October 27, 2004

By Terry Timm Moos, News@Cisco

• Afghanistan: Networking skills enable women like Sonia Ziaee to -- once again - make meaningful contributions to Afghan society.
• Bangladesh: Mustafa, a scholarship recipient learning the mechanism of the Internet. She knows it is a challenge to work in the IT sector - but she is ready.
• Senegal: Twenty-two of the best and brightest young women find information technology a key to success.

Encouraging as these examples are, they are only the tip of the iceberg. For more than six years, hundreds of thousands of students around the world have taken advantage of the cutting-edge IT training and educational opportunities offered by The Cisco Networking Academy Programs and its partners in more than 10,000 academies in 160 countries. These students are going for the gold - education - and the payoff is seen in the pride and success they are bringing to their jobs, families, and to their countries - often against backdrops of daunting economic, political and cultural challenges.

Power through partnerships

The keys to the success of the Networking Academy program overseas are the international partnerships forged among the participating organizations, the schools, and the countries' governments - as well as an emphasis on education for the real world.

By partnering with international organizations, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and enlisting the involvement of strategic corporate partners such as Hewlett Packard and Panduit, Cisco has been able to devise a one-of-a-kind program that is empowering many of the world's most underserved populations with technology and self-reliance, hope and pride. Without its partners' skill and experience in international development, Cisco would not be able to bring this unique program to so many deserving students.

Launching the Least Developed Countries initiative

At the World Economic Forum in Switzerland last year, Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers emphasized the importance of building a strong global community through education and the Internet, a philosophy embodied by the Cisco Networking Academy Program since the very beginning. Shortly, after creating the Networking program in the U.S, Cisco launched special initiatives to bring the program to the world's Least Developed Countries (LDC) and to ensure that women everywhere are given equal access to the program's high-tech training through the Gender initiative.

From its inception, the Networking Academy program has been designed to help bridge the digital and gender divide in technology. Today, Networking Academies provide education and training in 63 developing countries and emerging economies, many of which also are embroiled in political or social conflict: Angola, Bosnia, Cote d'Ivoire, Kosovo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Mauritania, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Bangladesh, and the West Bank and Gaza.

Thousands of women - many for the first time - now have access to high tech training. For example, in sub-Saharan Africa, the Gender Initiative has ensured that 33 percent of Networking Academy participants are women, a remarkable statistic considering the cultural, economic and political realties of many African nations.

An Aptitude for Success

The desire to create a better life through education and training is exceptionally strong in these developing nations. Locals involved with the program understand the value of education, particularly the role that technology education and training will play in preparing their countries to advance and prosper in the global Internet economy.

Participants in the Least Developed Countries and Gender Initiative have demonstrated an impressive aptitude for success. The programs in LDCs operate on the same exact curriculum as programs in the US and other industrialized nations. From Rwanda to New York, students are learning the same skills and taking the same tests.

What is remarkable is that the students in these developing areas routinely score as well as or even better than their counterparts in more stable environments. To achieve these scores, the students overcome obstacles unheard of in many of the world's classrooms. Some students use solar panels to get electricity to run the computers, while some women need special vans to reach their programs, because they are unable to travel publicly in their communities.

Certifications give workers industry-recognized job credentials

The Networking Academies enable people in other countries to understand and harness vital new technology and communication tools, such as the Internet through curriculum developed by Cisco, HP, Panduit and others. The comprehensive program teaches basic and advanced networking skills and essential IT and critical thinking skills. During the program, students learn about networking and information technology using an e-learning model that incorporates Web-based, instructor-led learning and hands-on labs. Any student who completes the program can be tested and become a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), a technical certification recognized throughout the world. Advanced training certifications, including the Cisco Certified Network Professional and the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert, build on the CCNA certification.

Students who complete the program emerge with skills that are highly valued, as well as a sense of personal and professional accomplishment. Since the program began in 1997 as a high school support curriculum, Cisco Systems' commitment has enabled it to grow into the global catalyst for change that it is today. This change is especially evident in the growing numbers of women who are taking advantage of technology-related fields. These women are gaining independence, getting good jobs, helping their communities, and creating a new class of educated people who will become decision-makers - impacting the future social and economic development of their own countries.

