Canada World Youth's Quebec-Tunisia Netcorps Exchange Programme

This is a non-formal educational exchange programme that started in January 2020, and offers seven-month volunteer internships in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to youth from Quebec (Canada) and Tunisia. Roughly 550 users interact with the Canada World Youth NetCorps interns each month, first in Montreal and then in Tunis. These interactions are almost all face-to-face in the form of training or direct support.

The programme has a snowball effect in terms of training. The interns offer training to the staff at their work placements who are then in a position to train other colleagues or the beneficiaries of their organizations. However, the experience also develops the interns’ training skills, which could lead them to future work experiences in IT training back in their home country. In addition, the NetCorps Exchange Programme provides ongoing IT training to the interns via their weekly educational activity days. Thus, the Interns receive training from fellow interns or from external resource people to ensure that at the end of their programme they have expanded their knowledge of the IT field both in technical terms as in terms of its impact on development issues.

Children and youth are involved directly as beneficiaries of the training and improved IT infrastructure, particularly in Tunisia where internships take place mostly in youth centres and computer clubs for youth. The same holds true for other stakeholders or beneficiaries, especially in Canada where interns are placed in a variety of organizations working with the homeless, people with disabilities, marginalized groups (including youth). In terms of improving participation by professionals, the internships tend to build capacities within the organizations by training staff and introducing systems that will facilitate and enhance the work that they do. Often there is an exchange of knowledge between the interns, the staff and the beneficiaries at the work placements, which means that participation is enhanced in multiple directions with multiple recipients.

This exchange programme places interns with valuable IT skills at the service of professionals, children and youth that are present at their work placements both in Canada and Tunisia. Through their work, interns develop programmes and systems that respond to the needs of the organization (which often have educational objectives). Through the training they offer to staff and beneficiaries, interns actively involve professionals and youth in the use of new technologies and in many cases, especially among youth, this translates into greater access to resources and information that relates to education or culture.

Website: http://www.gjc.it/2020/uk/show.asp?IdPrj=657

Contact: [email protected]

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IEARN Tunisia

iEARN is working with the Ministry of Education to expand school networking in Tunisia. This is done mostly as part of the iEARN Bridge and Civics Projects. The Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State sponsor these projects.

Website: http://www.iearn.org/globe/globe_Africa.html

Contacts:

Hela Nafti [email protected]

Najah Barrah [email protected]