"Pag-asa," the Filipino word for hope, embodies the vision of this initiative—empowering persons deprived of liberty (PDL) through ICT training. By fostering digital literacy, this program bridges the gap between incarceration and opportunity, ensuring that no one is left behind in the evolving digital landscape.
Implemented in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines this transformative project equips PDLs with essential ICT skills, enhancing their capabilities and holistic development. Through hands-on training, participants gain proficiency in computer use, online communication, digital safety, and internet essentials—crucial skills that prepare them for reintegration into society.
Beyond education, this initiative opens doors to employment, entrepreneurship, and lifelong learning, empowering PDLs to rebuild their futures. By increasing digital proficiency, the program strengthens their potential for sustainable livelihoods and social inclusion.
This initiative underscores the power of technology in rehabilitation. It is a testament to the belief that everyone deserves a second chance—where digital skills serve as a key to hope, transformation, and a brighter tomorrow.

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• Oriental Mindoro, Philippines

The technology-driven digital literacy program implemented in Calapan City District Jail Tech4Ed Center has strong potential for replicability in other regions and beyond, particularly in underserved and marginalized areas. Its approach to using ICTs for education and empowerment is adaptable and scalable, aligning with the goals of Action Line C4. The program's success is rooted in its scalable training modules, which are customizable to suit different community needs, learning levels, and available resources. This flexibility allows the program to be replicated in various areas, with local trainers facilitating the training, ensuring minimal setup requirements for expansion.
A key factor in its replicability is the community-centered approach. The project becomes sustainable and adaptable to diverse environments. The focus on technology accessibility also ensures the program to help and enhance skills of the PDL’s by using mobile devices, computers, and offline solutions for those without reliable internet access. The program’s success is further supported by partnerships with local organizations, such as government units and NGOs, which help provide additional resources and expertise. These partnerships enhance the program’s reach and sustainability, making it easier to replicate in other areas.

The sustainability of the project is rooted in several key factors that ensure its long-term success and continued impact. First, the project employs a digital training and enhancement which empowers PDL’s to carry out training and share knowledge with others. This creates a multiplier effect, allowing the program to expand beyond its initial participants and ensuring that the knowledge is passed on even after the program ends. By training the PDL’s, the project also creates a network of trained individuals who can sustain and grow the initiative within their own communities after reintegration to the communities.
In addition, the community-centered approach ensures that the project is deeply integrated into the social and cultural fabric of the community. By involving local community leaders and stakeholders, the program gains support from within the community itself, which fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility. This buy-in from the community increases the likelihood of long-term success, as participants are more likely to continue the learning process and encourage others to join.
The program also focuses on technology accessibility, using low-cost devices and offline resources where necessary. This ensures that the initiative can continue even in areas with limited infrastructure or inconsistent internet connectivity. By addressing the technological barriers that often prevent marginalized communities from accessing digital literacy programs, the program becomes more adaptable and sustainable in a variety of settings.

The project actively promotes key WSIS values by fostering digital inclusion, empowering individuals, and creating equal opportunities for marginalized groups. The initiative ensures that communities, including the PDL’s, have access to the necessary tools, skills, and knowledge to participate in the digital world, bridging the digital divide and enabling individuals who previously lacked technological resources to engage with modern technology. This aligns with WSIS’s call for ICTs for all and emphasizes the importance of ICT access for development. The program also focuses on capacity building, equipping participants with essential digital skills for education, employment, and entrepreneurship. By offering training in basic ICT skills, online safety, communication, and computer usage, it contributes to improving digital literacy at the local level and helps create a workforce capable of contributing to the digital economy, in line with WSIS’s objective of fostering capacity building across communities. Additionally, the program promotes community empowerment and active participation by enabling individuals to engage with educational resources, government services, and business opportunities. This empowers persons deprived of liberty to become active, informed participants in society and ensures their inclusion in the broader knowledge society, as emphasized by WSIS. Furthermore, the program contributes to the creation of knowledge societies by encouraging learning, innovation, and growth in the digital space. Through digital literacy, participants are introduced to e-learning, e-government services, and ICT entrepreneurship, which helps improve social and economic mobility, making them capable of navigating the rapidly evolving digital world. The program also fosters public-private partnerships and stakeholder collaboration, encouraging cooperation between local governments, community organizations, and the private sector.