The Zahedan IT Center, established by the Science and Arts Foundation (science-arts.org), is located at Rasooli Intersection, in the business sector of town, in close proximity to the local bazaar and residential areas.  The Zahedan IT Center will serve as a demonstration project for taking information communication technology to remote and underdeveloped areas of Iran, by implementing a project designed to promote the use of ICT technology in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.  The Center will be providing intensive ICT training, especially targeting youth and women, but also NGOs; teachers; government officials; city council members; and the business sector.  SAF and activists and staff at the Center, in partnership with the Technical Team at the Computing Center at Sharif University of Technology, will develop content for an e-learning program in ICT and multimedia training CDs.  The project will also promote ICT focused micro-enterprise and employment generating activities among women and youth, by establishing an e-shop to sell local women’s handicrafts internationally and by building on existing resources at the local, national and international levels to establish a competitive micro-credit program in ICT—a demonstration project designed to address the high rates of unemployment among Iranian youth, who make up over 50% of the Iranian population of 60 million.  Because evaluation is a key component of any successful project, SAF has secured the cooperation of Dr. Andrea Kavanaugh, at the Center for Human Computer Interaction, at Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA.  Dr. Kavanaugh will provide in kind services as an expert evaluator for the project.  The project will be evaluated both at mid-cycle and at the end of the project, to assess its effectiveness and impact.

The Center was inaugurated on the 21st of February, during the ten-day festivities of the Fajr International Festival, which mark the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979. Present at inaugural festivities were key members of government and non-governmental organizations as well as other community stakeholders, including members of the local community, especially local youth. The resource persons who received training by the SAF team also attended the inauguration of the Center. Click here for photos.

The SAF team traveled to Zahedan in early February to provide an intensive 5-day ICT training to local resource persons who will work with the Center as trainers and volunteers. The training included training in Windows, Word, Internet and email. The students also had the opportunity to learn how to install Windows. The students included both elementary and advanced learners. The advanced learners, with extensive ICT expertise, participated in the course mainly to observe the effective teaching style of SAF Master Trainer, Akbar Zahiri. The students were also asked to provide feedback on the content and structure of the course, as well as the teaching style. The resource persons also provided invaluable input into the management and operation of the Center. Over 24 persons were trained as resource persons, the majority of them youth under the age of 25 and over 75% of the participants in the training were women. Click here for photos.