Vietnam’s Public Libraries Offer Improved Access | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

HANOI, Vietnam -- On 11th November 2011, Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) launches an expanded project focused on the “Improvement of computer usage and public Internet access in Vietnam”, following approval by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Funded by a US$30m grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the project builds on the success of the earlier pilot, to implement the project across 40 provinces across the country over five years (2011 to 2016), reaching around 760,000 new users. In early August, the pilot project was awarded Best International Award for the “Best Rural Administration Initiative” at the Eworld Award Ceremony 2011.

The project will also benefit from US$17m support from the Vietnamese Government and related agencies, as well as a software contribution from Microsoft.

This project aims to close the “digital divide” between urban and rural populations, equipping public libraries and Community Post Offices (CPOs) with the technologies and skills needed to change lives and strengthen communities through information access. Founded on the belief that “computers and the Internet will enrich our lives”, the program will respond to the increasing information and technology needs of Vietnam’s rural communities; contribute to poverty reduction by promoting job and vocational training opportunities; and expand access to e-government services at the local level.

Over the course of the five year project, computers with broadband Internet access will be installed across nearly 2000 public libraries (65% of the country’s total) and CPOs. Training courses for staff across these institutions will be provided, to enable them to support users in meeting their information needs. The project will also focus on impact assessment and advocacy activities to increase awareness of the benefits of Internet and information technologies. The selection process will prioritize public libraries and CPOs in communes that are involved in the National Target Program “Building New Rural Areas,” to ensure the sustainability of the program’s impact beyond its five-year term.

“Through the pilot project, we have seen how access to information and technology can make a powerful difference to the lives of people across Vietnam,” said Deborah Jacobs, Director of the Global Libraries Initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “As we expand the project, our success will depend upon our collective engagement, as we invest and learn together. It is only with the continued commitment of the Vietnamese Government and other partners that we can bring about sustainable change.”

The MIC stated: “All changes comes from perception. Perception changing for local people through Internet development in rural areas – the home of more than 80% of Vietnam population – is an extremely important mission of MIC. Developing the public Internet access points as well as a sustainable system for CPOs to become a common cultural house of rural communities is our ultimate, necessary and long-term goal.”

Microsoft Corporation will donate software over the grant period to selected libraries, as part of its global citizenship commitment to bring the benefits of relevant and accessible technology to communities. Since 1997, Microsoft has donated software worth more than US$285 million to support public access computing in libraries.

Other partners in the program include the Government Office, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Public Security, the Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Corporation (VNPT), the Military Telecom Corporation (Viettel), the National Library and provincial Department of Information and Communications leaders, as well as the local communities.