 Brussels, BELGIUM | 26 FEBRUARY 2013
Today, youth unemployment in the EU27 is higher than 20%. While demand for employees with ICT skills is growing by around 3% a year, pessimistic projections warn that if nothing is done to resolve the mismatch between current skills and needs of the labour market, up to 800.000 (1) ICT practitioners’ vacancies will remain unfilled by 2015.
Accenture, Liberty Global and Microsoft decided to take action. Together with Telecentre-Europe, an umbrella organisation that represents ICT learning centres & library networks from all over Europe, they created the Get Online Week Alliance that will support this year’s Get Online Week campaign – happening between 18-24 March 2013.around 3% a year, pessimistic projections warn that if nothing is done to resolve the mismatch between current skills and needs of the labour market, up to 800.000 (1) ICT practitioners’ vacancies will remain unfilled by 2015.
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TCF is down to the last two days of acceptance of entries to theGlobal Telecentre Awards. To date, they have received a total of 59 entries distributed among six categories namely: Telecentre,Telecentre Manager, Telecentre Network, Telecentre Initiative,Telecentre Innovation, and Information Access Center.
Entries to the awards should be made via a blog post in any of Telecentre.org Foundation’s online communities in English, Spanish, Arabic, Russian and French.
» For details, read the Awards guidelines.
Taking place for the first time this year, the Awards seek to recognize deserving individuals, networks and organizations in the global telecentre movement in a bid to push excellence in the delivery of ICT-based services to the communities in different parts of the world.
Major winners will get a chance to personally claim their award during the Spark event (also known as the 4th Global Forum on Telecentres) that will take place from May 28-29 in Granada, Spain.
» Read related announcement: TCF launches 1st Global Telecentre Awards
 Telecentre.org Foundation (TCF) and the National Information Society Agency (NIA) of Korea have announced the inclusion of an additional category in the 1st Global Telecentre Awards, a major initiative that seeks to recognize and celebrate the best players in the international telecentre arena.
Next to the already established categories of Best Global Telecentre, Telecentre Manager, Telecentre Network, Telecentre Initiative and Telecentre Innovation, the Best Information Access Center will be the sixth category in the Global Telecentre Awards sponsored by TCF, NIA and SPARK, in cooperation with the regional telecentre networks.
» Read more at our community site
 The Adobe Youth Voices program is selecting organizations to receive training, resources & 1.200 USD to lead a multi-year media production program on social issues that affect youth. Deadline for applications is January 31th, 2013
If selected by TakingITGlobal, 2 youth educators will be provided with tools and an 8 weeks e-course to become Adobe Voices educators. Eligible organizations are organizations that are currently delivering youth-focused programs and initiatives within which they can integrate the youth media making program.
» Read more on our community site
 After 3 years of implementing the Library Development Program at Polish Libraries, a very informative and well written report has now been issued about the impact of the program on the end users.
The program is a joint venture between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Polish-American Freedom Foundation, implemented in Poland by the Information Society Development Foundation.
One of the conclusions is the important role libraries play in reducing digital exclusion in Poland: as many as 37% of respondents used a computer for the first time in their life in the library. Another conclusion is that libraries serve as the “Third Place” in localities: a meeting place which is friendly and open to all, combining the advantages of private & public spaces.
» Read more at our community site
 Novateca, a 2 year learning grant for librarians from the Global Libraries program (Gates Foundation), will provide wide scale public access to ICT through the public library network in Moldova.
 In november, an advocacy training session was organized for the six libraries that will become the regional training centers that will train local librarians to offer public access to the internet. During the training, participants learned how to find partners, solve problems at the local level, and how to develop an advocacy campaign in cooperation with mass-media.
By the end of the year, five to eight village libraries within each selected region will be selected to participate in the program, bringing the total number of libraries in the Novateca pilot network to around 60.
» Read more at our community site
Few issues have as acute a need for social innovation as tackling unemployment. Across European Member States millions of people are either unemployed, under-employed, some are in unsustainable employment, and others are economically inactive. The EU Commission is offering a prize to social innovations that have a real impact on helping more people move towards work or into new types of work.
 The competition is launched in memory of Diogo Vasconcelos and includes a strong mentoring component for shortlisted entries. The three best proposals will each be awarded with a prize of 20.000 € in May 2013.
The deadline for entering the competition is 21 December 2012.
»Read more at our community site
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