HP-ORT Digital Community Centró at the Secondary School # 55
The opening of the Digital Community Center in Tula was celebrated on May 24, 2004. The Centre was officially opened on Monday, May 24, 2004. Avi Ganon, director of ORT Russia, Belarus and Central Asia, represented World ORT at the opening and Dr. Sergey Gorinskiy, deputy director of ORT CIS and Baltic States for research and development, welcomed the representatives of project partners. Hewlett-Packard was represented by Owen Kemp, vice president and general director of HP CIS, and Philippe Didier, director of HP’s e-Inclusion and Social Investment in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The city of Tula was represented by Vladimir Arsentiev, First Deputy Mayor and manager of the city’s e-Tula plan for increasing use of ICT in the community. The opening was well attended by community leaders, especially the city’s educational community, and was well covered by local television.
The opening ceremony was followed by a tour of Tula and a visit to the city’s famous armaments museum, which includes a unique and valuable collection of ancient firearms made in Tula over the last 3 centuries.
The DCC-Tula is located in Municipal Secondary School No. 55, Tula’s largest secondary school and is feverishly preparing.
In terms of the project-t more then 4000 of students were trained, among them students of secondary school #55, of Tula regional boarding school, school managers and teachers, Local government officers and unemployed (under Employment Service assignment).
ORT-KesherNet Centre
The ORT-KesherNet Computer Center is located at Jewish community premises and is operational since July 2002.
There is a special computer literacy program for old Jewish people, organized by the Center. Training seminars have been developed for groups of women in December 2005, devoted to very popular economic issue – “How to be successful seeking new job”.
The Center have good links with different non-Jewish organizations, women councils and national diasporas, participates in social actions. Last year the Center has organized collection of used clothes at the city center for social assistance for people in need, devoted to the Day of Children Protection.
Since 2009 the joint project of Hewlett-Packard Corporation and ORT of "GET-IT" Centre is realised here.
HP-ORT GET-IT Centre at the Boarding School for Deaf People #2
December, 13, 2007 a new HP-ORT GET-IT Centre was opened at the Tula Boarding School for Deaf Children and Children with Special Needs # 2 – the only educational institution of this kind in Russia.
School was founded in 1948 to provide people with hearing problems with trades and professions to give them a chance to earn their living. During last 60 years thousands of students have graduated from School. Now there are130 students trained at School. It is the only educational institution in Russia focused on children with specials needs from low income socially underserved families. Students are provided with free meals, accommodation, medical service, psychological support. Experienced tutors train them carefully into the professions of metal workers, shoemakers, tailors.
And now they will have a chance to become ICT specialists. New Centre was started in terms of the GET-IT Program designed for new entrepreneurs. Cooperation between ORT, Tula Vocational Boarding School for Deaf Students #2, the Microenterprise Acceleration Institute and Hewlett Packard Corporation brought this project to life. New set of notebooks and “T-Tools” courseware developed with support of HP expands the possibility of the Centre giving students with special needs an opportunity to obtain skills and knowledge for finding jobs in small businesses.
