Technology Center Opens in the Gonzalo Municipal District

Technology Center Opens in the Gonzalo Municipal District
Gonzalo, Monte Plata, Dominican Republic, June 21, 2012

This is the third Community Technology Center (CTC) that has been launched in Monte Plata. Along with the two Training and Production Centers (Centros de Capacitación y Producción), they offer technical training that benefits the 10,276 families who participate in the Programa Progresando.

“Our experience in setting up the 86 Community Technology Centers which have preceded the one we are launching today, has demonstrated that, through them, not only have we succeeded in overcoming poverty and the exclusion of thousands of families who have participated in them, but, in addition, we have managed to improve their self-esteem by making those families the subject of their own self-development and the promoters of progress within their own communities,” stated Dr. Margarita Cedeño de Fernández.

The Office of the First Lady (Despacho de la Primera Dama, DPD), which is directed by Dr. Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, has opened a new Community Technology Center (CTC) in this province. It will be a space where the area residents will have the opportunity to get trained and to have access to Information and Communications Technologies (ITCs).

“Our experience in setting up the 86 Community Technology Centers which have preceded the one we are launching today, has demonstrated that, through them, not only have we succeeded in overcoming poverty and the exclusion of thousands of families who have participated in them, but, in addition, we have managed to improve their self-esteem by making those families the subject of their own self-development and the promoters of progress within their own communities,” stated Dr. Margarita Cedeño de Fernández.

She affirmed that this is the third CTC that the Office of the First Lady has built in the Monte Plata province, in addition to the two Progresando Training and Production Centers. Together they offer the comprehensive education and technical training that the institution has made available to the 10,276 families who participate in the Progresando Program, and to all individuals who wish to learn and get ahead in life.

“Our purpose with this community technology center that opens its doors today, as with all the others that are currently in operation, is to contribute to the reduction of the digital and social divide that separates those who do not have access to technology from those who do, by offering courses and training programs that will help promote their entry into the labor market,” she emphasized.

Detailed Information On The New Community Technology Center

The center is equipped with 30 computers which are connected to the Internet and which provide access to quality educational programs, as well as to countless books and encyclopedias that are part of virtual libraries.

The First Lady explained that the center will allow the inhabitants of Gonzalo to obtain information and also to share with the rest of the country and the world the natural attributes of the Province, including its landscapes, rain forests, waterfalls, ponds, and caves, as well as its prodigious diversity of plants and species, many of which are native to the country.

“Also, from here, you, the inhabitants of Gonzalo, who are producers of milk, meat, and agricultural products that supply, to a greater extent, the provincial market, will be able to learn how to improve your production and marketing methods by sharing your experiences with local and international producers,” she added.

She stated that there is a Space of Hope (Espacio de Esperanza) where girls and boys, from a very early age, will receive quality early education from qualified personnel as they become familiar with books and technology.

The CTC in Gonzalo also has a FM community radio station which will develop educational content of interest to the community and address topics of local interest, such as abuse and child labor, the prevention of disease and teen pregnancy, information for housewives, and environmental care and conservation, among others.

The Governor of the Province, César Manzueta; the Mayor of the Gonzalo Municipality, Héctor Pérez Soriano; the Director of the Dominican Telecommunications Institute, David Pérez; and representatives from the community participated in the event.

Ana Yaneiri Espíritu Reyes, who was sworn in as General Coordinator of the Management Council, together with Modesto de los Santos, as Treasurer, and Enercido Cornelio, as Coordinator of Inter-institutional Relations, offered the words of appreciation.