IATP Monitoring and Evaluation Report - IREX

INTERNET ACCESS AND TRAINING PROGRAM (IATP)
MONITORING AND EVALUATION REPORT
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International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX)
Final Monitoring and Evaluation Report
for the period
June 2007 – December 2009
Internet Access and Training Program
REE-A-00-07-00037-00
IREX Contact: Ari Katz, Senior Program Officer, Civil Society Division
International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX)
2121 K Street, NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20037
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Executive summary .....................................................4
Introduction ..............................................................5
Methodology:
A. Tools of Evaluation....................................................6
B. IATP Services Evaluated ..............................................7
Objective 1—Citizens are empowered to utilize free access to
information to promote democratic reform:
A. Target groups and outputs...........................................9
B. Analysis of Objective 1 impact ................................... 14
C. Evaluating IATP internet access and technical training ....... 19
D. IATP Centers as Communication and Information Resources . 22
E. IATP Centers and Libraries......................................... 24
F. IATP Responds to Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs) Needs in
Georgia ............................................................... 25
G. IATP Empowers Youth in Turkmenistan .......................... 27
H. Analysis of IT Adopters and Laggards ............................ 28
Objective 2—Civil Society representatives are networked with
local, regional, and international partners and resources:
A. Online Networking Facilitated by IATP .......................... 31
B. E-mail Communication for Networking .......................... 33
Objective 3— Targeted development projects are supported
through trainings of select community members in the use of
vanguard technologies and solutions:
A. Targets and Outcomes.............................................. 34
B. Local Web Content.................................................. 39
C. Cooperation with USAID-funded projects ....................... 41
Conclusions:
A. Summary of findings................................................ 43
B. Next steps in ICT4D................................................. 44
C. Final Comments ..................................................... 45
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
During the period of this evaluation, the Internet Access and Training Program (IATP) succeeded in
leveraging information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) tools to promote
democratic reform and the development of local societies in host countries throughout Eurasia.
According to analyses of IATP’s statistical records, online surveys of its users and trainee base,
and a series of focus group sessions with an evaluator carried out throughout the reporting period,
IATP met or exceeded nearly all of the deliverables set out in the year 1 and year 2 workplans.
The program served the needs of the local population providing technical training and access to
information, as well as ensuring online networking, and thus, contributing to civil society development
in the countries of operation.
The program notably succeeded in promoting Web 2.0 training as one of its core competencies,
significantly outpacing all of its Objective 3 targets in bringing local content from journalists, activists,
experts, and governments into the online information forum. Cooperation with USAIDfunded
projects was rigorous during the reporting period. IATP collaborated with a number of
USAID-funded projects with focuses on e-government, human rights, worker rights, media development,
education, medicine, and agriculture. Thanks to this joint cooperation, these projects
were able to conserve resources and achieve more with the help of IATP’s specialized ICT4D expertise.
Generally, the data indicate a satisfied or more than satisfied user base, but users did indicate an
interest in more in-depth training for newer technologies or opportunities to increase internet
speed. This evaluation found fertile ground for ICT4D programming in the host countries, where
the program continually introduced new ideas, skills, and perspectives to the public forum in ways
that have practical impact on the social, economic, and political development of different communities.
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I. INTRODUCTION
IATP aimed to spur community development by using access
to information as a tool for linking local communities to the
outside world and by using technology as a pillar that supports
local initiative. IATP provided the resources and
trained citizens to use tools that facilitate the exchange of
information, build associations, and create change in their
communities and societies.
At its core, in the first year of operation, the USAID-funded
IATP network consisted of 58 IATP-administered and more
than 40 independently-administered internet centers (IICs)
in ten countries. By the end of the first year of operation
and in the second year, IATP became a network of 46
IATP-administered and more than 60 independentlyadministered
internet centers. Starting from June 2009,
the number of core IATP centers became 34 centers in
six countries with more than 70 IICs across Eurasia. By
the close of the program, on December 10, 2009, a total
of 83 IICs in ten countries will continue offering free
training and/or internet access throughout the region.
These centers, housed in local partners, such as universities,
libraries, and NGOs, provide free walk-in internet
access 25 hours a week in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. For 15 or more additional
hours per week, the centers provide free courses on topics
ranging from computer basics to Web design for targeted
institutions and demographic groups. Centers also host
online events, community events, and partnership initiatives
during this time. In this way, IATP connects experts,
activists, academics, and professionals by providing innovative
forums for the exchange of creative ideas, opinions,
and cultural dialogue.
The IATP Final Monitoring and Evaluation Report is designed
to evaluate the following three program objectives:
1. Citizens are empowered to utilize free access to information
to promote democratic reform.
2. Civil society representatives are networked with local,
regional, and international partners and resources.
3. Targeted development projects are supported through
the training of select community members in the use of
vanguard technologies and solutions.
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II. METHODOLOGY
A. Tools
Evaluation of the first year of program implementation was based on
several key tools, which assessed IATP objectives based upon quantitative
and qualitative research:
Statistics
Activity logs are a monitoring
tool that allows for the
collection of statistical data
on program activity outputs
and outcomes. Each IATP
center keeps an attendance
sheet of those who participate
in training sessions,
networking events, or utilize
the centers’ free internet
access. This record includes
a short description of
the training content or networking
event, as well as
information on the number
of participants and some
personal information on
each participant (i.e. name,
profession or organizational affiliation, gender, age, and whether they
have attended any other training at an IATP center).
Quantitative data is also kept on activities, such as the number of
online events hosted, how many people participated in those events,
the number of websites, wiki resources, and blogs that have been created
by IATP users during training.
Online surveys
IATP also uses online surveys as a mechanism to assess users’ perspectives
of program activities. IATP used four basic questionnaires—one
for center users, one for those who participate in IATP training, one for
those who participate in an IATP-hosted online forums, and one for
those who developed something for the Web.
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IATP users coming to IATP centers in Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Ukraine, and Uzbekistan were asked to take
part in the online surveys. A total of 1857 people
participated in IATP’s online surveys.
• The IATP users’ online survey was carried
out in September 2008. The survey inquired
about the quality of IATP services
rendered and about whether the user had
experienced any impact because of access
to IATP technical resources. The survey
also explored alternate information access
opportunities in the regions. A total of 672
IATP users participated in this survey.
• The IATP trainees’ online survey was administered
in November 2008. This survey
asked current and former trainees to
evaluate the quality of the IATP training
they received and how it contributed to
their personal and professional development.
The questionnaire also asked trainees
whether they felt the application of
their acquired knowledge and skills had
promoted or could promote democratic
and civil society development. A total of
376 IATP trainees participated in this survey.
• The IATP forum online survey was conducted
in December 2008. This survey
asked forum participants to evaluate the
effectiveness of IATP efforts to establish
links between Eurasian participants and
experts in the field and investigated the
impact this unique method of dialogue provided.
A total of 155 people who had participated
in at least one IATP-sponsored
online forum completed this survey.
• The IATP Web content online survey was
carried out in March 2009. It explored
IATP’s contribution to locally-relevant Web
content, as well as to broader access to
information. A total of 684 people participated
in this survey.
Focus group discussions
Focus group discussions were held to collect qualitative
data regarding IATP activities. IATP users’
shared their ideas, opinions, and success stories in
greater depth through discussions with a facilitator.
This tool offered yet another avenue to explore
IATP’s program outcomes and impact.
Focus group discussions were carried out in as
many host countries as possible, taking into consideration
issues, such as accessibility, internal
political obstacles, and language barriers. The following
areas were selected:
• Tajikistan (October 2008) in Dushanbe, Kulyab,
and Garm
• Turkmenistan (November-December 2008) in
Ashgabat, Balkanabat, and Turkmenabat
• Ukraine (April 2009) in Vinnitsia
• Moldova (April 2009) in Chisinau, Comrat, and
Tiraspol
• Azerbaijan (April 2009) in Imishli and Shirvan
• Georgia (April 2009) in Tbilisi, Gori, and Telavi
• Uzbekistan (July 2009) in Urgench and Termez
• Belarus (May 2009) in Minsk and Brest
B. Evaluation of IATP
Services
Internet Access – Free computer and internet access
available at IATP centers helped bridge the
digital divide and provided new sources of information
and knowledge.
According to the results of the IATP Users online
survey, internet access was the most popular service
IATP offered. Ninety-six percent reported
benefiting from the free internet access service at
IATP centers. . In addition, 91% of them indicated
they were “satisfied” or “highly satisfied” with
this service. According to the survey, the most
common information searched for by users on the
internet was personal information (73%), educational
information (62%) and information for professional
development (54%). Seventy-four percent
of respondents reported using the internet
for e-mail correspondence, 57% used it as a news
source and 18% report using the internet to find a
job .
Technical Training – A catalogue of over a dozen
training modules including basic computer literacy,
Web design, internet research, blogging, and
wiki creation was tailored to meet the institutional
needs of organizations and professionals
attending courses.
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User survey data, 672 respondents, Table 2
What do you use the
internet for?
Search for
professional
information
Search for
educational
information
News
Azerbaijan 43% 39% 43%
Belarus 77% 79% 67%
Georgia 27% 36% 48%
Moldova 57% 68% 55%
Tajikistan 46% 49% 44%
Turkmenistan 22% 64% 48%
Ukraine 91% 91% 79%
Uzbekistan 40% 56% 56%
Technical training was another popular service
among IATP users. Sixty-nine percent of the IATP
users surveyed reported they attended technical
training at least once. Ninety percent of them reported
they were “satisfied” or “highly satisfied”
with the training. Based on the IATP trainees online
survey, 100% (all 376 respondents) reported they
found their training “useful” or “very useful” and
said it satisfactorily met their needs. Nearly all IATP
training participants regarded IATP training materials
highly with 97% calling IATP training materials
“effective” and matching their personal and professional
interests.
Web Content Development – Civil society organizations
and individuals created websites and other resources
during and after IATP training. New online
resources increased local language content, making
the internet more accessible and useful to local users.
According to the IATP users online survey, 50% of
surveyed IATP users were involved in IATP activities
aimed at developing local Web content with 81%
reporting they found the experience “satisfactory”
or “highly satisfactory .”
Online Forums – stakeholders, experts, and decision-makers
came together online through virtual
exchanges, where individuals shared ideas, bridging
technology gap between regions and capital cities,
and giving often isolated professionals and leaders
first-hand access to expertise.
Based on the IATP users online survey, of the 59% of
those surveyed who participated in IATP-organized
online events (i.e. forums, chats, etc.), 83% of them
ranked them “highly useful”, or “very highly useful”
and as many as 37% of respondents reported that
they frequently participated (once a month or
more) in IATP-initiated online forums.
Community Events – Citizens used the centers as
community meeting places to organize community
initiatives, employing IATP-provided technology and
expertise to strengthen their projects.
According to the IATP users online survey, 60% of
the surveyed users had participated in an IATPorganized
community event and 89% of them reported
being “satisfied” or “highly satisfied” with
it.
WHY DO IATP USERS USE THE INTERNET?
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IV. OBJECTIVE 1: Citizens are Empowered to Utilize Free Access
to Information to Promote Democratic Reform
Over the last two years, IATP has made one of their main targets civil society representatives who serve as
agents of democratic reform in IATP host countries. By providing free technical training, IATP equipped these
advocates for change with ICT resources, providing them with additional tools to promote democratic reform in
their communities.
A. Target Groups and Outputs
Target groups for this objective were identified as actors on both sides of the information gap in the host countries.
During the program, IATP planned to empower and provide access to the following target groups, with outputs
determining the fulfillment of the objective:
Year One:
• 3500 local government representatives
• 2000 NGO representatives
• 2000 librarians
• 1000 entrepreneurs
• 500 media representatives
Year Two:
• 1000 local government representatives
• 500 NGO representatives
• 500 librarians
• 300 entrepreneurs
• 200 media representatives
Objective 1 Outputs :
Year One:
• 3,976 local government representatives used IATP services, with 2491 completing training
• 1,692 NGO officials used IATP services, with 656 completing training
• 2,266 librarians used IATP services, and 1607 completed training
• 1,964 private entrepreneurs used IATP services, with 643 completing training
• 506 media officials used IATP services, with 173 completing training
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Year Two:
• 2,824 local government representatives used IATP services, with 1,421
completing training
• 850 NGO officials used IATP services, with 571 completing training
• 1,430 librarians used IATP services, and 1,015 completed training
• 1,042 private entrepreneurs used IATP services, with 343 completing
training
• 373 media officials used IATP services, with 340 completing training
Since June 2007, with every target group except NGO representatives (where
IATP served almost exactly the number targeted), IREX exceeded its combined
year one and two target outputs. In looking at the combined total of the two
year outputs, IATP services were utilized by 150% more local government representatives
and librarians than anticipated and more than twice as many entrepreneurs
took advantage of IATP centers than expected. One hundred and thirty
percent more media representatives also utilized IATP services through training
or internet access in the last 30 months. Of these 16,923 users, IREX trained
9,260 within these target audiences alone over the last two years—an average
of over 300 per month.
Government Representatives
Cooperation with local governments aimed at enabling officials to better respond
to citizen needs and increase the transparency of government activities.
Since June 2007, 6,800 local government representatives (2,300 more than the
targeted 4500) used IATP center facilities and over 3,900 completed IATP technical
training.
“Conducting market research
online and receiving
business offers via the
internet is very fast and
convenient, as compared
to making expensive international
calls and using
postal services. Beginning
in February, I stopped
making international calls
and using postal services
for marketing purposes,
which has saved a lot of
my work time and money
for the Ministry.”
engineer, Ministry of
Energy, Turkmenistan
A good example of cooperation with government officials is IATP’s mobile training
for nine press secretaries from Tajikistan government bodies in August 2008.
Representatives from three government entities (the Supreme Court, the Drug
Control Agency, and the Committee on Economy, Budget, Finance, and Tax), as
well as representatives from the Tajik National Bank and some media organizations
received training on how to write effective press releases. The training
addressed unique communication challenges and the means of solving them,
such as writing press releases in the Tajik language without using Tajik characters.
1
Officials from the Turkmenistan Ministry of Energy also learned to use computers
and internet at the IATP center in Ashgabat to conduct low-cost yet effective
online marketing research. After the Turkmen Ministry of Energy was
computerized and all its departments were connected to the internet in 2008, it
requested that IATP train its employees in ICT skills—since most had neither the
experience nor the skills to implement ICT in their daily work. In January and
February 2009, 15 employees from the Ministry’s departments, including mechanical
engineering, power-supervision, petroleum-based fuels and transport,
and instrument construction, became familiarized with the internet for the first
time. Since the training, the government officials have begun using the internet
to learn more about the electricity industry in other countries, establish contact
with international suppliers, and began communicating via e-mail with international
partners, saving money for their departments. As a result of the Ministry
employees’ ability to conduct market research online and follow up with international
suppliers, the Ministry is now acquiring a better supply of electricity
from a plant in Nizhgorod, Russia (http://iatpnews.typepad.com/iatp/2009/03/
turkmenistan-ministry-of-energy-officials-learn-to-work-efficiently-online.html).
1
For more information, see IATP Interim Report, June 2007-December 2008 (http://www.irex.org/programs/iatp/iatp_me.asp )
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NGO Officials
IATP also partnered with NGO officials to equip
them to use modern tools in their civil society development
work. Since June 2007, 2,542 NGO officials
(42 more than the targeted 2,500) utilized
IATP centers across Eurasia with over 1,200 of them
receiving technical training from IATP.
In October-November 2008 the Azerbaijan-wide
youth movement IRELI sent ten of their most active
members to IATP training in a series of courses in
computer and internet research, MS Office program
applications, and Web 2.0 technologies. As a result
of the training, the young people enhanced the organization’s
website (www.ireli.az) by editing and
uploading photos of their activities. 2
The Moldovan NGO Equality, also launched a website
with IATP assistance and now more effectively
publicizes its services to the community. NGO member
and IATP graduate Andrei Borshevski created a
website for the organization in April 2009. Equality,
located in Comrat, Moldova, seeks to defend the
legal rights of women (and particularly young
women), promote greater female representation in
government, increase women’s access to education,
and combat female human trafficking. Despite their
attempts to meet the many needs of local women,
Equality staff had difficulty publicizing specific services
to target groups in a clear manner. They knew
the internet could help but their original website
had problems with unwanted commercial advertising,
pop-up windows, and reliability. With Equality’s
new, easy-to-use website, however, individuals
and groups can now find relevant information pertaining
to their issues and concerns. They can also
contact Equality’s staff and board of directors,
whether seeking direct help or partnership opportunities.
Borshevski’s IATP-taught skills thus opened
up new avenues of communication among the
NGO’s clients and partners. As Borshevski noted,
“As a volunteer at this NGO, I had the chance to
develop this site, but it would have been impossible
without all the skills and knowledge that I obtained
during the courses I took at IATP. When I first came
to IATP, I didn’t know anything about working with
the computer” (http://iatpnews.typepad.com/
iatp/2009/05/comrat-ngo-communicates-moreeffectively-with-ict-2.html).
few short months, the NGO had established partnerships
with seven schools to conduct training for students.
By the end of 2009, the association will have
completed training for almost 900 students in Tbilisi.
"We knew a website was an effective way to
communicate with customers and stakeholders …But
honestly, we had no idea how much it would impact
our NGO and so soon after its creation,” explained
YTPA Executive Director Nana Chopliani. “Thanks to
our website, we have established many relationships
with new partners. It’s such a great start for
us and we’re so grateful that we had the opportunity
through IATP to do this” (http://
iatpnews.typepad.com/iatp/2009/10/when-thengo-young-teachers-and-psychologists-associationytpa-httpytpageiatpnet-in-tbilisi-georgia-put-theirne.html#more).
Media Professionals
Journalists were also a target of IREX as key players
in the democratic reform process. Since June 2007,
879 media professionals (179 more than the year
two target of 700) visited IATP centers throughout
Eurasia and over 500 participated in IATP technical
training.
Journalist Yuriy Sikorsky from Vinnytsia, Ukraine,
created a website during IATP training about
Ukraine’s potential integration into NATO. Sikorsky’s
website, “NATO: Ukrainian Briefing”, receives
about 500 visitors a month and serves as an information
resource on the origins of NATO, the current
NATO-Ukraine partnership, and the potential consequences
of Ukraine formally joining the alliance.
With IATP assistance, Sikorsky continues to design
and update his website with the latest information. 3
Galina Ponomarvova is a visually-impaired journalist
from Donetsk, Ukraine. Before IATP training, she
still prepared her articles on an old typewriter,
making it difficult to meet deadlines for her assignments.
After receiving training at a Ukrainian IATP
center she now she uses a computer with special
software to not only improve the efficiency of her
writing but also to open a world of online research.
“I couldn’t even imagine that one day I would be
able to use modern information technologies to perform
my job duties so much more easily,” remarked
Ponomaryova.
When the new NGO Young Teachers and Psychologists
Association (YTPA) (http://ytpa.ge.iatp.net) in
Tbilisi, Georgia, put their newly created website
online after IATP training in early 2009, they did not
anticipate the number of new contacts and opportunities
it would generate for the association. In a
2
For more information, see IATP Interim Report, June 2007-December 2008 (http://www.irex.org/programs/iatp/iatp_me.asp )
3
For more information, see IATP Interim Report, June 2007-December 2008 (http://www.irex.org/programs/iatp/iatp_me.asp )
IATP also trained journalists in Belarus, where
knowledge of and access to modern technology is
still scarce. Most reporters in Belarus still rely on
phone conversations to obtain information from
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other regions and have to submit their stories and photos to the editor in person.
Thanks to IATP training, one more media organization in Brest now functions as a
modern news outlet. The local reporters obtain information and conduct interviews
not only through phone calls but also by using instant messaging, e-mail,
and Skype. They use the internet to conduct research and to submit their news
packages across Belarus and from abroad. As journalist Valentin Zhuchenko explained,
"The ICT skills we learned through IATP are enabling us to begin providing
our readers with the latest, most up-to-date news and information, and to develop
ourselves as journalists."
Teachers and Librarians
Teachers and librarians were, of course, included as IATP target audiences for
being resources of information in their communities. Over 6,700 teachers and
3,696 librarians (1,196 more than the targeted 2,500) used IATP facilities to improve
their access to information. In addition, nearly 3,000 teachers and over
2,600 librarians attended IATP technical
training to further develop their professional
skills.
Throughout the summer of 2008, IATP
maintained a focus on training librarians
in Belarus as part of the Rural Library
Initiative (RLI), originally launched in
October 2006. Librarians embraced the
initiative, with almost 2,500 rural librarians
receiving training in less than
two years. Including urban centers, a
total of 4,000 librarians in Belarus have
been trained in ICT since June 2007.
Providing librarians with the solid
knowledge of contemporary computer
and internet technologies, IATP has contributed
significantly to the improvement
of the library services available to
Belarusian readers. 4
Librarians in Moldova also improved
their professional performance and
readers’ services with the introduction of modern technology by IATP. The ICT4Librarians
project co-implemented by IATP and the Ministry of Education of Moldova
improved the skills of over 50 librarians from Chisinau, Cahul, and Soroca over a
two-month period (March-May 2009). Many of the librarians who attended the
training used computers for the first time in their lives, and learned to use technology
to not only improve their institutions but also to connect with their colleagues
and establish new partnerships. During the training, the librarians applied
their new skills by using MS PowerPoint to create presentations about their libraries
to use when conducting public outreach. They also created websites for their
libraries based on easy-to-update wiki platforms (http://biblgcalinescu.wikidot.com/,
http://bibl-sulac.wikidot.com, http://bibliotecatraian.wikidot.com).
Three Chisinau participants—Tatiana Cucereavii, Elena Cortac,
and Nadejda Pruteanu—demonstrated their new skills to their school principals
and, through persistent lobbying, procured computers. All three have started
work on a database of the library’s books using their knowledge of MS Excel they
acquired through IATP training (http://iatpnews.typepad.com/iatp/2009/09/
librarians-persistence-and-innovation-brings-technology-to-chisinau-school.html).
4 For more information, see IATP Interim Report, June 2007-December 2008 (http://www.irex.org/programs/iatp/iatp_me.asp )
12

Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs have proven themselves to be important
drivers of change, supporting openness, reform,
and accountability in the community while being critical
agents of economic growth and citizen empowerment.
Since June 2007, 3,006 private entrepreneurs
(1,706 more than the targeted 1,300) in all countries
of IATP operation used IATP center resources, including
nearly 1,000 who received technical training.
In November 2008, the IATP center in Tbilisi, Georgia,
launched a training course for small business owners in
collaboration with a Tbilisi City Hall project. IATP provided
the aspiring entrepreneurs with ICT skills to help
them operate their small businesses more efficiently
and effectively. Businesswoman Tinatin Maure used
her new skills to create a website and develop professional
menus and brochures for her fast food business.
She also sent her managers, who had no prior ICT
skills, to IATP training so that they could learn to communicate
through e-mail and use specialized business
software to track inventory, manage accounts, and
monitor their sales. Maure now has plans to incorporate
Skype technology into her delivery services.
An IATP graduate from Batumi, Georgia, Lela
Verdzadze, is another example of IATP empowering
small business entrepreneurs through technical training.
Verdzadze used her newly acquired ICT skills to
plan, market, and run a private driving school with her
father. In December 2008, Verdzadze completed ICT
basics for small business owners at the IATP center
and has been an active IATP user ever since. Due to
high unemployment rates in Georgia, she decided to
become an independent entrepreneur. Verdzadze used
IATP's free internet access to investigate the best type
of business to open in her home city, visited the tax
department’s website to research the legal requirements
for opening a business, and prepared all necessary
documentation with the help of IATP computers.
In February 2009, Verdzadze and her father founded
their own driving school, offering theoretical and
practical lessons for those seeking a driver’s license.
Lela Verdzadze commented, “With the assistance of
the IATP center, I managed to obtain useful skills and
information and was able to open my own driving
school. To have an independent source of income is
really important considering the current unemployment
rate in the country.” In addition to Verdzadze’s
driving school, IATP users throughout Georgia have
opened furniture stores and salons, among other businesses
(http://iatpnews.typepad.com/iatp/2009/06/
another-user-launches-a-business-with-iatp-assistancein-georgia.html).
More than 145 farmers in Tajikistan acquired new ICT
skills since March 2009, thanks to a burgeoning joint
venture between ITAP and local NGOs committed to
helping develop the country’s agricultural sector. The
head of the Tajik agricultural NGO Lola Farming,
Rustam Nasriddinov, inspired the initiative by asking
IATP to conduct a mobile training-of-trainers (TOT)
course in February 2009. Nasriddinov coordinated the
February TOT session, which was designed to prepare
three NGO employees and five farmers to train farmers
in Tajikistan in basic computer skills, and demonstrate
how advanced technologies could help develop
their businesses. IATP training sessions and internet
access have helped the farmers in a host of ways.
Farmer Hojisobir Safoev reports that since his training
he has used the internet to become more familiar with
common livestock diseases. Safoev’s new knowledge
often helps him and his colleagues prevent, diagnose,
and treat animal health issues. Early care can make a
big difference; as Safoev explained, it can take a long
time for a veterinarian to visit ailing animals and in
some cases a farmer can lose livestock because of the
delay. A farmer from Vahdat, Safarov Islom, recounted
how his son sent him additives from Russia for his livestock
feed. When the package arrived, however, he
realized all of the directions had been rubbed off en
route and he did not know how much product to mix
with his feed. Thanks to IATP-supported training, Islom
researched the brand name online and learned how to
properly use the additives. Farmers trained through
Lola and IATP have even learned to conduct market
research on the internet to fairly price their products
and keep up-to-date with the latest developments in
their industry. As Nasriddinov explained, “Before most
of the farmers in my region used to conduct business
in the traditional way—buying and selling products at
the market. Now many of them do it online.” Some
farmers have even established clients and partners
abroad, shipping and selling their products to foreign
markets.
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B. Analysis of Objective 1 Impact
In pursuit of the objectives of IATP, during the program, the following outputs were
achieved throughout the countries of operation:
• 84,411 unique users visited IATP centers 672,349 times
• 38,292 new users came to IATP centers and started using IATP services
• 44,127 IATP users participated in 9,159 technical training sessions that were
carried out at IATP centers
In addition to IATP target groups in Objective 1, other large segments of the population
served include youth, the unemployed, and teachers. IATP also serves people
of diverse occupations and backgrounds. Participants in the latest IATP online survey
included healthcare workers, farmers, students, pensioners, and the unemployed.
ICT for All Ages
IATP serve the young and old alike. For young people, IATP centers largely serve as
educational centers. Youth make up the largest segment of IATP users in each of
the host countries. This statistic reveals that young
people are not getting sufficient training in ICT skills
or access to information through their own educational
system or from other resources. Seventy-one
percent of all IATP users are under the age of 30 and
69% of those trained were youth. IATP is played a
critical role in equipping the next generation with
the skills necessary to survive in a modern society
while that need is still not being met elsewhere.
Margarita Shapoval, 40, Head of the Literature and
Drama Department at Vinnitsa Puppet Theatre in
Ukraine, commented in a focus group discussion,
“All the time there are a lot of young people at the
IATP center. The IATP center is molding the culture
of the younger generation. It guides young people
and directs them to the best human priorities. I
would say [the IATP center] is forming the intellectuals
of our city.” A 47-year-old teacher from Imishli,
Azerbaijan, Ali Kasymov said, “My children visit the
center quite frequently, and I know it is a useful place for the local youth. They
learn new skills instead of just wasting their time.” 5
However, people of earlier generations are also frequent users at the centers. Since
2007, IATP trained over 3,400 people over the age of 50 and over 7,000 have used
other IATP services. In a recent focus group held in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, 51-year-old
doctor Natalya Polyakova talked about IATP’s outreach to various demographic
groups, “I like that the IATP center pays attention to older people, too. I appreciate
that I have found equal footing for communicating with young people. The IATP
center’s policy of including a variety of generations is good.”
According to the IATP users online survey, nearly all of those surveyed, no matter
their age, recognized that the knowledge and skills acquired through IATP services
was useful for their personal and professional development.
5 Midline focus group discussion report, Internet laggards group, Imishli, Azerbaijan, April 9, 2009
14

6 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Comrat, Gagauzia, Moldova, April 7, 2009
7 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Balkanabad, Turkmenistan, November 28,
ICT for Personal Development
The majority of the surveyed IATP users mentioned that
IATP-sponsored activities enhanced their personal lives.
Sixty percent of users reported finding a new hobby, 56%
established new contacts, and 49% became more selfconfident.
Many users reported having their world opened to a range of
new opportunities. Eighty-eight percent of surveyed IATP
users said they had undertaken an initiative that was informed
by and/or encouraged by their participation in
online IATP-sponsored activities. Ninety-one percent indicated
that IATP-sponsored activities helped them to accomplish
things they might never have been able to without the
resources provided by IATP.
New skills boost self-confidence and morale. A 33-year-old
teacher at Kindergarten No. 9 in Comrat, Gagauzia,
Moldova, Olga Novikova noticed that after IATP training her
authority among her colleagues increased. “I am new at the
kindergarten where I work but I am already very popular—
many people come to me asking me questions about computers
and internet. I rather enjoy it!” she said. 6
A 16-year-old high school student from Balkanabat, Turkmenistan,
Kseniya Sherbakova shared her experience with
her local IATP center. She says when she first came to the
center she was very shy and reserved. She explains, “[IT
training] was a significant boost for me. I acquired not only
computer and internet skills but also discovered my leadership
potential.” She also noted that the center made her
clarify her ambition in life and realize she wanted to set her
goals higher. 7
IATP has also served the needs of those with physical disabilities.
After completing her own training, in 2009 Director
of the Horezm Society for People with Disabilities in Urgench,
Uzbekistan, Nazira Safarbaeva organized IATP-led
mobile training for three young people in wheelchairs living
at her center. She now has plans to make the three into IT
trainers for other residents of the Society. In November
2008, radio journalist Sergiy Cherevko from Zhytomyr,
Ukraine, began conducting ICT skills training for visually impaired
IATP users after participating in IATP’s Sense Online
project in 2007. Cherevko, himself visually impaired, was
impressed by the opportunities ICT offers to blind and disabled
individuals. Through his own IATP training, Cherevko
learned about specially designed voice tools that facilitate
the social and professional integration of visually impaired
people, such as the Job Access with Speech (JAWS) voiceactivated
interface and the MaxReader audio library. Cherevko
commented, “I am pleased to know that my trainees
can work with computers and the internet. I realize that
everyday, the visually impaired are better able to integrate
into Ukraine's civil society and my efforts are rewarded”
15

