IATP Monitoring and Evaluation Report - IREX

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
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