Lucknow: Youth road show

Under the regional activity of the WSIS YC, the Indian campaign toward awareness generation among the youth on the importance of ICTs was held in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) on 10th November 2005. Datamation staff was able to mobilize about 200 participants for the event. These participants were in the age group of 15-32 yrs., a mix of both boys and girls. Under the event, a rally started at about 10:00 a.m from Datamation’s ICT center at ‘Bangla Bazaar’ and went on till the ‘Killa’ village. This distance was covered both by foot and bus. A bus was hired for this purpose and banners and posters were put up for awareness generation. On the way, posters and brochures were distributed at homes and shops in large numbers. The participants kept reciting slogans on the way about the importance of computers for youth empowerment. From this village the rally moved towards Datamation’s ICT center at ‘Nishatganj’. On this route also, the participants enthusiastically distributed posters and brochures. From here, the participants moved to the bus.

The response received was great as at all routes youth expressed their interest in joining the ICT center and making economically productive use of its learning. Datamation’s ICT experts kept providing useful information about the importance of computers and the role they could play in the income generation of the participants. As these people were also familiarized with various CD based modules on vocational and life skills, these people showed keen interest in learning from these and trying to use them for income generation purpose. The will and determination on the faces of these youth highlighted that the rally was successful in making these people aware of the potential of ICTs. Nishatganj was the final destination from where the bus went back to ‘Bangla Bazar’. In between, a time was allotted for lunch, and finally the rally came to a close at 6:00 p.m.