Education and training help close the gender gap: Achieving E-Quality

The Networking Academy Program's global Gender Initiative gives women the education and technical training they need to support themselves and contribute to the well being of their families. But it also significantly affects their contribution to their communities and their countries' economies. As more women develop technical skills, the potential for prosperity increases.

In 2003, for example, Cisco worked with USAID and UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) to complete a $2 million project aimed at improving Jordanian women's technical knowledge and skills in information and communications technology (ICT) and, in the process, positively influencing national IT policies. The 'Achieving E-Quality' project established gender-focused Networking Academies to train women to compete in the technology job market. This project also links graduates to local and regional job markets and raises awareness of women's participation and value in the IT sector. [source: http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/countries/jordan/ict-jordan.html].

Because of the successful initiative in Jordan, Cisco Systems is in the planning stages of a partnership project with USAID and UNIFEM and the Government of Morocco to expand The Cisco Networking Academy Program to 10 new public institutions and one non-profit association. Academies are expected to be established at technical high schools that have a two-year training program after the regular high school diploma program, and public vocational training centers. As in Jordan, UNIFEM would conduct soft-skills training and job placement activities for the participants.

"Cisco's Networking Academies are making a positive difference in the lives of people around the world," explained Tae Yoo, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Cisco Systems. "The Gender Initiative makes sure that those benefits extend to women and the families who depend on them. By making this training available to anyone with an aptitude for technology - regardless of gender - we are at the same time addressing the shortage of talented, skilled specialists," she continued.

The Gender Initiative has been highly effective in countries such as Afghanistan, Kenya, Uganda, Mongolia, Nepal, and Yemen. Among graduates from the LDC Initiative who complete CCNA training and have sought jobs, 78 percent are employed. Among the women and girls participating in the Gender Initiative are students in high schools and universities, technical/vocational schools, and boarding schools. Gender Initiative participants also include IT professionals, entrepreneurs, government workers, educators, mothers and expectant mothers across a wide range of ages.

The LDC Initiative's 175 Networking Academies currently employ 566 trained instructors, of whom 92 (16.3 percent) are women. Six new gender-focused Networking Academies are planned for implementation in 2005. Together, Cisco and the LDC Initiative partners will establish over 100 new Academies in Africa as a part of the 'Africa 100' program. The purpose is to build a pipeline reaching down to the secondary school level, out to secondary cities and beyond --providing access and opportunities to more people throughout the continent.

"Cisco and its partners have collectively formed a truly unique and successful private-public partnership. The Networking Academy program is helping create a technology-based future in many countries and is providing the skills necessary to move people forward," said Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Fund.

"What makes the program so valuable is that students can apply classroom examples to actual technology challenges," said Ms.Yoo. "The Cisco Networking Academy Program prepares students for the IT work they will do in the real world. Cisco is committed to making this type of education broadly available, regardless of a person's gender or economic status."

Senegal: Honoring a women's rights champion by educating the best and brightest

Founded 25 years ago, the Mariama Ba Secondary School on Senegal's Goree Island is the site of one of West Africa's most promising gender-focused Cisco Networking Academies. It's only fitting. The school itself is named for Mariama Ba, a champion of women's rights who recognized education was the key to success. She also fought the terrible discrimination and injustices that women suffered through the years. Some of the country's best and brightest young women are gaining valuable skills here - skills that empower them to make an impact on their nation.

In 2003, a Cisco Networking Academy was launched here in partnership with USAID, and today, it is one of West Africa's most promising gender-focused Networking Academies. Seventy-six percent of Academy enrollment is female. Computer labs, hands-on instruction - all in a competitive learning environment - give students a strong determination to succeed in the global Internet Economy.

Yaye Fatou Seck, from Ile Saint-Louis, graduated from the University Gaston Berger. For two years, Ms. Seck has been a United Nations volunteer in Senegal, and oversees the implementation of the Academy Program, and works closely with all the Academies in Senegal to mainstream gender.

Ms. Seck sees the opportunities The Cisco Networking Academy can bring. "The program has been welcomed by the young women in the Mariama Ba School. This comes at a moment when some African countries are struggling over the digital divide," explained Ms. Seck. "That's why in Sénégal,we have support coming from our government."

