Over 400 center managers, workers and other stakeholders gathered in Puerto Princesa City on August 14-16 for the Knowledge Exchange Conference (KEC) 14 organized by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Philippine Community eCenter Network (PhilCeCNet).
Dr. Mel Bandalaria, chancellor of University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) and chairman of PhilCeCNet, said on Friday that KEC 14 is an annual gathering of information and communications technology (ICT) advocates in the Philippines to share knowledge and acknowledge best practices of eCenters or Tech4Ed centers.
“PhilCeCNet is an inter-agency collaboration, DICT is our partner sila talaga ‘yong may program sa eCenters, they are calling it as Tech4Ed centers. Itong KEC 14 is an annual gathering of all those who are working on eCenters knowledge sharing, sharing of best practices, opportunity to know ‘yong mga nangyayari, kung ano na ba ang thrusts ng government. It is a platform, a venue for us to be together, it’s a nationwide activity,” she said.
She also said that this is the opportunity for them to recognize the best projects of the centers.
On the other hand, Cheryl Ortega, regional director of DICT-Luzon Cluster III, said that the Department is focusing on the content and opportunities for work and to update and equip the center managers with relevant knowledge for their work.
“We focus on the content and employment opportunities ‘yong conference na-emphasize how can we elevate, how can we enable people in terms of the future of work, kaya we do this kind of conference not only to update the center managers, but to equip them and make them more attuned to the time like we’re gearing towards the future of work and how do we face the future of work,” she said.
The Tech4ED centers are common access points for people who wanted to pursue their goals for education, for employment and government services. It will give communities access to information, communication, technology, government services, non-formal education, skills training, telehealth, job markets, and business portals.
Their activities include trainings, PhilCeCNet awarding and raffle draw.
