THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Creating a model for the entire country, Kerala is all set to launch a massive total digital literacy campaign ensuring that the benefits of the state’s surge as an inclusive knowledge-based society reaches down to the grass roots level.
Powered by the Kerala State IT Mission under the Department of Information Technology and Kerala Literacy Mission, the campaign, ‘I am also digital’, will be carried out in people’s participatory model by roping in resource persons and instructors from the society itself down to the civic ward level across the state.
The programme aims at building capacity of the whole society to enjoy benefits of digital technology including a spectrum of online services and educate people about the cyber security issues in the context of the spurt in cybercrimes. The campaign will seek to create public awareness about the e-governance and equip them to make use of various digital platforms through which a wide array of services are being delivered.
Educating people on the increasing significance of social media and equip them guard against their misuse for mischievous purposes like spreading fake news will be part of the programme.
The project will be pilot-launched in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation soon, starting with selection of 50 master trainees having sound basic knowledge of handling online IT tools. Side by side, 5 instructors from each of the 100 wards of the city will be selected. The master trainees will instruct the ward-level instructors, who, in turn, will carry out the mission in their respective locality.
Those who are wishing to partner with the campaign as master trainees need to have basic knowledge of digital technology, internet and its possibility, new media and cyber security, handling online financial services, use of online platforms on which the government services being delivered online and use of Malayalam as a medium on computer and mobile handsets.
People from all walks of life including government servants, college students and socially concerned individuals associated with organisations in the public domain can come forward as trainees of the campaign.
The master trainees of the programme will be awarded certificates on completion of their training, jointly by IT Mission and State Literacy Mission, to acknowledge their service.