(http://iatpnews.typepad.com/iatp/2009/02/visually-impairedjournalist-gives-disabled-young-people-the-skills-to-succeed.html).
When IATP volunteer Liza Tsoy of Ferghana, Uzbekistan, learned
her friends with hearing impairments wished to learn ICT skills, she
figured out a way to make it happen. The 20-year-old university
student decided to teach herself sign language, recruit the assistance
of three other volunteer signers, and bring 13 young people
with hearing impairments to the IATP center in
Ferghana during the summer of 2009 to learn both
computer and internet basics—providing interpretation
through the entire length of the training. Many
others in Turkmenistan, Moldova, Azerbaijan, and
Tajikistan have increased their personal and professional
capacities by developing competency and
confidence in ICT skills through IATP training.
Most IATP users surveyed report using their new
skills for educational or professional purposes.
Eighty-six percent of recently surveyed IATP users
report they use the knowledge and skills acquired at
IATP centers in their education and/or career
“frequently” or “from time-to-time,” and 94% used
them at least once.
ICT for Professional Development
IATP has had a clear impact on the social and economic
status of IATP users surveyed: 10% of the respondents secured
a job, another 10% found better paying employment, 5%
were accepted into a university, and another 5% opened a business
of their own—all as a direct result of the internet access or training
afforded by the program. Nineteen percent of survey participants
reported learning to organize community events thanks to IATPsponsored
activities, and 88% of surveyed IATP users have undertaken
an initiative that was informed by and/or encouraged by
their participation in online IATP-sponsored activities.
A medical specialist from Urgench, Uzbekistan, Zulfia Rakhmanova
said, “Thanks to IATP technical training, I can now search for professional
medical information on the internet and use the knowledge
I find about disease prevention and treatment in my practice.”
8 A 58-year-old education specialist from Comrat, Gagauzia,
Moldova, Sofia Rusu noted, “I work with a lot of educators and
from what I’ve seen, IATP helps teachers tremendously with integrating
IT into their lessons, which benefit their students. This
helps them increase their professional qualifications at the same
time. Teachers themselves clearly understand the importance of
IT.” 9
Focus group discussions revealed that the main stimulus prompting
individuals to come to IATP centers was to learn ICT skills to develop
themselves professionally and find jobs. Difficult socioeconomic
situations (especially in rural areas), the financial crisis,
the growing technological gap between untrained citizens, and
new, modern employment requirements send many people in
search of new skills to compete for decent jobs in the modern
world.
8 IATP trainees online survey, October, 7—November 27, 2008
Focus group discussions revealed
that the main stimulus
prompting individuals to
come to IATP centers was
to learn ICT skills to develop
themselves professionally
and find jobs.
16
9 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Comrat, Gagauzia, M

Implementation of
knowledge and
skills acquired
thanks to IATP.
Question sought
opinions of respondents
who:
Use acquired
skills in
education/
career frequently
or
sometimes
Said IATPsponsored
activities
helped
them accomplish
things
they might
not otherwise
have
been able
to accomplish
Undertook an
initiative that
was informed
and/or encouraged
by
participation
in online
IATP- sponsored
activities
Learned new
ideas/
information
from participation
in
IATP networking
events
Think there
is greater
transparency
and
information
available on
the internet
from local
sources
because of
IATP
Thought that
internet was
just for sending
emails,
but after attending
IATP
activities now
use it in work
and to perform
research
Azerbaijan 100% 100% 100% 96% 100% 100%
Belarus 84% 90% 78% 59% 55% 75%
Georgia 91% 90% 88% 85% 82% 85%
Moldova 82% 96% 71% 89% 71% 88%
Tajikistan 78% 97% 93% 73% 82% 85%
Turkmenistan 65% 92% 96% 68% 74% 86%
Ukraine 94% 93% 92% 70% 83% 73%
Uzbekistan 85% 94% 96% 71% 49% 80%
Table 3:
User
survey
data, 672
respondents
A 56-year-old information center consultant from Vinnitsa,
Ukraine, Lyudmila Pikovskaya said, “People
coming to the IATP center have opportunities to acquire
new knowledge, broaden their experience, and,
finally, become employed.” 10 As 24-year-old interpreter
from Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova, Anya
Novoselova explained, “Employers need qualified employees.
That is why there have been situations in
which employers demanded that their workers learn
computer and internet skills or they would be
fired.” 11 As thirty-one-year-old doctor from Imishli,
Azerbaijan Arzu Salmanovasaid, “These days it is important
to have computer skills in order to find a
job”. 12 A public servant from Zhitomir, Ukraine, Irina
Perlovich said that the knowledge acquired at IATP
technical training helped her keep her job and stay
afloat in this time of financial crisis. 13
Anzhela Razuvaeva was a 39-year-old low-paid economics
instructor from Tiraspol, Transnistria,
Moldova. She came to IATP training to make herself
more competitive in her hunt for a better-paying job,
a transition she decided was impossible without a
solid understanding of computer and internet skills.
She signed up for nearly every technical training IATP
offers—computer and internet basics, MS Office suite
applications, and later more advanced IT courses on
creating websites, wiki pages, and blogs. After completing
all the courses, she was a competitive candidate
for the director’s assistant position at the local
meteorological center and quickly landed the job.
Now she is responsible for book-keeping, processing
documents, and communicating with the press. In addition,
she noted, “I was noticed at my work and my
colleagues asked me to help in dealing with this or
that document. They asked where I learned all of my
knowledge and I told them it was all from an IATP
center. After hearing that, three of my colleagues
started visiting the center themselves.” 14 Twentytwo-year-old
journalist Razi Samedov from Imishli,
Azerbaijan, was an unemployed student before he
started coming to the IATP center. “I had been
searching a long time for an interesting career and I
finally found what I was looking for after I learned
computer and internet skills at the IATP center,” he
said. 15 Gulshan Kabrailova from Shirvan, Azerbaijan,
said she could not find a job because she lacked computer
skills. After enrolling in computer and internet
training with IATP, she reported a short time later she
had already found a job. 16
Free technical training and internet access not only
help individuals develop professionally, they help develop
the effectiveness and capacity of local organizations
as well. Head of the Literature and Drama Department
of the Vinnitsa Puppet Theatre in Vinnitsa,
Ukraine, Margarita Shapoval expanded the activities
of the theater and insisted it acquire a computer and
internet connection. “All our work is computer-based
and now we regularly correspond with international
partners through e-mail,” she reported. She added
that establishing new contacts abroad led them to
organize an international theater festival recently.
“Our puppet theater can now share its experience
with other theaters worldwide, and our staff regularly
visit the websites of our colleagues abroad to keep up
with new trends in our sector. We are now informed
about cultural events in the world thanks to the IATP
center and the internet access we get there.” 17
10 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Vinnitsa, Ukraine, April 2, 1009
11 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova, April 6, 2009
12 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Imishli, Axerbaijan, April 9, 2009
13 IATP trainees online survey, October 7-Noember 27, 2008; 14 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova, April 9, 2009
15 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Imishli, Azerbaijan, April 9, 2009
16 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Shirvan, Azerbaijan, April 10, 2009; 17 Midline focus group discussion report, Vinnitsa, Ukraine, April 2, 2009
17

A 37-year-old veterinarian from Imishli, Azerbaijan
Mehman Aliev created a website for his work to raise
public health awareness. With IATP guidance, Aliev
created a website on highly contagious and rare animal
diseases. “After our website went up, we received
a lot of inquires about a new strain of rabies
and the avian flu. We conducted some research on
the internet and then provided medical advice and
recommendations to the public. We couldn’t have
managed this work so efficiently without the resource
of the IATP center,” he said.
Another community-oriented initiative was spearheaded
by teacher and head of a local NGO in
Imishli Kudrat Zeinalov. He reports the IATP center
helped him prepare a grant proposal to improve the
infrastructure of his rural community. His proposal
was selected and the project will be awarded AZM
36,000 ($41,000) to renovate rural roads in the region.
18
The effectiveness of IATP technical training was explored
during the IATP Trainees online survey. The
survey revealed that 100% of the surveyed IATP
training participants found the knowledge and experience
they acquired at IATP training “useful” or
“very useful” for their academic and professional
activities.
Elena Vashishina, an accomplished singer from Zhitomir,
Ukraine, was able to search for international
music competitions in Poland and Belarus in which
to compete after taking IATP internet training. As a
result, her chorus took first prize in Poland.
“Everything started from internet training,” Vashishina
noted. 19
Sofia Rusu, history teacher and head of the Methodology
Center of the Gagauzian Education Department
from Comrat, Gagauzia, Moldova, explained in
a focus group how she used IT skills to help address
social issues with her students. Rusu sent 56 of her
high school students to IREX technical training at the
IATP center in Comrat as initial preparation for a
class on domestic violence. With their new skills, the
class carried out a small project during which they
discovered two cases of domestic violence in their
school. Two girls experienced extreme pressure from
their parents to bring home the highest grades and
when they earned less than perfect grades, the girls
were severely punished for it. The classmates conducted
internet research and located information to
help educate the girls about resources available to
them that might help improve their relationship with
their parents. 20
IREX’s IATP program touches many aspects of people’s
lives. Fifty-one percent of surveyed IATP training
participants used their skills in their personal
lives, while 58% used their skills for professional development.
Thirty-eight percent stated their acquired
knowledge and skills helped them in the academic
sphere and 25% used their training in the social
sphere. Almost all agreed (99%) that ICT skills
gained through IATP training improved their connection
to people and/or other organizations.
ICT for Educational Development
In a focus group discussion, history teacher and head
of the Methodology Center of Gaugazia’s Department
of Education in Moldova, Sofia Rusu, explained
how an IATP center is regularly incorporated in history
classes of local high schools. In the autonomous
and diverse region, teachers do not merely rely on
textbooks to teach national and regional history.
With the help of free internet access at the local
IATP center, teachers asked students to research a
historical event on the internet and find competing
accounts describing the same event, learning to
evaluate source credibility in the process. As Rusu
explains, “At the IATP center, our history teachers
and their students search for information from different
perspectives of history. We look for different
sources on the Web and various historical documents.
Thus, we provide students—and even teachers—with
the opportunity to draw their own conclusions
based upon different points of view and different
sources of information. Both teachers and students
learn to do research, analyze information and
draw their own conclusions, and, in the process they
develop a deeper understanding of history and perhaps
a more informed kind of patriotism.” 21
Forty-year-old head of the Literature and Drama Department
at Vinnitsa Puppet Theatre in Ukraine,
Margarita Shapoval also spoke about the gap IATP
centers fill for educational systems that have not
been fully modernized. “We come to the IATP center,
and we see…how many people are learning computer
and internet skills. At the time I graduated
from school, the educational system was completely
different and people of my generation definitely experience
gaps in our education. IATP is filling this
gap very well. People trained at IATP not only receive
knowledge and skills, but as a result, they
then use these skills to benefit the whole of society,”
Shapoval observed. 22
18 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Imishli, Azerbaijan, April 9, 2009
19 IATP Trainees Online Survey, October7—November 27, 2008
20 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Comrat, Gagauzia, Moldova, April 7, 2009
21 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Comrat, Gagauzia, Moldova, April 7, 2009
22 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Vinnitsa, Ukraine, April 2, 2009
18

Thanks to IATP’s assistance and resources, 57-yearold
teacher Rustam Badalov equipped his rural
school in Ferghana, Uzbekistan, with a computer lab
and offered an after-school ICT program to interested
students. Badalov received his own ICT training
from IATP in 2001. Badalov is an English teacher
at a school more than 30 km away from the IATP
center in Ferghana. His school had a computer science
teacher, but lacked the skills (and the equipment)
to properly train students. Badalov began
bringing groups of his students (and later students
from other schools) to the IATP center in Ferghana
to receive ICT training. In 2003, he applied for and
acquired ten computers through IREX’s Computers
for Schools in Uzbekistan program. Now with equipment
at the school, Badalov himself began holding
IATP training sessions in computer and internet basics
after school, to make the lessons more convenient
for students. During school, he began to incorporate
ICT into his English classes and then helped
other interested teachers use the computer room to
do the same. In collaboration with IATP, Badalov is
credited with bringing ICT education to more than
1,000 students who might otherwise not have access
in rural Ferghana. Recently, he learned that a former
student to whom he had taught computer skills
went on to study IT at a university and is now being
hired as his school’s new computer science teacher.
C. Evaluating IATP Internet
Access and Technical
Training
Nearly half (47%) of surveyed IATP users report not
having been able to use computers and the internet
before coming to an IATP center. Almost all of the
respondents (81%) found IATP guidance an important
factor in their ICT education admitting that before
IATP they had no clear idea what the internet was
and thought it was just for sending e-mails.
Kindergarten teacher Olga Novikova from Comrat,
Gagauzia, Moldova, shared her thoughts at a focus
group discussion, “After learning computer science
at my university, I couldn’t even press the necessary
keys on a keyboard, [after IATP training] I can do
complicated things and now even my ten-year-old
son is impressed.” 23 Tatiana Rusnac, a 50-year-old
librarian from Chisinau, Moldova, said, “Even though
there is a lot of new information to learn, day-byday
I feel more confident with what I’m doing—I’m
not afraid of a computer any more.” 24
According to focus group discussions in all of the
host countries surveyed, assistance from IATP administrators
(as well as occasionally from other IATP users)
when conducting Web research is a highly valued
resource of IREX’s program and distinguishes
IATP centers from internet cafes and other internet
access centers. Center administrators routinely help
guide users in the most effective way to retrieve information
from the internet (i.e. suggesting key
words/phrases for well-refined searches, referring
users to relevant websites, etc.). Georgian IT student,
Natia Terunashvili, finally realized after visits
to the local IATP center the importance of setting
objectives when conducting research on the internet
and connected it to the overall efficiency of using
the internet as a source of information, “If people
use the internet without any purpose or intention,
then there won’t be any use for the internet—not for
the user personally, nor for society.” 25 At another
focus group discussion, Lyudmila Pikovskaya, a 56-
year-old Information Center consultant from Vinnitsa,
Ukraine, drew this conclusion when speaking
about what makes IATP users different from those
who had not yet visited the IATP center, “IATP users
know better what they want—they have goals, they
know how to search for information, and they are
more purposeful.” Another focus group participant in
Ukraine, Margarita Shapoval of the Vinnitsa Puppet
Theatre added, “People who visit the IATP center
always help each other. If somebody has more expertise
in something than someone else, they assist
the other. [The IATP center] is also a place to exchange
ideas and experiences.” 26 Vladimir Bogat, a
40-year-old teacher and author of child development
books from Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova, said, “I
use the IATP center for my work, for communication
with my publishers abroad.” Further into the focus
group discussion he noted, “I would not be able to
[use the internet for my work] if I did not get assistance
from the people working [at the IATP center].
They show me resources and websites that are useful
to me.” Also from Tiraspol, Transnistria,
Moldova, economics student Mariya Bevz, said that
she faced a lack of information in local libraries on
the topic of consulting while writing her thesis. In
her opinion, the internet was the only source that
could provide the information she needed as consulting
was still a new topic. “If I did not know the appropriate
website to go to, administrators would always
suggest a direction. They know my needs well
and they care for us. In computer clubs, administrators
don’t care,” she noted. 27
24 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Chisinau, Moldova, April 2, 2009
25 Midline focus group discussion report , Internet laggards group, Gori, Georgia, April 14, 2009
26 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Vinnitsa, Ukraine, April 2, 2009
27 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova, April 6, 2009
19

