 As a preparation for Get Online Week 2013, which this year focuses on youth, former Tvoy Kurs responsible Ekaterina Fedotova has published a series of stories of the Teach Your Family campaign (2012) that illustrate how Russian youngsters between 12-17 have been empowered by providing digital literacy courses for those with little access to ICT training.
The project involved around 1.000 schoolchildren who, with the encouragement and support from school teachers and using materials developed by Tvoy Kurs, volunteered to help their family members, neighbors, and friends with their online journeys. 
Just read the wonderful stories of Nika Nikiforova (12), Angelina Bagriy (14), Timur Ibadov (13), Maksim Klevtsov (17), Anastasia Sokolova (14) and Ilya Malyshkin (17), all young people that got excited about volunteering and helped their family members, neighbors & friends overcome their fear of computers and make their first steps in the digital world.
» Read more on our community site
 The Your Course: Digital Literacy (Tvoy Kurs) project, conducted by PH International (Project Harmony, Inc.) and Microsoft, together with partner organizations in more than 100 cities across Russia, was completed in January 2013.
During the implementation of the initiative from February 2010 to January 2013 more than 280.000 people attended Tvoy Kurs courses and seminars. This included more than 135.000 who received Digital Literacy certificates to prove their knowledge.
» read more on our community site
 A few days ago, the 3-year project Your Course: Improving Computer Literacy was completed in the Volgograd region of Russia. After completing the digital literacy course, Russian village people that first claimed “to be zero in computer technologies” left with a grown self-esteem and a bigger respect among their neighbors and relatives.
The project included not only Volgograd, a city with 2.5+ million inhabitants, but also small towns and remote villages. Villages of the Uryupinsk district actively participated in the project, and among the participants of the project were both young and older people, educated ones and less educated.
The major advertising in this area happens word-of-mouth. As around 28,000+ individuals live in the Uryupinsk district and people tell their stories to relatives and neighbors, there are far more potential students than the approximately 100 students that have already completed the course in this area.
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 The electronic resource center of the Kemerovo Regional Academic Library is one of the leaders in the region in terms of the number of visitors that want to improve their IT competency and expand their social & employment opportunities. With a waiting list of 1.000 people that want to take a Tvoy Kurs free digital literacy training, the center decided to scale up the number of training centers in Kemerovo city and in the Kemerovo region.
The center joined the network of the Tvoy Kurs Computer Literacy Centers in 2010. Through participation in the project, the center has opened up new opportunities and expanded access to ICT for unemployed (or partially employed) job seekers, people at risk of unemployment, senior citizens and people with disabilities. In 2011, five extra training centers were launched, as the demand for digital literacy training sessions was very high among local citizens. In 2012, another twelve centers were opened at the libraries of the region. In 2013, even more training centers are expected to join the project.
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 At the Archangelsk Tvoy Kurs Center (Russia), volunteer trainers with good knowledge of sign language, are trained to become facilitators of Digital Literacy courses for people with hearing impairments. The training is part of “Accessible Environment” project implemented by the All-Russian Society for Deaf People.
Most deaf people that reside in the towns of the Russian Arkhangelsk region don’t have computer or Internet skills, while it could give them not only a better access to information but also an opportunity for distance interaction. The program also provides deaf people with new communication opportunities, using modern information and video communications centers as mediators between them and people with regular hearing.
» Read more at our community site
» Read the story of one of the beneficiaries at our community site
 During the month of April, Telecentre-Europe launched a contest among the national partners of Get Online Week 2012 for the best report of the organized activities. PH International of Russia came out as the absolute winner and wins the award of 2000€, followed by the partners in Latvia & Lithuania on equal footing and by another ex aequo of Germany & Moldova. Congratulations to the winner, and to all the national partners that submitted reports!
Participants could win numerous points by entering different elements (a general report, success stories, photos, videos and a media coverage report).
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 PH International‘s Tvoy Kurs trained 100.000 people during 2011 and organized a contest among the 2.222 trainers of the program. Their application stories reveal some fascinating methods & approaches to achieve succesful learning:
One of the award winners, Anastasia Ershova, stated how important it is to praise the students for even the slightest achievements: “One of our trainees confessed that he hadn’t been praised that much in his whole life and that was the major reason for him to come to the center…”
» Read more trainer tips on our community site
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