As a backgrounder, the “it@coops program” was a brainchild of AWCF in collaboration with Capacity Building International, Germany (InWEnt), and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Having gone through the first phase of the program, implemented from 2004 to 2007, the “it@coops Project” also known as “Information Technology for Southeast Asian Co-operatives Project” was able to affect significant changes in the field of co-op development through the infusion of different information technology (IT) applications in the entrepreneurship work of co-operatives and non-government organizations (NGOs). Moreover, the Project was able to train and equip 60 IT Specialists with basic and advance IT technical know-how, as well as other skills in software training and gender awareness, to meet the need of co-operatives and NGOs who were affiliated with the Credit Union League of Thailand CULT, Thailand; the Forum for Indonesian Co-operatives Movement FORMASI Indonesia, Indonesia; and the National Confederation of Cooperatives NATCCO, Philippines. Before year 2007 ended, the number of IT Specialists increased to 74 as a result of CULT’s second wave IT training.

Although the it@coops Project funding officially ended in December 2007, the three AWCF national-umbrella organizations adapted it@coops as part of their regular organizational program. Hence at this point, the Project stakeholders continued conducting and participating in activities promoting IT while the trained IT Specialists pursued their commitment of: providing or enhancing the IT knowledge and skills of co-op members and entrepreneurs; assisting co-operatives as well as co-op women and men in improving their products and services; supporting co-operatives in setting up business development centers (BDCs) in co-operatives or communities; and actively networking and sharing of learning and experiences with the it@coops alumni through the mailing list.

Read on for a glimpse of the activities that occupied the it@coop Project stakeholders for 2008.

CULT

What Keeps the IT Specialists of Thailand Busy?

As part of their commitment of enhancing the IT knowledge and skills of co-op members and entrepreneurs, Ms Wilaiphorn Tonprasoet of Suwannaphume Credit Union Ltd. and Ms Manee Petpradab of Pattana Chumchon Banputabak Credit Union Ltd. were able to train 52 credit union members and officers (28 women and 24 men) from January to July 2008. On top of this, they also served as consultants on matters pertaining to website maintenance and improvements as well as hardware maintenance. On the other hand, Ms Wilai Charoenchit of Bansaeng Arun Credit Union Ltd. and Ms Rattana On-ta of Klongchan Credit Union Ltd. focused on setting up an internet or a networking system service for credit union. Ms On-ta also assisted in setting up an IT training center and a call center system for their co-op.

CULT’s Advocates for E-Coop Website Development at the National Level

With its goal of automating its programs and services, CULT officially launched its e-coop website development program last 12 September 2008 to encourage its member credit unions (CUs) and their member-entrepreneurs to sell their products virtually and at the international level. Forty individuals representing national CU federations, primary co-operatives, women groups, government agencies, and individual entrepreneurs attended the “E-Coop Orientation Seminar” held at CULT office. To familiarize different users on using and maintaining their website, CULT will also conduct follow up workshops for website program administrators on 29 October 2008 while 30-31 October 2008 will be set aside for entrepreneurs or CULT partners who will be establishing websites to be hosted by CULT.


FORMASI Indonesia

it@coops Indonesia Participates in the Asia-Pacific Regional Microcredit Summit 2008

Three IT Specialists from FORMASI Indonesia took part in the “Asia-Pacific Regional Microcredit Summit 2008” held 28-30 July 2008 at Bali International Convention Center, Bali, Indonesia. Attended by 917 participants from 50 countries, the it@coops alumni who took part in this activity were Mr. Yohannes Baptista Agusnugroho, representing FORMASI Indonesia, who served as Coordinator of ICT Division and Webmaster APRMS 2008; as well as Mr. Darmanto, representing ASPPUK (Association of Women in Small-Micro Business Assistance) and Mr. Erwan Halil representing LP3ES (Institute for Social Economic Research Education and Information) who were both assigned for the ICT Documentation and IT Support APRMS 2008. In this summit, the IT Specialists shared their IT skills to others by assisting in the documentation work, facilitating different group sessions, and sharing personal ideas.

The IT Specialists from Indonesia

IT Specialists belonging to FORMASI Indonesia kept themselves busy by updating and maintaining their organizational websites. As of this period, 10 websites were being maintained by the it@coops alumni from Indonesia. In addition to their participation in the Asia-Pacific Regional Microcredit Summit 2008, Mr. Agusnugroho also conducted training for refugees in collaboration with UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). Two other IT Specialists namely Ms Linda Sri Sulastri and Mr. Fuad Bahari took part in conducting trainings benefiting the community IT trainings in Indonesia.