Most surveyed IATP users rated IATP centers’ work
very highly. In rating different aspects of IATP center
services, respondents gave the highest marks to: IATP
assistance to visitors (98%), IATP administrators’ helpfulness
and politeness (99%), IATP center’s rules and
office hours (99%), IATP safety provisions at centers
(98%), convenience of IATP center locations (98%) and
IATP accessibility to free services (99%). Internet connection
and computer equipment at the centers were
rated highly as well, at 91% and 92% respectively.
Technical training and free internet access at IATP
centers is considered a rare resource as IT skills are
becoming more and more a necessity in people’s
lives. Razi Samedov, a 22-year-old journalism student
from Imishli, Azerbaijan, noted, “It is important for
me that IATP provides training free of charge. It is
the only place in the region that provides free technical
training.” 28 Ketevan Revazishvili of Gori, Georgia,
commented, “It was easy to learn at the IATP center.
If we didn’t know something there were always people
eager to help.” 29 Nina Yurchenko, a 55-year-old
laboratory assistant at a tuberculosis hospital in Balkanabat,
Turkmenistan, said she came to the IATP
center because new systems at work required IT skills
and enabled them to meet modern medical standards.
30 IATP users in her town of Balkanabat noted
that the IATP center is the only place where the public
can acquire IT skills for free. They explained there
are other public training centers but classes cost approximately
$50 a piece—a price well beyond the
means of the majority of the local population, who
earns only $200/month on average. 31
Fifty-one-year-old doctor from Vinnitsa, Ukraine Natalya
Polyakova, said, “IATP users have more access
to information and are more aware of what is going
on. As a doctor, I always use online resources for my
professional development. I always check websites of
the Ministry of Public Health and the Sanitary and
Epidemiologic Institute. This allows me to be one step
ahead of my colleagues.” 32 Anna Kroytor, Director of
Kindergarten No. 9 in Comrat, Gagauzia, said that
Gagauzia has a predominantly Russian-speaking population,
and that any professional information published
in Moldovan was largely inaccessible. “The
internet introduced us to a host of Russian-language
resources on methodologies for teaching preschoolers
that have been very useful for our work,”
Kroytor said. 33 Besik Elinidze, a 35-year-old guesthouse
owner in Telavi, Georgia, commented, “Thanks
to access to the internet at the center I started to
understand and practice the principles of a market
economy. For instance, I can research my competitors’
prices on the Web and adjust my prices accordingly,
in order to make them more competitive.” 34
Technical training at IATP centers has been designed
to be technically comprehensive while at the same
time simple to understand and practical in its application.
Survey respondents noted that often their
knowledge from IATP training was deeper than that of
their colleagues and friends who had not participated
in IATP technical training. Focus group participant
Mariya Bevz, from Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova,
said it was her friends with computers in their home
that advised her to take courses at the IATP center in
Tiraspol. After completing training, she compared her
skills to those of her friends and was surprised that,
“Now I use the computer and internet better by far
than my friends. Even though they’ve had a computer
in their home, they only know how to do basic
things.” 35 IATP user Maksim Shirnin, a 25-year-old
psychologist from Vinnitsya, Ukraine, took computer
classes years ago in BASIC OS. He realized his knowledge
had become obsolete with the introduction of
MS Windows technology and decided he had to learn a
new set of skills. Commenting on the IATP technical
training, he said, “I am astonished at how clearly and
concisely the IATP technical training is presented.
I’ve been to other training; the way others present
the material leaves much to be desired.” 36
The fact that IREX’s IT training is free at IATP centers
makes the program unique and in high demand. In
fact 88% of surveyed IATP training participants knew
of no other place where they could participate in the
kind of free technical training that IATP centers offer;
37 99% said they would recommend IATP training
to others.
In fact, satisfied trainees were often the best recruiters
of new IATP training participants. Antonina
Vakarchuk, 52, is the director of the NGO “Youth
League Volunteer Center” in Comrat, Gagauzia,
Moldova. With IATP assistance, the NGO developed
an official letterhead and created a website. During a
focus group discussion she noted, “It is hard to work
with people who can’t work with a computer.” So she
sent her NGO employees to IATP technical training at
the IATP center in Comrat. In addition, she recommends
IATP training to the youth with whom her NGO
works. “There are a lot of people who come to our
center who need computer skills. We provide them
28 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Imishli, Azerbaijan, April 9, 2009; 29 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Gori, Georgia, April 14, 2009
30 Midline focus group discussion report, Internet laggards group, Balkanabad, Turkmenistan, Novebmer 28, 2008
31 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Balkanabad, Turkmenistan, November 28, 2008
32 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Vinnitsa, Ukraine, April 2, 2009
33 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Comrat, Gagauzia, Moldova, April 7, 2009
34 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Telavi, Georgia, April 15, 2009
35 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova, April 6, 2009
36 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Vinnitsa, Ukraine, April 2, 2009
37 IATP trainees online survey, October 27—November 7, 2008
20

IATP center contacts where they can get free computer training,” Vakarchuk noted. 38 Elena Krinichnaya, a
27-year-old foreign language teacher in Vinnitsa, Ukraine, first came to the IATP center when she herself was
a student. Now, she brings her own students to IATP internet basics training courses. “The computer classes
at school are very weak. With IATP training, the students now have access to endless amounts of information
through the internet access
at the IATP center,” she
said. She explains that she
and her colleagues regularly
use the IATP center for conducting
classes and better
incorporate modern technology
in their lessons. 39
Satisfied with their own
IATP training, countless
numbers of business owners,
government office
managers, NGO directors,
university rectors have sent
their staff to an IATP center
to receive training to develop
their organizations.
User survey data, 672 respondents, Table 4
Where did you learn
to use computer
and internet?
IATP
center
School/
university
Work Self-taught Friends
Azerbaijan 96% 4% 0% 0% 0%
Belarus 32% 19% 6% 34% 6%
Georgia 60% 15% 4% 6% 4%
Moldova 23% 47% 6% 21% 4%
Tajikistan 29% 39% 3% 24% 3%
Turkmenistan 50% 8% 0% 24% 12%
Ukraine 58% 13% 5% 19% 2%
Uzbekistan 57% 10% 3% 24% 4%
Focus group discussions revealed that IATP users and trainees sometimes had other opportunities to receive
training or internet access for free; what kept them coming back to IATP centers was the quality of service
they found there. Besik Elinidze, a 35-year-old lawyer and guesthouse owner from Telavi, Georgia, said, “We
do have several centers where we can get access to the internet—some of them are free of charge, some of
them are not. But we like the IATP center’s quality of service, which is above and beyond the rest.” 40 Many
respondents discussed the problems of trying to gain technical skills at a school or university. Victoria Letodiani,
a 21-year-old student at the Georgian Technical
University emphasized the importance of IATP
technical training even for students who were supposed
to have IT training at schools and universities.
Speaking about the computer course curricula
at her university, she said, “All classes at school
were mainly about theory. We wrote down theoretical
material and without a computer I forgot
everything. We have a new computer lab at the
university, but students have limited access to it.”
She added that students were advised to look for
on their own ways to develop their skills. Nana
Kvitsiani, a 23-year-old international relations
post-graduate student in Georgia, noted, “We
didn’t have information science classes at my university.
It was expected we already had learned IT
skills.” 41 Shirin Ataeva, a 17-year-old girl from
Turkmenabat, Turkmenistan, reported, “We had
computer classes at school, but it was mainly
about theory. We wrote down lectures and had lab assignments approximately once a month. At least for the
lab assignments we were allowed to use computers. That gave us some practice.” 42
Of the IATP users who were surveyed about where they first learned to use a computer and navigate the
internet, over half of the respondents (in five out of eight countries with IATP centers) reported they learned
their skills primarily from an IATP center and not from school, work, not friends, or on their own.
38 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Comrat, Gagauzia, Moldova, April 7, 2009
39 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Vinnitsa, Ukraine, April 2, 2009
40 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Telavi, Georgia, April 15, 2009
41 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Tbilisi, Georgia, April 13, 2009
42 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Turkmenabat, Turkmenistan, December 4, 2008
21

D. IATP Centers as Communication and Information
Resources
IATP centers providing free access to the internet
are vital networks of communication and information
in their communities. When users were asked
what sources they turn to for information, the majority
in seven out of eight IATP host countries
turned to IATP centers as their primary source of
information.
User survey data, 672 respondents, Table 5
Where do
you turn for
information?
IATP centers more
than other sources
of information
IATP centers as
much as other
sources of information
According to the focus group discussions held in
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Tajikistan,
and Turkmenistan, respondents said for most people
in their country the primary sources of information
were still TV, radio, periodicals (local newspapers
and magazines), and communication with friends,
relatives and colleagues.
Many IATP users preferred the internet as a resource
because it more effectively provided access to diverse
perspectives on issues and events. Many
claimed when they did not have access to the internet
they felt they were not as fully informed. Valeri
Sukhitashvili, 20-year-old IT student of Gori University
in Georgia said, “We get the information we are
given by different TV channels, which are mostly
subjective in the way they portray the news. When
we use the internet as well, we often get conflicting
opinions about what’s happening, broadening our
perspective.” 43 Svetlana Casian, a 47-year-old librarian
from Chisinau, Moldova, added, “There are dif
IATP centers less than
other sources of information
Azerbaijan 96% 4% 0%
Belarus 55% 33% 12%
Georgia 80% 15% 4%
Moldova 46% 42% 12%
Tajikistan 76% 22% 2%
Turkmenista
n
60% 28% 12%
Ukraine 61% 26% 13%
Uzbekistan 60% 21% 19%
ferent sources of information on the Web, it helps to
see different points of view and then draw our own
conclusions. Especially in the situation that is in our
country now, when one cannot trust all that is
broadcasted on the TV and radio.” 44
At a focus group discussion in Comrat, Gagauzia,
Moldova, Antonina Vakarchuk, Director of the local
NGO “Youth League Volunteer Center” shared the
results of a survey their NGO had recently conducted
on the eve of parliamentary elections in
Moldova. The NGO surveyed over 900 young people
living in remote villages in Moldova about
their access to information about the
elections. The survey found that young
people living in remote areas still had
limited information regarding the elections.
She noted the young people recognized
that radio, TV and local newspapers
provided biased information and that
they desired more access to information
through the internet. Approximately 60%
of the surveyed youth said that a weak
internet connection in rural areas and
lack of computer and internet skills prevent
youth from having access to full information.
Vakarchuk also shared her experience at a recent
international workshop for young people where the
issue of access to information was discussed. The
event was held not long after the Russian-Georgian
conflict in August 2008. She reports many young
people commented that because they had access to
the internet they were able to get first-hand accounts
of what was going on rather than just relying
on media reports. She reports several commented
that they were able to draw their own conclusions
about Georgian military actions because they received
their information not from newspapers, not
from TV, but from eye-witness accounts from people
in Georgia. Vakarchuk concluded, “[The internet] is
valuable for people, especially for youth, because
they might reappraise some things from history and
think in a different way about the future of the
country.” 45
43 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards, Gori, Georgia, April 14, 2009
44 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Chisinau, Moldova, April 2, 2009
45 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Comrat, Gagauzia, Moldova, April 7, 2009
22

Libraries were also sometimes mentioned as an information
resource but many noted that libraries
were often outdated and sometimes inconvenient.
Tamar Kasradze, a 31-year-old woman from Tbilisi,
Georgia, who worked as a therapist before the military
actions of August 2008, said, “A library is a good
source of information but sometimes it is not sufficient
as the information there is outdated; it doesn’t
have resources to modern ideas.” 46 Steliana Celac, a
librarian herself from Chisinau, Moldova, endorsed
the internet as a resource, “Having broader access
to information is a great asset. You may find various
bits of information at just one click of the button.”
In focus group discussions users also addressed the
convenience of conducting research on the Web as
opposed to other methods. Teona Baliashvili, a 19-
year-old student of Gori State University in Georgia,
said, “The internet is better than any other source
of information because individuals can find all the
news and information they want there.” 47 Arzu Salmanova,
a 31-year-old doctor from Imishli, Azerbaijan,
adds that the internet is more efficient in accessing
information, “For example, looking for information
through a book could take me an hour to locate
while searching for it on the Web might just
take a few minutes.” 48 Natalya Polyakova, a doctor
from Vinnitsa, Ukraine, compared libraries and the
internet in terms of convenience, “Medical journals
are available in the library but it is impossible to
take them home. Medical information on the internet
is abundant and I can access it anywhere I have
an internet connection.” 49 Djalon Umarov, a 47-yearold
businessman from Dushanbe, Tajikistan, went as
far as to say, “The internet makes our lives easier
and can easily replace all other sources of information.”
50
IATP was of particular value to people in places or
under circumstances that make them more isolated
than others. For countries with restricted access to
information like Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus,
or for communities with limited access to information
due to geographical isolation in remote,
mountainous regions such as those in Tajikistan, IATP
centers played a critical role as communication and
information centers.
In other countries, there is the form of isolation
stemming from cultural traditions. In Azerbaijan,
especially in rural communities, women are restricted
from visiting public places due to religious
considerations. Azerbaijani girls and women are devoid
of a public space where they can communicate
and exchange information and, as a result, they live
in informational isolationism. But when IREX visited
its IATP centers in Azerbaijan, rather than finding
another place full of men only, they found that the
community had embraced the IATP centers as a safe
place for their wives and daughters to visit. The IATP
centers in the small Azerbaijani towns of Imlishi and
Shirvan were in fact full of girls and women who
were learning new skills and exchanging ideas. Focus
group participant and Peace Corps volunteer, Hanna
Stark, who was working in Imishli noted that the
IATP center is the only place in town where women
could go to learn new skills, use the internet, and
communicate with others. The IATP center had
earned the respect and trust of the community and
was therefore considered to be a safe place for
women to congregate outside the home. Lala
Agaeva, a high school student from Imishli, said,
“For those women who can’t go to other public
places this IATP center is a place where they can
come and learn. It provides safety unlike other internet
clubs in Imishli where the majority of visitors are
men.” Arzu Salmanova, a doctor from Imishli,
shared, “The majority of IATP center’s visitors are
women. This center is the only place in the region
where women can come easily. It is convenient for
them to come to a place where there are a lot of
women and where they can learn new information
and communicate. Parents and husbands of those
women know that the place is safe and trust the
IATP center.” Further during the discussion she
added, “We would like to have more centers, especially
for women.” 51
48 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Tbilisi, Georgia, April 13, 2009
49 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Gori, Georgia, April 14, 2009
50 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Imishli, Azerbaijan, April 9, 2009
51 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Vinnitsa, Ukraine, April 2, 2009
52 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, October 20, 2008.
23