She said that when Cisco instructors first introduced The Network Academy Program at the school, many of the students feared that they were not at the right level for the program. After a campaign of 'sensitizing' by both the Cisco and school staff, students started to understand the opportunities available - and helped to minimize any apprehension about the course work. "The 22 girls who have been enrolled are impressed by the good results they got on their certification exams," explained Ms. Seck. "Whenever I have opportunities to see and discuss the program with them, I always encourage them to believe in what they do and in themselves."

Afghanistan: Training women to resume their roles as productive members of society

Long shut out of their country's public life, women in Afghanistan are now striving to further their education and take a more active role in society. Women are learning specialized skills in the dynamic and much-valued area of IT, thanks to the UNDP, USAID and the Cisco Networking Academy in Kabul. As of spring 2004, more than a quarter (27 percent) of the Kabul Networking Academy's students were women. USAID, recognizing the tremendous success of this program, has also announced that it is providing funding to UNDP for the program's expansion throughout the country over the next three years.

After years of being forbidden to learn, the tide is turning for women in the region. Sonia Ziaee is part of a new generation of Afghan women seizing the opportunity to advance in the field of IT. Although Sonia already understood computer basics, the 19 year-old student from Kabul knew little about the intricacies of the Internet. Once she enrolled in the Cisco Networking Academy, Sonia learned about networking hardware and how to access and use the Internet. She also designed a network and made LAN and WAN connections. Today, Sonia is one of the first women in her country to receive a world-class technology certification.

"At the Networking Academy, we are the first highly-trained computer specialists in Afghanistan to learn these skills right here in our own country," Sonia said proudly. Very protective of her country, she feels it is important to build the nation's network infrastructure from within. "We now have the tools to build advanced, high-tech networking systems and contribute to our country's progress."

Sonia urges women in Afghanistan to take advantage of the opportunities at the Networking Academies. She wants to take an active role - with her networking know-how, Sonia plans to train other women in the field.

Uganda: A role model for younger students

Anita Mago-Sempa, film editor and media productions specialist, is a creative entrepreneur in business and academia. In 1998, Ms. Mago-Sempa started her own professional media company in Kampala with two business partners.

She is always searching for ways to improve her company's products and services, so at the tender age of 39, while attending the Gender Studies Graduate program at Makerere University's Women & Gender Studies Department, Anita enrolled in the Cisco Networking Academy Program. Her goal was to enhance her technical skills in digital media and computer networking so that she could improve her company's daily business operations.

"The Program has had a tremendous impact on my work," Ms. Mago-Sempa explained. "I believe that the Program will help to increase women's incomes and boost the image of women." In the classroom, she is the oldest student among her peers, and has become a role model for the younger female students in the class who are anxious to enter the business world.

Bangladesh: Multi-tasking is the norm for women

Bangladesh is among the target countries receiving scholarships for students to attend The Cisco Networking Academy Program. Selection is based on financial need as well as each applicant's potential to contribute to the field of IT. Also important is her interest in serving as a mentor to other women and girls in the field.

"In Bangladesh, nowadays, women are not just the homemaker, women do all tasks." said one student at the American International University of Bangladesh Academy. "That is, women do the household tasks as well as she does the professional ones - and she manages the same in her daily life. Women go outside the home, and equally do the same thing as men do. And in every respect, women often do better in our country." She added, "The job market in our country is very challenging, and that is why the Networking Academy Program is a fruitful thing, especially for women in Bangladesh."

Mustafa, another scholarship recipient, said, "It is a challenge for women to work in the IT sector, but nowadays, women are working everywhere, so why not in the IT sector? There are few women in this sector, so it presents a challenge for me, and I enjoy that."

Training workers, strengthening workforces, building technology-based economies

The Cisco Networking Academy Program and the LDC Initiative are powerful tools for international development, spurring local economies and forming stronger, better-equipped workforces. With the Gender Initiative encouraging women to participate in the global economy, there is no limit to the possibilities.

"It is great to see these countries bridge the digital divide using the skills and talents of their own citizens," added Ms. Yoo. "The enthusiasm of the Academy students is overwhelming. They are embracing technology and the opportunity to build a brighter future for their countries."

Education and the Internet are vital catalysts for international economic development, and the Networking Academies are a testament to their power.

Terry Timm Moos is a freelance journalist located in Seattle, WA