Bridging the digital divide with the help of Korean volunteers

BAGAN DATUK: In bridging the digital divide between the urban and rural population, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) once again hosted the International ICT Volunteer (IIV) Programme.
This year’s IIV (IIV 2017) programme held from July 10 to Aug 23, is the third one organised by MCMC, since the first one held in 2015.
Under the programme, three teams consisting of four volunteers each from South Korea were stationed respectively at 1Malaysia Internet Centres (PI1M) – in Bagan Datuk (Perak), Gurun, (Kedah) and Teluk Ramunia (Johor).
The six-week programme was as part of a collaboration between the International Telecommunication Union-National Information Society Agency of Korea (ITU-NIA) and MCMC. ITU-NIA contributed the South Korea volunteers who were computer science undergraduates.
Dr Mazlan Ismail, MCMC’s Network Security, New Media Monitoring, Compliance and Advocacy chief officer said many of the developing nations including Malaysia refer to Korea on matters pertaining to IT as that country is quite advanced in this field.
In conjunction with the IIV 2017 programme, a one day mini carnival known as the ‘Annyeong Haseyo Day’ was held at Dewan Datuk Mohamed Jamrah, Bagan Datuk to introduce the PI1M Internet Centre and the activities of the IIV volunteers. The same event also served as a Korean-Malaysia cultural exchange platform.
Learning from the Koreans

Dr Mazlan admitted that initially some of the volunteers were unenthusiastic in coming to Malaysia. However, all that has changed now as they have found something special about this country.
It now appears to be a two-way learning process – the locals learnt of IT from the Koreans and the Koreans learnt of the beauty of Malaysia and its people. After three editions of the IIV, both sides have nothing but praise for each other.
The locals and the respective internet centres (PI1M) also provided the required cooperation to ensure the programme went on smoothly.
“When we receive the international volunteers, we cover the cost involved for accommodation and food. ITU-NIA only provides them with pocket money,” said Mazlan on MCMC’s contribution for the collaboration.
The Korean volunteers have in fact helped to promote Bagan Datuk to the world by introducing the ‘Projek Bagan Datuk Info Centre’ application, one of the outcomes from the cooperation between the Korean volunteers and the local community.
Sharing knowledge and culture

For Bagan Datuk, the all women volunteers referred to as “Gaon” in the Korean language were Computer Science students from Duksung Woman’s University in South Korea.
Their stint in Malaysia provided them with a whole new experience. One of the volunteers, Lee Jioun, 22, shared that before arriving here, they just thought of teaching the locals but upon arrival they learnt a lot more from the locals.
“We learnt of the national anthem Negaraku, the flowers and many Malay words and many more,” said Jioun.
Though there is the language barrier, that did not stop the volunteers from conducting the classes in English.
“Initially communication was a problem, fortunately most of the students at the Internet centre understand English and they were ready to help their counterparts who do not know English,” noted Jioun.
Getting the locals to learn of the Koreans

Apart from Jioun, the three other volunteers in her group were Kang Minjung, 22, Kyung Eunyoung, 21, and Song Mingyung, 22. The group taught the local students on how to use the Inventor, Easy Scratch, Movie Maker, Photoshop, and Advance Scratch applications.
Apart from sharing know-how in the virtual world, the volunteers from K-Pop land also shared with locals their culture – Hangeul (Korean language), the traditional hand fan, making traditional Korean attire using coloured papers and about the family in Korean society.
Sharing about the Korean learning system, Jioun said they were exposed to IT as early as six-years-old and that their country has good Internet facilities for students and the public.
One of their observations during their stint here, she said, was that her group was concerned that there were some youngsters who had difficulty in typing on the keyboard.
However, they appreciated the Malaysian government’s initiative in establishing the PI1Ms and conducting IT classes for the rural people.
Their most memorable stay was in Bagan Datuk, as this is where for the first time they ventured to a fishing village in Simpang Empat Rungkup, saw the verdant panorama of the backwaters and the traditional kampong houses, all far different from what they would see back in their country. They also cherished their interactions with the locals there.
How the locals viewed the programme

Among the locals who attended the IIV 2017 programme is Nur Arfah Aziz,15, from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Rungkup in Bagan Datuk.
Arfah attended the classes on Wednesday and Thursday evenings after her father got to know of the programme through the manager of the PI1M in Simpang Empat Rungkup.
“I initially learnt to create games using the ‘Inventor’ application. We were then exposed to other applications and we created a short movie using the Movie Maker application."
The short movie about cyber bullying was created by a group of 12 students and won first place in the contest held in conjunction with the IIV programme.
Arfah was also impressed with the way the volunteers tutored them and they helped invoke her interest in IT. Since attending the course she has been trying her hand on some of the applications at home. — Bernama