E. IATP Centers and
Libraries
The collaborative partnership between IREX and libraries
has always been a natural fit. IATP and public
libraries share the same basic goal—to provide society
with access to information and resources—and they
share the same principle—that access be free and
available to all. In fact, most new IATP centers were
initially partnered with local libraries, in a mutually
beneficial relationship that has been a boon to the
whole community.
As government funds dried up, library collections and
services suffered. Therefore one of the most important
goals of IREX’s Internet Access and Training Program
was to revitalize these natural information hubs
in communities, bringing them and thereby the whole
community into the information and technology age.
IATP trained library staff across Eurasia in computer
technology and then helped them design more efficient,
effective library services. E-catalogues replaced
card catalogues and free, often rare internet
access enhanced library resources to make public libraries
once again a vital space for exploring the
world of knowledge.
Librarian and IATP user from Chisinau, Moldova,
Nelea Gitu, easily made the connection, “We need
the knowledge that we receive [through IATP training]
so we can improve the performance of our library.”
53 Her colleague, Irina Scorpan, added,
“Computer skills are important because it improves
the quality of our work, and makes it easier to serve
the students that come to the library.” 54 IATP user
and Director of the Central Library in Shirvan, Azerbaijan,
Iltifat Nabiev, noted, “The employees of our
library are training at the center and have already
learned a lot. The training enables them to broaden
their outlook and increase their capacity. The number
of library visitors has already increased – they enjoy
the services of both the library and the IATP center.”
He added before the IATP program, his colleagues
knew absolutely nothing about computers and the
internet. 55
ICT skills for librarians are not only important for
modernizing library services but in keeping librarians
tapped into the global world of information. Maria
Calancea, a 55-year-old librarian from Chisinau,
Moldova, commented in a focus group discussion,
“Being a librarian means that you are an important
center of information, so we come to the IATP center
in order to become acquainted with global information,
not only the information that our library provides.”
Her colleague, Elena Cortac, agreed, “We are
very glad that someone finally paid attention to librarians,
too, because it is absolutely vital that we
stay in touch with the development of the informational
world.” She added, “IATP helps the library by
offering computer training. In this way, we become a
true information center for the community.” 56
Internet users at IATP centers in libraries have also
been useful to the library in helping keep up-to-date
on the most accurate information. ltifat Nabiev, Director
of the Central Library in Shirvan, Azerbaijan,
noted, “Our readers who use internet sometimes provide
the library with information that is missing on
the websites of the Ministry of Culture or the National
Library, for example, sometimes they inform us about
rare books or editions that are not represented in the
library.” 57
Even after IATP graduates a center and transfers the
management of the center to a local partner they remain
vital capacity-building tools for the partners;
libraries are no exception. An example is the National
Library of the Kyrgyz Republic, which partnered with
IATP through June 2008, when IATP in Kyrgyzstan
closed and transferred the centers to local partners.
After graduation, the National Library of the Kyrgyz
Republic introduced online access to the Russian
State Library’s dissertations database for scholars,
researchers, and students. The center became the
only place in the country providing online access to
scientific papers and research by Russian scholars.
53 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Chisinau, Moldova, April 2, 2009
54 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Chisinau, Moldova, April 2, 2009
55 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Shirvan, Azerbaijan, April 10, 2009
56 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Chisinau, Moldova, April 2, 2009
57 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Shirvan, Azerbaijan, April 10, 2009
24

F. IATP Responds to Internally
Displaced Persons’
(IDPs) Needs in
Georgia
Military action between the Georgian and Russian armies
in August 2008 left an estimated 10,000 families
in the separatist regions displaced, homeless, and unemployed.
IATP centers in Georgia mobilized and responded
decisively to the needs of this new IDP community,
even opening a new center in Gori where
many of the IDPs are clustered. Starting in August
2008, IATP applied significant resources in Georgia to
equip and empower IDPs to overcome post-war challenges.
To date, over 300 IDPs have participated in
IATP technical training since the August conflict,
leading a number to secure new employment and begin
to restart their lives.
ncp.ge.iatp.net/), and Kartuli Dasi (http://
kartulidasi.ge.iatp.net/). So in January 2009, when
17-year-old IDP Merab Gurchiani needed to give voice
to his concerns, their websites were ready and waiting.
Gurchiani emailed them a list of his concerns
about the very poor housing conditions in which he
and many other IDPs in Tbilisi were living. He told
them about their lack of food and bedding and toiletries
and many other necessities. In response, the political
movement IWSG sent a representative to investigate
the problem and then organized a drive to collect
the items they desperately lacked including food,
bedding, toiletries, school supplies, among many
other things. IWSG representative Irina Sukhishvili
said, “After considering many methods, simple technology
turned out to be the most effective means for
communicating with our constituents. After we developed
the website, numerous citizens have contacted
us to share or receive information, including 17 yearold
Merab Gurchiani.” 60
In August 2008, during military actions and during the
initial post-war period when national mobile telephone
services failed, IATP services were uninterrupted.
In a network of centers across Georgia, IDPs
could contact family members and friends via the
internet to assure them of their safety and were able
to get information about loved ones left behind in the
separatist regions. 58
In October 2008, IATP organized an online forum linking
Georgian government officials, NGO leaders, and
nearly 40 concerned Georgian citizens—including refugees
and internally displaced persons (IDPs)—to discuss
the aftermath of the war. The online discussion
at http://forum.iatp.ge allowed forum participants to
hear expert opinions on the recent conflict, question
NGO leaders on their plans for supporting IDPs, and
report on the conditions of those currently housed in
Tbilisi shelters. The forum also provided an opportunity
for Ministry officials to communicate some of the
obstacles and considerations surrounding humanitarian
aid provision. This event was the beginning of an
open dialogue between state officials, NGOs and IDPs
that has resulted in more effective government response
to the needs of IDPs. 59
Earlier in the year, IATP partnered with the USAIDfunded
International Republican Institute (IRI) to train
14 representatives from various political organizations
and parties and assist three in developing their own
party websites: Industry Will Save Georgia (IWSG)
(http://mgs.ge.iatp.net/), New Rights (http://
58 IATP Georgia News, August 2008
59 IATP Georgia News, October 2008
60 IATP Georgia News, April 2009
These and many other IATP initiatives provided better
access to information and a reestablishment of communication
between parties involved in serving IDPs
needs, contributing to the post-war rehabilitation
process in the country. In April 2009, IATP carried out
an internal evaluation of IATP activities in Georgia as
a part of the IATP monitoring and evaluation plan.
During the course of the evaluation, focus groups
were held in Tbilisi and Gori—locations with high IDP
populations.
During focus group discussions, IDPs mentioned the
lack of information available during the military actions
as one of the most significant difficulties they
experienced.
25

Givi Sabanishvili, a 20-year-old university student, whose family was forced to relocate
to Gori from his South Ossetian village due to the conflict, said they experienced
an informational vacuum. Valeri Sukhitashvili, an IT student at Gori State University,
reported, “Georgian websites were blocked during the war, which created a lack of
information for Georgian citizens.” 61 Through IATP technical training and free internet
access at its centers, IATP rendered access to information to many who felt isolated.
Nana Kvitsiani from Tbilisi, a 23-year-old post-graduate IT student noted, “I
have been coming to the IATP center for one month. The IATP center gave me selfconfidence,
confidence that…I can read the news [on the internet] and have access to
the latest information.”
The IDPs who participated in the focus group discussions in Tbilisi and Gori
emphasized the fact that the main reason they came to an IATP center
was to become more employable. The majority of the surveyed IATP users
who participated in the focus group discussions in Gori and Tbilisi did not
have sufficient computer and internet skills before they came to IATP
centers. All respondents stressed the fact that computer skills are a must
for finding a job. IATP centers equip IDPs with computer and internet
skills to empower them to compete for jobs in their new environments.
IDP Madona Gugushvili, a 57-year-old teacher who was without a job after
the conflict, noted that IATP training provided her with renewed optimism
about the future, “I became more self-confident at IATP technical training.
I hope to find a good job after the training.” 62 Vladimir Turmanidze is
already a success story. The 24 year-old lost his job at the Bank of Georgia
in Gori after the conflict. He started taking training at the IATP center
in Gori to improve his skills and was so adept at ICT skills (including Web
design) that when the IATP administrator heard about an opening at the Gori municipality
for webmaster, he recommended Turmanidze for the job. 63 He has already designed
a new website for the government office which is up and running:
www.gori.ge.iatp.net.
Besides imparting IT skills and providing access to information, IDP focus groups’ respondents
said that IATP centers also provided a space to leave their troubles behind
for awhile and help them focus on moving forward in their lives. At 28 years old,
Tamila Shoshitashvili, like so many others, had to leave her job as an economist and
relocate to a new town during the conflict. She says adapting to her new life has not
been easy but the IATP center provides a kind of community support network
for her, “The IATP program helps me overcome social pressures and
tension because other IATP visitors here are cultural refugees like myself.
At the same time I am acquiring good, quality knowledge that will benefit
me in the future.” She explained at the focus group discussion, “Refugees
and others can use training as great way to get knowledge as well as distract
themselves from war-time hardships.” 64 IDP Madona Gugushvili, a
57-year-old teacher, now resettled in Tbilisi, Georgia, agreed, saying
“We all think that IATP has made our lives better.” 65
When the crisis arose in Georgia, IREX responded. IATP mobilized its resources
and established a new center in close proximity to the new IDP
community. IATP reached out to the newly forming IDP community and
invited them to the center for training. At IATP centers, IDPs found new
knowledge and skills empowering them to compete for jobs in their new environments,
and they established more effective communication with state officials and
other related organizations through online networking events organized by the program.
Moreover, IATP centers supported IDPs in a painful situation by distracting
them from post-conflict hardships, and helped begin rebuilding their self-confidence
and their lives.
61 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards, Gori, Georgia, April 14, 2009.
62 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users, Tbilisi, Georgia, April 13, 2009
63 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Gori, Georgia, April 14, 2009.
64 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Gori, Georgia, April 14, 2009.
65 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Tbilisi, Georgia, April 13, 2009
26

G. IATP Empowers Youth
in Turkmenistan
IATP in Turkmenistan began activity in 2000. Taking
up the challenge of working in a country with
extremely low internet penetration, IATP aimed to
help meet one of the most crucial needs of the
local population – a basic need for information. In
a country with limited access to any type of information,
IATP centers became a platform for the
most active citizens who used IATP resources for
their personal development the benefit of their
communities.
Focus group discussions carried out in Ashgabat,
Balkanabat, and Turkmenabat revealed another
substantial contribution IATP was making to local
civil society development. At IATP centers across
Eurasia, youth have always been one of the most
active age groups. Yet in Turkmenistan, due to regressive
educational reforms of the government,
higher education became unaffordable for much of
the population. IATP centers to a certain extent
assumed the role of an educational intermediary
between high school and future employment.
Respondents in focus group discussions mentioned
that higher education in the country is too expensive
for the overwhelming majority of young people.
The educational reforms of the Turkmen government
in 1996 reduced the number of higher
education institutions. High competition for university
enrollment, as well as widespread corruption
resulted in the inaccessibility of postsecondary
education for ordinary citizens.
internet skills so she could find a good job. During
the focus group discussion she explained, “I wasn’t
offered a job in the HR department of a production
company simply because I didn’t know how to
use a computer. So here I am.” 67
The survey, however, revealed another important
factor that illustrates IATP’s role among young
people in the country: its role in building selfconfidence
and supporting personal goals. Kseniya
Sherbakova, a 16-year-old school student from Balkanabat
noted that IATP helped her to set her
sights higher, “My experience with IATP training
was a significant stimulus for me. I acquired not
only computer and internet skills but also discovered
I had leadership potential.” Another participant
of the focus group, Lyudmila Beibulaeva, a
21-year-old receptionist from Balkanabat, said, “I
found my educational and professional goals here.
I started dreaming bigger than I did before I came
to the IATP center”. 68
These and other examples demonstrate IATP in
Turkmenistan is helping to bridge the gap young
people experience between finishing school and
starting a career. IATP is developing their professional
potential through computer and internet
skills and giving them access to information that is
invaluable for a people hungry to learn about the
world beyond their borders.
Focus groups discussions in Turkmenistan showed
that the main reason many come to IATP centers
was to pursue their own higher education, which
they hoped would result in finding a good job and
perhaps open up further educational opportunities.
Evgeny Babushkin, a 17-year-old student from
Turkmenabat shared, “You know that it is quite
problematic to enter a university here. I use internet
to educate myself in management issues.” 66
Computer and internet skills are an absolute requirement
for employment in Turkmenistan. Anjela
Kurbanbaeva, a 37-year-old unemployed
woman from Turkmenabat, said she came to the
IATP center in order to acquire computer and
66 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Turkmenabat, Turkmenistan, December 4, 2008
67 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Turkmenabat, Turkmenistan, December 4, 2008
68 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Balkanabat, Turkmenistan, November 28, 2008.
27

H. Analysis of ICT
“Adaptors” and
“Laggards”
Although IATP centers are packed with visitors, the
priority remains to expand centers’ reach to a wider
range of talented, active, and concerned citizens to
help prepare them to become leaders in their communities’
development. On the other side of the
spectrum, focus groups discussions were not only
conducted with IATP users who had successfully incorporated
ICT in their daily lives, but also with
“laggards,” or those who had yet to do so. IATP was
interested in learning what still held these outliers
back from using ICT in their lives.
The problem does not seem to be that laggards had
not heard about the internet. Even in the most remote
mountainous regions, most had some basic
idea about the internet and at minimum knew it was
a means of communication and way to access information.
But for one 61-year-old engineer named
Dorobsho Zurobekov, who works in Dushanbe, Tajikistan,
he believed the internet had no use for him
and was not really serious, “All the information on
the internet is useless for harvesting or for mental
processing – it is not serious—it’s more like playing
games…I work in the electrical engineering sector—
we don’t need the internet.” 69
Nina Yurchenko is a 55-year-old lab assistant at a
tuberculosis hospital in Balkanabat, Turkmenistan,
who was a laggard before coming to the IATP center
but nevertheless desired to learn ICT. She shared her
experience when she tried to talk someone else into
going with her to the training, “She said, ‘Are you
crazy! We’re too old to learn!” But Yurchenko was
not disheartened and replied, “I know if I will show
her something interesting she can do with the internet,
then I think she will come with me to the center.
We all will use ICT in our lives, I am sure.” 70
Even Olga Rudenco a 62-year-old librarian from Chisinau,
Moldova, said, “Nowadays life cannot be imagined
without computers. This means of communication
is very developed. Internet ensures access to
information as well as a lot of other services. You
can do so much with it—even call someone without a
phone!” She went on to explain that the problem
was a lack of access. “In our library there is only one
computer connected to the internet, but there are a
lot of us.” 71 Another librarian in Moldova, Anna
Pnevscaia, noted their problem was a lack of equipment,
“Internet is a very necessary tool. At present,
we remain behind because we don’t have computers
at our library.”
There were focus group laggards who clearly understood
the benefit of ICT. Irina Aghenosova, a 46-
year-old librarian from Chisinau, Moldova, said, “If
you can use the internet, you have the key to all
kinds of information.” 72 Nazokat Alokhgerdyeva, a
47-year-old gallery worker from Shirvan, Azerbaijan,
said, “The internet is a window to life.” 73
Some participants explained their problem was having
no access to quality ICT training—or any training
for that matter. Irina Aghenosova, a 46-year-old librarian
from Chisinau, Moldova, talked about her
failed attempts to learn computer skills,”We tried to
study the computer by ourselves, but we couldn’t do
it, even though there are special books. There is
computer training at a library science school but
there were only a few lessons. In effect, we only
learned how to turn a computer off and on—that’s
it.” 74
Others were discouraged in their early attempts to
use the internet. In Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova,
Lubov Raport, a 53-year-old librarian reported she
attempted to use the internet once, searching for
information in library collections on the Web, but
failing to find what she sought.
69 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, October 20, 2008
70 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Balkanabat, Turkmenistan, November 28, 2008
71 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Chisinau, Moldova, April 2, 2009
72 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Chisinau, Moldova, April 2, 2009
73 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Shirvan, Azerbaijan, April 10, 2009
74 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Chisinau, Moldova, April 2, 2009
28

