings on blogs, websites creation and social networking.
• 19th july – 02nd august: trainings on Excel, Publisher, Access and Powerpoint;
• 4th august – 23rd august: different groups activities, sharing of knowledge, questions – answers sessions.
• 25th august – 27th September: listening and speaking sessions;
• 4th October – 25th October: reading and writing sessions;
• 29th October – 20th November: groups activities, debates, sharing of knowledge, questions – answers sessions.
• 22nd November: closing of the project, entertaining event, participants will receive their certificates.
Detail a specific budget of up to $2,500 USD for operating costs.
• Travel costs : A Bus hired/ some week days and weekends : 35.000 FCA x 6 = 210 000 = 420$
• Support sheet: average 150 copies x 10 Fcfa (photocopy) x 100 = 150 000 F cfa = 300 $
• Certificates delivering / closing event (media + sound system) : 240$
• Refreshment: water, café (morning) + spaghetti + rice + beans + yam (either of them for breakfast) 30 000 Fcfa / month x 6 = 180 000Fcfa = 360$
• Contingency: 180 $
• Partners (to support them to pay fuel in their motorbikes and other costs during the entire project): 40 000 F cfa x 6 = 240 000 Fcfa = 480$
• Other supplies and costs: (conference board, markers, USB modems, during the entire project): 320$
Besides the microgrant funding, what other support can Rising Voices provide for your project to ensure its success?
• Any technical support available to help us with (I mean the best way to carry out such a project according to Rising voices microgrants).
Contact name
Hamidou DOSSOU
Organization
NGO AFRITECH-BENIN
