Increased Opportunity for all with Opening of Three ADOC Centers in Arequipa and in Chicolayo, Peru

The APECⁱ Digital Opportunity Center (ADOCⁱ) project is proud to open three new ADOC Centers in cooperation with local partners AISPPA and Yachay Wasi in Arequipa and Lambayeque in Chicolayo on May 29th, 2008. These ADOC Centers aim to provide training on information and communication technology (ICT) for women and children, and small and medium enterprises (SMEsⁱ) that have encountered difficulty in gaining access to computers and are eager to gain knowledge of e-Commerce. These ADOC centers seek to empower them to take full advantage of the digital opportunities afforded by ICT and the Internetⁱ.

ADOC opened its first large Digital Opportunity Training Center and project office in Peru in 2005 with the generous support of its local partner, PROMPERU. Since then, it has opened seven more centers, including two new e-Learning Digital Centers and one e-Commerce Center in 2008. These Centers are the fruits of cooperative effort between Peru's public and private sectors and the ADOC Secretariat Office in Chinese Taipei.

ADOC is an ambitious four-year project initiated by Chinese Taipei and endorsed in the ADPC Leaders' Statement of 2004. It addresses the issue of the "digital divide," a problem brought about by the uneven distribution of knowledge and access to ICT. ADOC is dedicated to bridging the digital divide within the APEC community through training and trading. The initial proposal to establish ADOC was in response to the Brunei Goals set out by APEC Leaders in 2000. Basically, the Goals seek to enable citizens in every community to have either individual or community access to the Internet by 2010. The ADOC project also extends to other APEC member economies: Chile, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand.

Thus far, more than 10,000 Peruvians have received training at the ADOC centers in Lima, Arequipa, and Chiclayo during ADOC's four years in Peru. Two new ADOC e-Learning Digital Centers in Arequipa that are opening today will aim to train around 1,000 women and children, as well as one new e-Commerce Center in Chicolayo will also aim more than 500 SMEs benefits during its first year of operation.

For additional information, please contact Mr. Maxim Lu, the representative of the ADOC Secretariat in Lima.