During the focus group she announced, “I don’t
agree that there is plenty of information on the
internet; it is limited.” After discussing the matter
a little further she concluded, “Maybe, because I
am not a very proficient user of the internet, I
couldn’t find the information I wanted.” 75
Another distinct difference between IATP users
and some internet laggards seemed to be their
satisfaction with the media coverage available to
them. For example, all of the internet laggards in
the focus group in Tiraspol, Transnistria,
Moldova, believed the information provided by
the local mass media was unbiased and comprehensive
enough for their interests. Focus group
participant Irina Pogonya, a 25-year-old unemployed
woman, noted, “For right now I do not
need broad information—perhaps in the future I
will have more free time and desire to seek
broader information.” 76 Whereas in the same
town, most of the opinions of IATP users stated
that the information provided by local mass media
was insufficient. David Kurashvili, a 34-year-old
supervisor at an auto mechanic shop, said, “The
information [from the media] is inadequate. We
have nothing but a general picture of what’s going
on in the world, and therefore would like to have
a more comprehensive understanding of the situation
based on information from different
sources.” 77
we don’t have computer skills and are not capable
of competing with young people on equal terms,
because school and university students have computer
training and are therefore in an advantageous
position.” 79
Over the course of the focus group discussions
with internet laggards, some that had no interest
in the internet in the beginning began to see
things differently. Nana Malashkhia, a 19-year-old
fashion design student of Chavchavadze State University
in Tbilisi, Georgia, commented, “I obtain
information on design in magazines. However, it
would be great if I had access to related online
resources.” 80 Irina Pogonya, a 25-year-old unemployed
lawyer from Tiraspol, Transnistria,
Moldova, noted, “Now, that I know more of the
opportunities the internet offers, I will do my best
to learn how to use it much better.” Internet laggard
from Tiraspol, Lubov Raport, a 53-year-old
librarian, learned about Libris (a computer application
for libraries) during the discussions and decided
she wanted to introduce it at the library
where she works. 81 After learning about services
the IATP center offers, many expressed commitment
to come for technical training. Irina Scorpan,
a 52-year-old librarian from Chisinau,
Moldova, said, “We just didn’t know about it; otherwise
we would have come sooner!” 82
For some countries, traditional and religious values
limit women’s participation in public life and
education, including ICT training. Some participants
in a focus group discussion in Garm, Tajikistan,
suggested men should not allow their wives
to be corrupted by the internet and their women
need only be concerned with domestic issues.
Most internet laggard focus group participants
were unemployed and many of them realized not
being able to use computers and the internet was
one of their obstacles. Internet laggard Nana
Shengelia, a 33-year-old post-graduate student at
Chavchavadze State University in Tbilisi, Georgia
,said, “Looking for a job and not having computer
skills is an ineffectual effort.” 78 Lyudmila
Zlatova, a 57-year-old pedagogue at an Art Center
in Comrat, Gagauzia, Moldova, added, “[Finding a
job] is a particular problem for people our age, as
75 Midline focus group discussion report, Internet laggards group, Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova, April 6, 2009
76 Midline focus group discussion report, Internet laggards group, Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova, April 6, 2009
77 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Telavi, Georgia, April 15, 2009.
78 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Tbilisi, Georgia, April 13, 2009
79 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Comrat, Gagauzia, Moldova, April 7, 2009
80 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Tbilisi, Georgia, April 13, 2009
81 Midline focus group discussion report, Internet laggards group, Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova, April 6, 2009
82 Midline focus group discussion, Internet laggards group, Chisinau, Moldova, April 2, 2009
29

V. OBJECTIVE 2: Civil Society Representatives
are Networked with Local, Regional, and
International Partners and Resources
A. Networking Targets and Outcomes
Over the last two years, IATP promoted links between local, regional, and international partners and organizations
through the use of various online tools. IATP centers hosted online events that connected IATP users to
their counterparts in other regions and facilitated links that helped civil society actors gain influence, access
best practices, and share their voices.
IATP also provided networking opportunities to target groups that present regular opportunities for professional
exchange and debate. Discussions linked remotely located civil society representatives, educators, health professionals,
government officials, and others working on similar issues, creating opportunities for knowledge and
information exchange.
Objective 2 Targets: During program IATP planned to
reach the following indicators in establishing professional
networking through online discussions:
Year One:
• 50 national online discussions within each country for
target audiences
• 18 international online discussions
• 1,000 participants in online networking events
Year Two:
• 25 national online discussions within each country for
target audiences
• 10 international online discussions
• 500 participants in online networking events
Objective 2 Outputs: For the reporting period, IATP provided
its resources for:
30

Year One :
• 61 in-country online events that linked 967
remotely located citizens
• 36 international online discussions
• 1,621 citizens participated in online networking
events
Year Two:
• 25 in-country online events
• 25 international online discussions
• 595 citizens participated in online networking
events
Since June 2007, IATP hosted 147 online events
(national and international) connecting specialists
in various fields with participants in countries of
IATP operation, encouraging the exchange of information
and best practices. In year one, collaboration
between the League of Female Voters in Bishkek
and IATP Kyrgyzstan contributed to changes in
a new election code held in a referendum on October
21, 2007. Thanks to a series of online discussions,
forums on the role and participation of
women in governance, and the development of a
website, the role and participation of women in
elections was addressed and a quota for representation
of women in governmental administrative
bodies was established. 83
IATP helped connect Eurasian educators with US
experts in a forum on civic education in March
2009. More than 20 educators from Turkmenistan,
Moldova, Georgia, and Azerbaijan learned about
civic education in the United States during an IATPsponsored
online discussion. Turkmenistan university
professors taking part in the online forum mentioned
it was their first chance to discuss education
curricula with international colleagues online.
IATP surpassed its target outputs for objective 2 as
well. In aiming to host 75 in-country online events
over the last two years, the program hosted 86. It
hosted 61 international online events (33 more
than the targeted 28) and had a total of 2,216 participants
in online events (716 more than the targeted
1,500).
IATP created and developed communication platforms
that promoted open international dialogue
between professionals, researchers, NGO officials,
and organizations otherwise isolated in their communities.
Sharing best practices and professional
expertise on a great variety of issues common to
all the countries in the region, (e.g. corruption,
environmental issues, civic education, human
rights, workers rights, etc.) helped them to implement
civil society initiatives in their communities.
IATP also encouraged internal dialogue within
countries, fostering relationships among individuals
and organizations with similar interests and goals.
B. Online Networking
Facilitated by IATP
83 For more information, see IATP Interim M&E Report, June 2007 – December 2008
These professors later reported they are continuing
to explore teaching materials on civic education
provided by the forum experts and are continuing
their discussion of civic engagement education issues
via e-mail. From March 9 to 19, 2009, the University
of Minnesota’s Center for Democracy and
Citizenship Professor Dennis Donovan joined an
IATP online forum, sharing his extensive professional
experience with interested educators across
Eurasia. Professor Donovan introduced participants
to the Center’s mission and activities, discussing
his student mentoring methods, and addressing the
participants’ many questions. The interactive discussion
revealed interest in the strategies used by
American schools to engage youth in liberal arts
education. Professor Donovan explained that the
best US teachers develop relationships with their
students and encourage the expression of different
opinions, which he called a “strategy for modeling
democracy.” Later in the discussion, the Eurasian
educators learned about the Center’s international
partnership network and received information on
Hubert Humphrey Fellowship opportunities in their
home countries. (http://iatpnews.typepad.com/
iatp/2009/04/online-forum-on-civic-educationlinks-us-eurasian-educators-1.html).
31

In Azerbaijan, IATP and the Eurasia Partnership
Foundation (EPF) co-sponsored an online forum for
its citizens to learn more about their country’s election
laws and their electoral rights. The online event
took place from October 9-21, 2008, during Azerbaijan’s
presidential elections, as part of EPF’s
USAID-funded High Profile Radio Debates and Web-
Based Information Portal Project. In practice, citizens
learned about exit polling, the positions of
presidential candidates on key issues, the operation
of election committees, and voters’ electoral responsibilities.
84
IATP online events promoted communication in diverse
spheres—including such sensitive topics as
HIV/AIDS. More than 100 citizens in Belarus, Georgia,
Moldova, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan
were able to pose pressing questions to an HIV/
AIDS expert from the USAID-funded Project HOPE
program in Central Asia during an online forum in
2008. Danielle S. Parsons, MPH and Public Health
Consultant specializing in HIV/AIDS, answered a
range of questions on prevention, on the myths and
realities of the disease, as well as on nontraditional
ways of getting infected. Questions often difficult to
address directly in the region, and where information
is often unavailable, were addressed in the forum.
Participants learned information they often
could not get from relatives, local media, or in some
cases, even doctors. The forum participants also
shared views on how they would support their
friends and family members living with HIV/AIDS.
Discussion was lively on the IATP forum page
(http://forum.iatp.net/) throughout its planned duration,
from November 25 to December 10, 2008.
(http://iatpnews.typepad.com/iatp/2008/12/
hivaids-expert-answers-pressing-citizens-questionsonline.html
).
From November 24-December 12, 2008, 50 individuals
in an online forum across Eurasia learned about
the vital role students and Web 2.0 technology
played in the 2008 US presidential election. The forum
(http://forum.iatp.net) featured Executive Director
of the Minnesota Public Interest Research
Group (MPIRG) Joshua Winters and two active MPIRG
members, students Ryan Kennedy and Joey Dobson.
The three guests shared the organization’s best
practices for involving university students in getting
out the vote and in MPIRG activities. Participants
from Eurasia included students, teachers, journalists,
NGO representatives, and other interested parties
from Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Turkmenistan,
Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. IATP users posed a
range of questions on topics, such as organizing advocacy
campaigns, tracking legislative activity, utilizing
Web 2.0 in electoral campaigns, and documenting
student voting statistics. During the course
of the online discussion, the Eurasian participants
also learned the American experts’ strategies to
educate and motivate young people, and tactics to
coordinate election campaigns among students. NGO
officials interacting in the forum asked their US colleagues
about the role of NGOs in campaigns as
well. (http://iatpnews.typepad.com/iatp/2008/12/
eurasia-citizens-learn-about-the-role-of-studentsand-web-20-in-us-presidential-elections-duringonl.html).
Environmental issues have also been a theme of
online forums. From December 22-26, 2008, the director
of the NGO Civil Initiative Support Fund,
Muazamma Burkhanova moderated an online discussion
on “The Natural Condition of Tajikistan’s Environment”
for students, university professors, school
teachers, entrepreneurs, and NGO representatives
within Tajikistan. The virtual discussion focused on
the ecological challenges facing the country—
challenges that are exacerbated by the national and
global lack of consensus on environmental issues. 85
During the summer of 2008, dozens of entrepreneurs
and other citizens of Azerbaijan learned about microfinance
opportunities from the international nonprofit
lender FINCA via IATP centers nationwide.
More than 30 citizens participated in an online forum
entitled, “How to Obtain Microloans from International
Organizations” with Ella Beavers, chief operations
officer of FINCA, from August 1-8, 2008. 86
In total, IATP organized 61 international online
events that connected 737 participants to international
experts over the course of the last two years.
According to the results of IATP forums online survey,
92% of the respondents (all of whom had participated
in at least one IATP forum) reported finding
IATP forums “useful” with 80% saying it was useful
for their personal, social, and professional development.
Irena Snikhovskaya, a teacher from Zhitomir,
Ukraine, noted, “During an IATP chat, I
learned about multimedia activities my Belarusian
colleagues used in their classrooms. Now my students
and I are also using these exercises during lessons
at the IATP center. [At the IATP center] I can
always get professional advice on technical issues,
as well as on multimedia resources to use for my
classes.” 87
84 For more information, see IATP Interim M&E Report, June 2007 – December 2008
85 For more information, see IATP Interim M&E Report, June 2007 – December 2008
86 For more information, see IATP Interim M&E Report, June 2007 – December 2008
87 IATP forum participants’ online survey, December 21-26, 2008.
32

Natalya Polyakova, a 51-year-old doctor from Vinnitsa, Ukraine says
IREX online events contributed to her professional
development. Initially, Polyakova came
to the IATP center because it was the only
place she could access the internet for free.
Eventually the place where she worked acquired
the internet, but she continued visiting
IATP centers because of her interest in the
online events. “I participated in diverse interesting
forums organized by IATP and learned a
lot of useful information for my work,” she
said. 88 Based on the IATP users online survey
results, 72% of respondents who participated in
online forums at least once confirmed that
they “had been exposed to new ideas or information”
by participating in IATP the networking
event and 79% confirmed they are “useful
mechanisms to inform and improve work.”
C. E-mail for Networking
IREX has introduced new computer and internet users to communication
via e-mail, which opened up personal as well as professional
opportunities for many training participants. According to the IATP
users online survey, 74% of the surveyed users used the internet for
e-mail communication. The majority of surveyed IATP users report
using e-mail to contact their relatives and friends that live abroad,
to apply to foreign universities, to seek medical advice from foreign
specialists, to apply for jobs, and for many other purposes.
Elena Makhonina, a 48-year-old librarian from Dushanbe, Tajikistan,
explained why e-mail had become her preferred method of
correspondence, “Internet is much more convenient in terms of
communication—you don’t have to wait very long. A letter by post
may reach the addressee but you are not sure whether he or she
received it. Ordinary mail is much slower. By e-mail you can send
five letters in one hour.” Gurgen Damirchyan of Turkmenistan
needed to contact an optometry clinic in Russia to get advice on his
visual impairments. He became disabled due to a medical mistake
in Turkmenabat, leading him to seek information from foreign experts
online. Thanks to IATP technical training and internet access,
Damirchyan established communication with a Russian clinic and
now has access to medical expertise and recommendations. Vasiliy
Prodan, a 63-year-old pensioner from Vinnitsa, Ukraine, and head
of the regional office of the organization of workers who participated
in the clean-up efforts after the Chernobyl disaster, said,
“Our organization doesn’t have a computer and internet connection
at the office and that is why we use internet access provided by
the IATP center to communicate with our headquarters in Kiev. Our
partners keep us abreast of updates in Ukrainian legislation related
to victims of Chernobyl.” 89
88 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Vinnitsa, Ukraine, April 2, 2009
89 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Vinnitsa, Ukraine, April 2, 2009
33

VI. OBJECTIVE 3: Targeted Development Projects
Supported through Training to Select Community
Members in the Use of Vanguard Technologies and
Solutions
A. Targets and Outcomes
IATP trained civil society and government actors in ten target countries over the last two years in online technologies
that helped them achieve their goals and provide better services. IATP focused on training select target
audiences in well-conceived applications of new Web resources, blogs, wikis, and other technologies that improve
the way people and organizations communicate and collaborate.
Objective 3 Targets: In terms of fulfilling the third objective of IATP mission, the program planned to reach the
following outcomes:
Year One:
• No fewer than 50 active blogs, updated at least
weekly for 6 months
• No fewer than 4 publicly-accessible wikis that
support collaboration on important issues
• No fewer than 7 organizations that consistently
use RSS feeds to update websites for their target audiences
No fewer than 15 local government websites that are
actively updated for at least 6 months
Year Two:
• No fewer than 50 active blogs, updated at least
weekly for 6 months
• No fewer than 10 publicly-accessible wikis that
support collaboration on important issues
• No fewer than 10 organizations that consistently
use RSS feeds to update websites for their target audiences
34

