APPROXIMATELY 600 marginalised youth across the island will be trained over a one-year period, under a project funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Microsoft.

The Jamaica Sustainable Development Network (JSDN), in partnership with UNDP and Microsoft Jamaica, officially launched what they dubbed, the, "Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Training for Disadvantaged Youth" on Thursday at the Courtleigh Hotel in Kingston.

The project, based on the Microsoft curriculum, will see students learning how to use the internet, design web pages and develop computer programmes.

Computers and software material will be provided by Microsoft Jamaica, while costs incurred for utilities and transportation of students will be covered by the UNDP.

The JSDN, a non-profit organisation, first implemented the programme in June of this year, through four of its established community access points. These are the Liguanea Cybercentre in Kingston, the Bluefields People's Community Association (BPCA) in Westmoreland, the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation (C-CAM) in Lionel Town, Clarendon and the International School of Jamaica (ISJA) in St Mary.

"The students are very excited and eager to learn, and we hope that this initiative will help to boost their confidence," said Dionne Williams, manager of the JSDN.
"We also want to exceed 600 students, so we are hoping that other groups will recognise the work we are doing and come on board."

Williams added that the project is geared towards assisting disadvantaged youth to improve their personal educational levels, increase their income-generating capacity and boost their ability to contribute meaningfully to the development of their communities.

The JSDN was established in 1998 and is using the revolutionary programme to enhance its mandate of facilitating sustainable development in Jamaica, by promoting the use of information technology.

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