Béatrice MONTARIOL (left): consultant for SIPAR, technical and educational advisor in charge of project development & Sothea SIN (right): Library Program Coordinator
For the past few months, we have been working with SIPAR to launch the pilot of our new Nomadlab project in Cambodia. We met Beatrice Montariol and Sothea Sin to find out more.
Can you first introduce SIPAR?
SIPAR is a non-profit organization which was created in 1982. Its mission is the development of reading to improve the quality of education in Cambodia. In particular, we have developed networks of school and mobile libraries in villages over the last 25 years. We then went to hospitals, prisons, textile factories, and, most recently, to brick factories. This allows us to reach an increasing number of disadvantaged populations.
We also have a program of book publishing in Khmer. Our collections range from books for babies to adults (with fiction, documentaries and “life skills” books).
Finally, we also have Youth Club development projects in remote districts. These structures, which are officially registered with municipalities, are run by young volunteers, usually middle or high school students, who carry out activities, mainly with schoolchildren, around the promotion of reading and tutoring, as well as awareness-raising for local inhabitants (for instance, about children’s rights, schooling and drugs).
We work very closely with local authorities, including the Ministry of Education.
To date, we have 304 libraries in primary and high schools. Libraries in elementary schools are completely autonomous today and we are now focusing more on secondary education, including vocational guidance for young people.
What are your links with Passerelles numériques (PN)?
We have known PN since the opening of their first program in Cambodia in 2005, and we have always followed their development from near or far. When Maud Lhuillier (editor’s note: Passerelles numériques’ Asia Director) contacted us about their NomadLab project, we quickly met them to learn more about the project.
Can you tell us more about the NomadLab project and what convinced you to join?
The project arrived at the right time for us because it perfectly meets one of our current objectives: to support middle and high school students in their professional orientation. We realized that libraries alone are not enough. It is necessary to have a dedicated “corner” to accompany them in their choice and best prepare them for future higher education or professional training.
When PN came to present their NomadLab project, we immediately saw an opportunity to use it.
Indeed, NomadLab is a mobile “box”, consisting of 8 tablets, connected to Rasperry Pi computers. Software and open-source content, carefully selected, will be available on the tablets. Finally, Passerelles numériques, in addition to dealing with the material part and content, also include in their solution a “training of trainers” path.
Integrating specific content to support middle and high school students in their career choices seemed to be a very relevant solution. In addition to making this content available, the use of tablets will also allow these young people, who do not usually have access to these digital tools, to learn how to use them. They will be better equipped to integrate training programs that require knowledge and mastery of computer tools.
On the one hand, PN, with their NomadLab project, wanted to get out of Phnom Penh and make the digital tool accessible to young people who are deprived of it, and to offer these young people their teaching expertise. And on the other hand, at SIPAR, we started to think about the problem of digital access in our sites and for our actions, but we do not have any expertise in this area. However, we have experience and a network that extends into the provinces, with ways to reach young people thanks to the fixed or mobile libraries as well as the Youth Clubs.
It was thus obvious to us that we had to partner with PN and their NomadLab project!
What progress is there on the NomadLab project today?
After expressing our needs in terms of content, Passerelles numériques worked on the choice, presentation and display of content (career guidance application, assessment of skills, self-awareness, “Soft Skills”, etc.), the configuration of the equipment, as well as training the people in charge of the libraries.
The first pilot will soon be installed in the library of a high school in the province of Kompong Cham!
And in the future?
Our ambition is to continue to work together to deploy NomadLab in high school libraries as well as in our Youth Clubs.
After the roll-out of 2-3 pilots, we will study the results, impact and feedback. We will evaluate the relevance of the content, the appropriation by users, but also the ease of use and maintenance of the equipment, in order to make any necessary adjustments.
We will then be able to look together for new funding in order to be able to deploy on a wider scale!
Thank you for this exchange, we cannot wait to see the project come to fruition!