Objective 3 Outcomes :
Year One:
• 128 active blogs were created by IATP
trainees
• 23 Wiki resources were developed
• 34 organizations were trained to use RSS
• 40 regularly-updated websites were created
by local government officials
• 546 regularly updated websites were created
in total
Year Two:
• 214 active blogs were created by IATP
trainees
• 92 Wiki resources were developed
• 64 organizations were trained to use RSS
• 9 regularly-updated websites were created
by local government officials
• 100 regularly updated websites were created
in total
Vanguard IT technologies with IATP
IREX once again outpaced its objective 3 target
outcomes, educating a larger number of civil society
actors in how to apply Web 2.0 technologies
to improve their communication and collaboration
efforts. IATP assisted in the creation
of 342 blogs, 115 wiki resources, 646 websites,
49 of which were for local governments.
Blogs: These simple devices offer immediate
internet visibility and outreach tools to groups
that otherwise have no access to traditional
publishing media. These tools provide civil society
organizations and engaged citizens a
platform on which to engage in topical debate
virtually overnight. According to the Web content
online survey held in March 2009, the
overwhelming majority of respondents (86%)
found blogs “useful and convenient as a datasharing
tool.” 90 Over the last two years, 342 blogs
have been created by IATP trainees after IATPorganized
blog training.
As part of a good governance initiative, five government
officials from the Parliament in Azerbaijan
created blogs and posted them online in December
2008. In cooperation with USAID-funded
Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) and the Media
Advancement Project, IATP implemented this
professional education project and helped to improve
information-sharing between elected representatives
and their constituents. 91
When Inga Esterkina was laid off from her position
as editor-in-chief of the cultural section of a
Ukrainian newspaper in Zaporizhya, Ukraine, she
used blogging to continue her journalism. When
the newspaper went out of business, Esterkina decided
to create her own online cultural community
resource. She began acquiring ICT skills through
IATP in 2008 and completed specialized instruction
for mass media representatives as well as IATP’s
Web 2.0 training. Her blog entitled “Creative
Journalism” (http://ingaesterkina.blogspot.com)
keeps her readers and colleagues abreast of
Zaporizhya’s latest cultural news, just as she did
for the newspaper. Esterkina hopes her Web 2.0
knowledge can help create an online community
that will organize and promote cultural projects in
the city and keep her readers and partners engaged
in cultural life. Thanks to IATP training, Esterkina’s
work as a journalist continues (http://
iatpnews.typepad.com/iatp/2009/04/laidoffjournalist-finds-new-outlet-with-web-20.html).
Vladimir Bogat, author of developmental books for
children in Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova,
needed a publisher for his new book for pre-school
children In Torrid Africa. There were no local publishing
houses and so he sought out a publisher
abroad through the internet. Thanks to his IATP
training in Web 2.0 technology, in two short
months he was able to locate and communicate
with a publisher in Russia (through the publisher’s
blog), who soon agreed to print his book. 92
90 IATP Web content online survey, March2009
91 For more information, see IATP Interim M&E Report, June 2007 – December 2008
92 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova, April 6, 2009
35

Wikis: These internet tools offer unprecedented
opportunities for real-time collaboration on documents,
projects, and resources between people in
different (often remote) locations. According to
the findings of the Web content online survey, the
overwhelming majority of respondents 91% found
wiki resources “useful and convenient as a datasharing
tool.” One hundred fifteen wiki resources
have been developed to date by IATP users who
took part in IATP wiki training.
Ilya Sagaidak of Belarus used a wiki to narrate the
story of his journey retracing the historical 9 th century
trade route along the Dvina, Dnieper, Lovat,
and Volkhov Rivers which connected ancient Russia
with the Middle East. His blog sparked renewed
interest in historical tourism in the region. A lecturer
of history at the Belarusian State University in
Minsk, Sagaidak has been learning ICT skills at IATP
since 2006. He published the wiki “From Varangians
to Greeks” (http://ancientway.iatp.by) in the
spring of 2008. Narrated by Sagaidak, the ancient
account embodied in the Wiki generated intense
interest in history lovers from Belarus, Ukraine,
and Russia. 93
Three medical professionals from the Central Hospital
in Garm, Tajikistan, used Wiki pages to develop
local language content in the medical field,
at the same time improving educational resources
for their students. The three were recruited in an
IATP outreach presentation targeting medical practitioners
at Garm’s Central Hospital in February
2009. After completing their IATP coursework in
computer and internet skills and advanced training
in Web 2.0 technologies in March and April, they
created a Wiki site for their students in the Tajik
language (Бемории_Саратони). Surgeon and Rasht
District Medical College lecturer Dehoti Zoirov
commented, “Although we can find sufficient
printed materials and abundant online resources on
medicine in Russian…most Tajik students face a
language barrier in understanding these resources.”
Zoirov added that his students also
lacked the ICT skills to use online resources. These
two challenges led Zoirov and his colleagues to
translate teaching materials from Russian into Tajik
and publish them on a Wiki page. With this resource
as a model, physician Sobirjon Mirzoev says
is now able to encourage his students to contribute
to the development of other Wiki pages in the Tajik
language (http://iatpnews.typepad.com/
iatp/2009/05/tajikistan-physicians-create-locallanguage-online-wiki-resource.html).
RSS feeds: These tools allow beneficiaries working
on specific issues to notify interested parties about
the latest content and updates to their websites,
without having to rely passively on others visiting
their sites. Interactive website editors allow those
without programming knowledge to maintain dynamic,
appealing and useful sites. As a result of
IATP activities, 98 organizations were trained to
use RSS over the last two years.
For example, in autumn 2007 and spring 2008 IATP
centers in Belarus hosted the seminar “Online Media”
for local residents, as well as for representatives
of regional and national mass media outlets.
The seminar introduced IATP users to a wide variety
of newspapers, magazines, and other media
sources on the internet and introduced RSS concepts
for subscribing to these information flows.
Within the framework of the seminars, IATP also
introduced user to Belarusian internet publications,
providing them a wider opportunity to receive alternative
local and national information and to
manage new technologies that allow readers to become
active participants of news making process. 94
Mobile technology: IATP also began exploring the
applications of a technology already in the pockets
of the majority of Eurasians—mobile phones. The
possibilities for using mobile technology as a tool to
inform and connect are growing by the day. In
2009, IATP introduced the tool to a Ukranian NGO
working on the social issue HIV/AIDS. IATP and the
NGO Doroga Zhyttya (Road of Life) in Dnipropetrovsk,
Ukraine, spearheaded a pilot project in
March 2009 to help 20 patients better adhere to
their tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS treatment regimens.
This progress not only benefits the individuals
involved, but also contributes to the broader
state of public health. Doroga Zhyttya, part of the
USAID-partnered All-Ukrainian Network of People
93 For more information, see IATP Interim M&E Report, June 2007 – December 2008
94 For more information, see IATP Interim M&E Report, June 2007 – December 2008
36

Living with HIV/AIDS (network.org.ua), encourages
and empowers patients to stick to their treatment
schedules. Many of their clients are involved with
drugs or the criminal justice system, populations
especially susceptible to poor adherence. The
Ukrainian government provides treatment free of
charge, but medicine—whatever its cost—cannot be
effective if it is taken improperly or insufficiently.
In response to this problem, Doroga Zhyttya applied
a mobile technology-based community outreach
tool developed in Africa and brought to Eurasia
by IATP. With IATP support, members of the
NGO created a project plan to send SMS messages
to the mobile phones of a 20 client test group. To
implement this operation, the NGO needed only a
laptop, a cell phone and FrontlineSMS – free software
available to community-focused development
NGOs. Now clients receive coded messages three
times each day, anonymously reminding them to
take their scheduled dosage (http://
iatpnews.typepad.com/iatp/2009/04/ukrainianngo-employs-sms-technology-in-battle-againsthivaids.html).
Another NGO, Tamarisk, was among several local
NGOs in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, that launched
pilot projects in cooperation with IATP using mobile
phone technology to promote social change. At
the beginning of 2009, IATP began conducting
training for local NGOs on mobile technology and
the use of FrontlineSMS, open source mobile communications
software developed specifically for the
non-governmental sector. Tamarisk serves as an
information and resource center for similar organizations
in the region. It manages an online portal
on citizens’ initiatives in Dnipropetrovsk, runs a
media center for NGOs, and regularly organizes
training sessions, roundtables, and other events for
representatives of local NGOs and media outlets.
FrontlineSMS is a valuable resource for organizations
like Tamarisk in distributing important information
to large numbers of people. After mastering
the software, Tamarisk staff compiled an SMS mailing
list with 50 mobile phone numbers of local NGO
representatives and sent SMS updates and notifications
on community events. The staff was impressed
by their ability to inform dozens of people
in a few minutes instead of spending half a day to
contact them by phone. Tamarisk still uses e-mail
to send the same information, but not all NGOs and
citizen activists have access to e-mail, especially in
rural areas. More people have mobile phones, and
are more likely to read messages they receive immediately.
Disseminating information using FrontlineSMS
has had a positive impact on Tamarisk’s ability
to reach its target audiences; at an April 2009
event held at the NGO’s office, 60% of attendees
heard about the event via SMS. Participants expressed
their gratitude to Tamarisk for using such a
convenient form of outreach, allowing them to get
timely information and facilitating their participation
in what was an important event for the local
civil society community.
Tamarisk is constantly adding new contacts to their
SMS mailing list and plans to divide it into several
sub-lists for NGOs working in different fields.
Tamarisk President Tatyana Barashkova commented,
“We started working with IATP less than a
year ago. Since that time, they have introduced us
to a number of new and useful technologies. First,
we participated in a series of training sessions on
Web 2.0 applications, and organized other NGOs to
take this training at IATP. Now we learned about a
new opportunity to increase the effectiveness of
our work through mobile technology. We are sure
that the positive impact of IATP activities on our
local community will be noticeable for years after
IATP is officially closed in Ukraine” (http://
iatpnews.typepad.com/iatp/2009/06/local-ngos-indnipropetrovsk-use-mobile-technology-todisseminate-important-information.html).
User-friendly website design: IATP helps local
governments, NGOs and youth organizations design
and update websites through a WYSIWYG (“what
you see is what you get”) editor. This possibility
unleashes the creativity and passion of local citizen
activists without requiring any knowledge of Web
programming. Since June 2007 646 regularlyupdated
websites were created by IATP users
throughout Eurasia in result of IATP web design
technical training. Moreover, 49 e-government
websites were created by local governments in cooperation
with IATP.
37

In October 2008, the official website of the Dnipropetrovsk
Regional Center of Social Services for
Family Children and Youth (www.docsssdm.dp.ua)
went online, providing better access to information
about social services for economically disadvantaged
families with members having disabilities.
The online resource was developed by government
officials who were participants of ICT training in
October and November 2008 as part of IATP’s ongoing
e-government initiative in Dnipropetrovsk,
Ukraine. The website was officially presented in
late October at a press conference for 17 local
mass media representatives, organized by the
USAID-funded Ukrainian Reform of Education Program
(UREP). It offers tools for interactive communication
between visitors and social workers that
are already being utilized by the community at the
local IATP center. 95
Representatives of seven Azerbaijani political parties
can now advocate their ideas and policies
online. They learned these advanced computer
skills through training conducted by IATP and its
USAID-funded partner the National Democratic Institute
(NDI). Internet advertising is the second
step of computer courses for the party members,
following productivity and data management training.
With ICT rapidly changing the realm of media,
NDI asked IATP to train the representatives in developing
and managing their party websites. Seven
officials attended training, including representatives
from the Democratic Reforms Party (http://
www.demreforms.org), the New Azerbaijan Party,
the Azerbaijan National Independence Party
(http://amipmillet.az.iatp.net/), the Umid Party
(http://umidgencler.az.iatp.net), the Azerbaijan
Popular Front Party (http://
axcpgencleri.az.iatp.net), the Musavat Party, and
the Azerbaijan Democratic Party. Director of Sahil
Ltd. Vahid Gasymov facilitated the event. Gasymov
is also a founder of the BarCamp Conference –
an international participatory conference on technology
– that IATP staff members attended last August.
During the training, participants learned
about how to create internet advertisements, use
effective online marketing tools, and monitor their
advertisement’s results. As a result of the training,
the political party representatives created flash
animation Web banner test samples before applying
their skills to their parties’ websites (http://
iatpnews.typepad.com/iatp/2009/02/azerbaijanipolitical-parties-advance-online-outreach-skills-atgraduated-iatp-center.html).
Websites have also benefited NGOs by improving
their ability to communication and establish partnerships
with their colleagues abroad, as well as
increasing international collaboration on events of
mutual interest. The director of the NGO Network
of Cultural Exchange and Interethnic Confidence
(NCEIC) in Sevastopol, Ukraine, Tetyana Semiushkina
organized a three-day international seminar
on the topic “Religion and Civil Society: New National
Boundaries and the Paradoxes of the Globalization
of Culture” at the end of November 2008.
NCEIC’s website, developed with the assistance of
IATP in 2003, has helped attract more people to
the organization’s activities and, as a result, more
experts on building tolerance in multiethnic societies
have been attending Semiushkina’s seminars.
She also uses her multimedia skills to promote
NCEIC at public events, update its website, and
disseminate information. Thanks to IATP Web design
training, Semiushkina has increased NCEIC’s
profile and active member participation from as
few as 30 in 2003 to 120 at the November meeting—including
participants from Ukraine, Russia,
the United States, and Chile (http://
iatpnews.typepad.com/iatp/2008/12/iatp-useradvocates-tolerance-in-multiethnic-society.html).
IATP Web design training has also been embraced
by active educational institutions in Eurasia. Kindergarten
No. 9 in Comrat, Gagauzia, Moldova,
participated in a pilot project for pre-school educational
institutions in the region and was the first
to create a website for its school
(detsad9.md.iatp.net). Each kindergarten class
now has its own webpage, posting pictures of the
children and information on the school. All teachers
at Kindergarten No. 9 participated in IATP technical
training. When the local deputy visited the
kindergarten, the school director mentioned that
all the teachers were trained in ICT and used computers
and internet for their professional develop-
95 For more information, see IATP Interim M&E Report, June 2007 – December 2008
38

ment. The deputy decided to provide the kindergarten with three of their
own computers and connect them to the internet. The director proudly
remarked, “Now we have three computers of our own with internet connections
where we can access professional information and develop games
for our kids.” The Comrat kindergarten’s success story was also covered in
a local Gagauzian newspaper. 96
Web design training targeted for guesthouse owners in Georgia assisted
the small businesses in attracting new clients and
adapting to the highly competitive tourism market.
Focus group discussions held in Telavi, Georgia
(an area in Georgia with strong tourism potential),
were aimed at investigating IATP impact on
guesthouse owners who had created websites for
their hotels after IATP technical training. Neli
Tatelishvili, a 54-year-old guesthouse owner in
Telavi shared, “Thanks to the IATP center and its
services, we have designed a webpage for our
guesthouse and it has helped us attract more clients.”
Nino Itiuridze, a 28-year-old woman who
owns a local hotel, reported she saw a 25% increase
in business after putting her website online
and adding it to a national database of hotels. In
addition to online advertisement of their businesses,
the private entrepreneurs actively use the
internet to research information, such as new services
they could offer, and market prices that keep their business competitive.
Tsiuri Zarnadze, 63-year-old guesthouse owner said, “Now we are
at least one step ahead of those [owners] who don’t know how to use computers
and internet for their business development.” 97
IATP has been training civil society organizations and government actors in
ten countries in online technologies that have helped them achieve their
goals and provide better services. IATP focused on training select target
audiences in well-conceived applications of new Web resources, blogs,
wikis, and other technologies that improved the way people and organizations
(including the government) communicate and collaborate. According
to the IATP Users online survey, 69% of surveyed IATP users believe there
is greater transparency and information available on the internet from local
sources because of IATP.
B. Local Web Content Development
Local Web content development serves as a strong informational resource
for local populations and could be one of the most important tools for fostering
civil society development in Eurasia. IATP’s local Web content
online survey, as well as focus group discussions held in Azerbaijan, Georgia,
Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine revealed that websites
in local languages are essential especially in IATP host countries
where Russian or English is not widely spoken among the majority of citizens.
96 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Comrat, Gagauzia, Moldova, April 7, 2009.
97 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Telavi, Georgia, April 15, 2009.
39