NATCCO

Promoting the Use of Information Technology (IT) in Co-operatives

With its aim of disseminating the information it gained from being part of the it@coops Project, NATCCO’s outgoing Chairperson Mr. Wilfredo Dimamay and their President and CEO, Mr. Cresente Paez were one in choosing the theme “Empowering Co-operatives through Information and Technology” to celebrate
Website Development for NATCCO Affiliates and Partners

As of October 2008, NATCCO was able to enhance and/or develop ten websites with the assistance of selected IT Specialists and/or co-op designated website administrator. Through field visits and on-hand website development tutorials conducted by Mr. Allan Jeffrey Mendoza, IT Specialist and IT Graphic Designer of NATCCO, he was able to enhance the IT skills of the co-op staff assigned to maintain/oversee a particular website. To have a glimpse of some of the website developed by the participants of it@coops Philippines, visit NATCCO’s website at http://www.natcco.coop.

National Level IT Training for NATCCO Affiliate Co-ops

Aside from website development trainings, Mr. Mendoza and Mr. Halos were also involved in handling trainings on desktop publishing. Together with Ms Lasalette Gumban, another NATCCO IT Specialist, they facilitated an “Adobe Photoshop Training” on 27-29 August 2008 attended by 11 co-op staff from 10 primary co-operatives, and an “InDesign Training” on 15-17 October 2008 attended by 12 co-op staff from nine primary co-operatives. These trainings enabled the participants to make impressive annual reports and presentations; design attractive newsletters, brochures, flyers, and banners; and improve printing and digital documents.


AWCF and InWEnt

Promoting IT as a Tool for Entrepreneurship Development

The AWCF network, particularly the stakeholders of the it@coops Project, encouraged the participants of the “Regional Workshop on Community-Based ICT Integration,” held 13-14 March 2008 in Pasig City, Philippines, to make use of different IT applications in their entrepreneurship development activities or programs. In this workshop, the AWCF contingent talked on the merits of the it@coops Project as the network’s contribution in bridging the digital divide within Southeast Asia. The AWCF network was represented in this event by Ms Kruewan Chonlanai, AWCF Chairperson and Project Manager of the it@coops Project of CULT; Ms Salome Ganibe, Executive Director of AWCF; Mr. Cresente Paez, President and CEO of NATCCO; Mr. Angelo Perez, Head of NATCCO’s Management Information System (MIS); and Mr. Yohannes Baptista Agusnugroho, IT Coordinator of FORMASI Indonesia’s it@coops Project. This event was organized by the Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia (AsiaDHRRA) in partnership with Intel Technology,


AWCF and InWEnt After the it@coops Project

Although the official funding for the it@coops Project ended in December 2008 with the end of it@coops Project implementation, AWCF and InWEnt continued to communicate with each other especially for the benefit of the IT Specialists. In her visit at Bonn, Germany on 11 September 2008, Ms Salome Ganibe, AWCF Executive Director, was able to meet with Mr. Balthas Seibold, Senior Project Manager, and Ms Ursula Van Look at the InWEnt headquarters. In this meeting, they discussed possible activities for the it@coops alumni and other potential cooperation in the future.

In the second week of October 2008, as the final report for the it@coops Project was accepted by BMZ, the InWEnt staff headed by Mr. Balthas organized a small feast to mark the end of Project implementation by listening to Philippine music and enjoying Asian food. The celebration was capped by a video presentation as a means of reminiscing the Project activities, triumphs, and learnings.

Two IT Specialists Joins the Asia South-South Exchange Program

In coordination with Fredskorpset Norway or FK Norway, AWCF will be sending seven young professionals to selected ASEAN countries for a 10-month posting starting on 21 October 2008 until 21 August 2009. Through this exchange program, the participants will learn and share with co-ops and NGOs knowledge and expertise on various fields including financial intermediation, micro finance, training and education, and gender equality. Two of the seven professionals are IT Specialists namely Ms Natchamon Thali of CULT and Mr. Dennis Locanas of NATCCO. During their posting, Ms Thali can share her IT training skills at NATCCO since her work at CULT was focused on training while Mr. Locanas can share his accounting and IT skills with the Credit Union Promotion Club (CUPC), AWCF’s member-organization in Malaysia, as he develop an IT system that will help CUPC manage and monitor data on loan application and loan repayment. He is also expected to design and facilitate a basic IT training course with CUPC staff and leaders as target participants. Through this exchange program, AWCF and NATCCO will be able to share to CUPC the result of the it@coops program as the latter was not part of the it@coops Project.

AWCF to Participate in IOSN-InWEnt’s Training of Trainers (TOT) this November 2008

As part of its advocacy work of promoting Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), AWCF will be participating in the forthcoming “Training of Trainers for the FOSS Toolkit for SMEs” to be held in Antipolo City, Philippines on 3-7 November 2008. This training is a follow up on the two IOSN-InWEnt activities conducted in 2006 and 2007 wherein selected it@coops representatives took part in applying FOSS in business that led to the development of a draft CD called “SME-in-a-Box” containing FOSS applications that can further boost the businesses of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

In this particular training, the participants are expected to gain advance training skills that they can use in applying and teaching FOSS to their co-op and NGO members engaged in SMEs. AWCF will be represented in this activity by Ms Evelyn dC Villaflor, AWCF Administrative Assistant and IT Specialist.