According to the IATP local Web content survey, only three percent (18 respondents
out of 684 surveyed) never use local websites when searching for information online.
The findings demonstrate that the overwhelming majority of respondents (91%) find
local language websites “useful” or “very useful.” Yet, at the same time, only 34% believe
that many local websites are relevant and up-to-date.
According to focus group discussions, the majority of
IATP users participating in the survey said that internet
had become the most efficient and convenient source
of information. Vladimir Bogat, a 40-year-old teacher
from Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova, said, “I believe
internet resources are better than newspapers. News
on the Web is updated faster. Internet sources provide
comprehensive coverage of events.” 98 The online survey
on local Web content also revealed that the internet
had become the leading source for news, as well as
information on education, professional development,
local municipalities, and the national government.
Thirty nine percent of surveyed IATP users state there
are not enough websites in their country’s local language.
Web content survey data, 684 respondents, Table 6
Sources of information
Answer Options
Other 1% 1% 2% 1%
Focus group discussions were also aimed to assess respondents’
perception of local Web content. A plurality
of IATP users surveyed shared their complaints about
insufficient numbers of websites in the local language. With Russian on the decline in
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine, the population
(especially in rural areas) could benefit greatly from online professional and educational
information in the local language. Even in places where Russian is predominantly
spoken like in Transnistria, Moldova, the population still finds a lack of information related
to their region. 99 Nana Kvitsiani, a 23-year-old
post-graduate international relations student from Tbilisi,
Georgia, expresses the predicament many people in
transitioning Eurasian countries are experiencing, “I am
a conflict mitigation specialist. Most of the information I
need can’t be found in libraries and books at my university.
The internet has been the most important source of
information for me. However, most of the information
on the internet is either in English or in Russian. As I
don’t know English I have to rely mostly on Russian websites.
But I would definitely prefer it if there were more
Georgian websites, as it is my native language.” 100 Liliya
Pavlenko, a 51-year-old mathematics teacher from Ashgabat,
Turkmenistan, confirmed, “The Russian-speaking
population can browse Russian web-content, but young
people and people from rural areas don’t know Russian,
that’s why we need more websites in Turkmen.” Mikhail
Azranzade, a 21-year-old student of Tajikistan State
University shared the same sentiments in relation to Tajik
Web content. He said, “There is lack of scientific information
– students have to translate documents and
books from Russian.” 101 Khamadoni Muzafarov, a 26-year-old school teacher said,
“Schoolchildren browse the internet for information related to their study, but after a
while they complain that all the information is in Russian, so I have to translate it into
New
s
Educatio
nal
informat
ion
Professi
onal
informa
tion
Information
on
governm
ent
Internet 87% 89% 86% 73%
Periodicals
(newspapers/
magazines)
54% 50% 52% 58%
TV/Radio 70% 36% 35% 60%
Books 26% 53% 58% 17%
From friends 31% 22% 23% 22%
98 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova, April 6, 2009
99 Midline focus group discussion report, IATP users group, Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova, April 6, 2009
100 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Tbilisi, Georgia, April 13, 2009.
101 Midline focus group discussion, IATP users group, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, October 20, 2008
40

Tajik.” Through IATP’s free technical training and
website hosting, civil society representatives dayby-day
are assisting efforts to develop local Web
content.
Most IATP users surveyed (97%) believe the development
of local Web content and access to the internet
are critical elements for fostering democratic
reform in a country and 98% of respondents believe
that IATP and its technical training is helping to develop
local Web content and increase the number of
local websites. In total, 2400 local language websites
have been hosted by IATP since 2007.
C. Cooperation with
USAID-funded projects
Since June 2007, IATP has made a concerted effort
to reach out to potential partners in the civil society
sector, offering the traditional IATP access and
training services, as well as consultation on implementing
vanguard technologies in their activities.
The results of these efforts have been programs that
respond effectively to local development needs with
technical tools, increasing the ability of local CSOs
assisting USAID implementing partners to meet their
program’s objectives in a wide variety of fields:
e-Government: Economically disadvantaged families
supporting members with disabilities can more easily
access social services thanks to an online resource
developed by government officials who were participants
of ICT training in October and November 2008
(as part of IATP’s ongoing e-government initiative in
Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine). The official site of the
Dnipropetrovsk Regional Center of Social Services for
Family Children and Youth was launched in late October
with assistance from IATP and the USAIDfunded
Ukrainian Reform of Education Program
(UREP). The online resource is a hub of important
information for people living in remote towns and
villages and for people with disabilities. It offers
tools for interactive communication between visitors
and social workers.
From November to December 2008, USAID Project
for Economic Reforms to Enhance Competitiveness
(EREC), implemented by Bearing Point, Inc., used
the
IATP
center in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (housed in the Interactive
Multimedia Learning Internet Center—
ICIML—within the Academy of Science), for advanced
Web design training with National Institute of Strategic
Planning and Economy (NISPE) employees.
EREC also developed the official website for the Institute
of Strategic Planning using ICIML resources,
fulfilling one of NISPE’s project goals.
Democracy: IATP has collaborated extensively with
democracy implementers in the Caucasus, including
conducting technical training for political parties in
cooperation with NDI and IRI in Georgia and Azerbaijan,
and by training parliamentary staff to communicate
online with constituents as part of the USAIDfunded
Parliamentary Reform Project in Azerbaijan.
In June 2008, IATP trained ABA/CEELI staff on ICT
and creation of online database with IATP Training
Coordinator Zohrab Abdullayev.
Healthcare: In cooperation with the NGO Family
Medicine Specialists and the Scientific Technology
and Language Institute, both supported through the
USAID-funded ZdravPlus health reform project in
Kyrgyzstan, IATP trained more than 85 doctors and
nurses in vital technology tools in Karakol, Talas,
and Bishkek. Care providers participated in distance
learning (DL) courses after first learning to use the
internet and the DL platform from IATP. Through the
DL course, doctors learned to treat otitis, and nurses
learned more about bronchial asthma, improving
their ability to diagnose and treat patients. IATP
taught tuberculosis care providers of the USAIDfunded
Project HOPE in Turkmenistan to use technology
to prepare and submit reports, and to conduct
research on treatment options.
In June and July 2008, IATP provided technical training
on internet searching and graphics editing for
ten students as part of the project CAPACITY’s
Youth Center activities aimed at HIV/AIDS prevention.
The CAPACITY Project is a five-year HIVprevention
project funded by USAID and implemented
in the five Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and
Uzbekistan. The purpose of the CAPACITY Project is
to provide technical support and assistance to the
countries of Central Asia in their efforts to launch
large-scale and urgent responses to HIV/AIDS epidemics
among vulnerable populations. The CAPAC-
ITY Project is managed by JSI Research and Training
Institute, Inc. in partnership with Abt. Associates
Inc, Boston University, Howard University, the International
HIV/AIDS Alliance, and Population Services
International.
41

Anti-Trafficking: IATP implemented a joint project
with the USAID-funded and Winrock-implemented
New Perspectives for Women project in Moldova
to provide technology-related skills to protect
young women from trafficking and to help them
find reputable work online.
Education: In a joint partnership with the USAIDfunded
Junior Achievement project, IATP trained
teachers in Kyrgyzstan to use the internet to participate
in the project’s programming. JA’s coordinator
described IATP’s assistance as instrumental
to their success. For USAID’s PEAKS project, IATP
created a website to host curriculum development
materials for the project.
Media: IATP worked with Internews in Tajikistan to
train regional radio broadcast journalists to use the
internet to conduct research for stories and to gain
access to professional resources. Seventeen journalists
and IT specialists created a portal for social
networking following training on Web 2.0 technologies
led by Latvian trainers Maksim and Aya Bereza
from April 22 to 25 at the IATP center in Dushanbe,
Tajikistan. Web 2.0 describes the emerging use of
the internet as a platform for two-way communication,
as seen in the recent proliferation of online
communities, user-created software, wikis, blogs,
and content-sharing resources.
42

VIII. CONCLUSIONS
A.Summary of Findings
IATP successfully fulfilled the objectives set forth its workplans. Target outcomes were not
just met but exceeded. Based on an analysis of statistics, survey data, and focus groups with
IATP users and non-users, IREX has empowered thousands of citizens to use the internet to
support democratic reform; has networked hundreds with civil society representatives at the
local, regional, and international levels; and has introduced vanguard technologies and solutions
to dozens of local development initiatives, including other USAID-funded projects.
Since USAID funding began in 2007, nearly 85,000 individuals have used IATP centers over
670,000 times. More than 44,000 have participated in one of the 8,000 IATP training sessions
over the last two years. A total of 83 centers that are or were at one point administered by
IATP are spread across ten Eurasian countries, continuing to offer free technical training and/
or internet service to communities where such access is out of reach for many reasons.
Through strategic outreach, IATP not only successfully targeted key actors in the democratic
reform process (i.e. representatives of NGOs, local governments, media, small businesses,
libraries, etc.), but IREX also had a great impact on the next generation of ICT users hungry
for the kind of quality ICT training and internet access still unavailable in most Eurasian educational
institutions.
When asked, IATP users are clear that IATP centers are not just a free version of an internet
café. Time and again in surveys and focus group discussions, users distinguished IATP centers
in several ways. First, IATP is unique in offering free training. But it was not just that the
training was free, but that it was of high quality and matched to their personal and professional
needs. Some IATP users reported having participated in ICT training elsewhere
(including a minority at free locations like schools or universities), but almost all surveyed
said the training at IATP centers made otherwise complex concepts easy to understand and
taught users very practical ways to apply them to their personal
43

or professional lives. Users also reported that the
technical assistance was never limited to formal
training sessions but was available anytime a user
came into the center to use the computer or internet;
users always felt comfortable asking the administrator
or other, more-experienced users for
help. Many commented that an internet café did
not serve these purposes but relied instead on a
primary goal of turning a profit. The centers’ professional
environment was another difference users
noted between internet cafes and IATP centers.
IATP users were expected to use the space for their
educational or professional development, creating
a more serious environment than that of most
internet cafés, where many customers use computer
and internet resources mainly to play games
or chat. Finally, in focus group discussions, some
users commented that at IATP centers they felt a
sense of community or a place where they were
among friends. In Georgia, IDPs reported they
could gather at IATP centers with other IDPs to try
to focus on building a new future and forget their
troubles for a while. In Azerbaijan, IATP centers
were often the only public space women were allowed
to come together to discuss new ideas and
connect in their community. Focus group responses
indicate that in many countries IATP centers are
evolving into “public squares.” Users mentioned
the friendliness and helpfulness they felt at from
center administrators, as well as from the other
visitors, saying they had made many new friends
and could easily exchange ideas.
IREX often served those who had fallen through the
cracks unnoticed. In Georgia IATP served IDPs who
were forced from their homes and jobs due to
separatist military conflicts, offering them skills
that contributed to their professional development
and competitiveness in their new environments. In
Turkmenistan, where educational reforms limited
access to education for local youth, IATP served as
a network of centers where young people who
wanted a higher education could come to receive
ICT training and then pursue individual academic
enrichment using online resources. In Belarus, IATP
helped modernize library systems across the country
making them once again primary information
centers in their communities.
IATP centers throughout Eurasia have become integral
parts of their communities, providing spaces
for educational and professional growth as well as
offering tools to support the development of civil
society. IATP has equipped the unemployed and
working poor to find new or better paying employment—assisting
bankers and businessmen, farmers,
and fashion designers alike. IATP has helped small
businesses, media outlets, local governments, and
NGOs integrate technology into the workplace,
connecting them more effectively with their partners
and stakeholders and enabling them to provide
better services. IREX has played an important role
by working to ensure another generation in Eurasia
keeps pace in the rapidly-developing information
and technology age.
Since Eurasian populations without available local
language Web content have less incentive to learn
modern ICT tools, IATP introduced Web 2.0 technologies
into training in an effort to help accelerate
the generation of local language websites. As a
result, 342 blogs, 115 wiki resources, and 646
websites have been introduced on the internet in
Georgian, Tajik, Turkmen, Ukrainian, Romanian,
Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, and Azeri. The e-
government initiative aimed at introducing technologies
such as blogs, wikis, and websites into local
government services is helping establish effective
communication contributing to their greater
transparency and more effective collaboration with
their constituents. Finally, civil society organizations
use advanced ICT technologies for better networking
and more effective information sharing.
B. Next Steps in ICT4D
IATP was a unique program in Eurasia strengthening
civil society development through ICT. IATP users
benefited from IATP resources and services, and
their personal and professional accomplishments
contributed to their local communities’ development.
After IATP completes its operation in host
counties, however, the need for ICT as a supportive
factor fostering democratic development in the
region will only continue to grow.
Based on its now 15 years of experience in promoting
IT skills and broader access to information
among civil society representatives in Eurasia, and
based on the results of the monitoring and evaluation
carried out by the program, IATP recommends
the following steps for ICT4D in Eurasia:
1. In Eurasia, especially in the countries with sufficient
internet penetration and cheaper prices for
internet like Ukraine,
44

there still is a need for free, quality technical
training. Commercial ISPs provide an internet
connection itself but do not provide training
tools for the population. Moreover, schools and
universities’ informational science curricula
usually do not include training in relevant internet
research skills. Therefore, even those with
access to an affordable, reliable internet connection
often lack the sufficient technical skills
to take advantage full advantage of this information
resource.
2. In countries with lower internet penetration
like Turkmenistan, where internet had been
politically restricted for many years, there is a
persistent need for advocating for internet connectivity
and free access to information by empowering
local communities who can then promote
ICT application in the regions.
3. Rural populations in Eurasia are dramatically
more limited in access to information than
urban centers due to insufficient infrastructure
and financial hurdles, especially in countries
with lower overall ICT development like Azerbaijan,
Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Here, IATP
sees a demand for mobile ICT training for people
living in remote areas, as well as free access
to internet open to the general public.
4. Internet research skills, still lacking in students
and graduates of Eurasian educational
institutions, should be added to school and university
curricula where possible.
C. Final Comments
Focus groups conducted during this evaluation revealed
that citizens experienced significant and
ongoing benefits from ICT knowledge. The majority
of “laggards” that participated in focus group discussions—those
who still had not integrated internet
into their life, whether for reasons of age, culture,
ignorance or a “lack of time”—became sufficiently
interested in training opportunities after
discovering meaningful applications of ICT to their
own life. Numerous success stories of IATP training
graduates demonstrate the importance of the program
for developing individuals and organizations
professionally, as well as in affecting civil change.
Statistics, however, continue to show that only a
small percentage of citizens in Eurasia overall have
adopted the internet – from as little as one percent
in Turkmenistan, to only as much as 35% in Ukraine
and Belarus; the regional average remains in the
single digits. There is clearly still a great demand
for technical assistance to access information
through the internet as well as a need for affordable,
quality internet access.
The high degree of satisfaction and relevance reported
by users and trainees suggests that the program
continued to bring real benefits to average
citizens of these communities, with 99% of participants
stating they would recommend the service to
others.
Without IATP, survey and focus group participants
agree that their communities would lack a resource
of true value. In IATP surveys, 88% of respondents
reported they knew of no other place to receive
free ICT training like that of an IATP center. While
most users report that information could be obtained
through other sources like local media or
libraries, most IATP users preferred access to information
through the internet in order to get multiple,
diverse perspectives on issues. Most respondents
also preferred accessing the internet at an
IATP center rather than an internet café because
the centers’ atmosphere is professional and more
conducive to learning. Online networking facilitated
by IREX was found to be effective for the dissemination
of information and exchange of ideas.
Nearly 90% of users reported being involved in an
initiative that was informed or encouraged by participation
in IATP. Over 60% of respondents felt
that IATP was contributing to greater transparency
by fostering the development of local internet content
and 98% of respondents believed that IREX and
its technical training helped develop Web content
in their country and increased the number of local
websites. In addition, 97% of surveyed IATP users
thought that local Web content development and
access to the internet were important factors in
fostering democracy reform in their country.
Communities in Eurasia without IATP centers stand
to be less active, less informed, less empowered,
and less skilled. In low-resource environments,
practical, user-oriented resource and training centers
have been proven to be an effective tool for
encouraging social, economic, and political development.
45