VietNamNet Bridge – An internet festival took place in Hue city in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on July 15 as part of the “Improving Computer Usage and Public Internet Access in Vietnam” project.

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Held by the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Department of Information and Communications and Central Nghe An province’s centre of information technology (IT) and communications, the event attracted a crowd of local people and visitors.

The project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is being carried out from 2011 in 40 provinces and cities across the country, helping install internet-connected computers in over 1,900 public libraries and communal cultural post offices nationwide.

It has supported Thua Thien-Hue with 280 computers and 41 printers at different sites in the provinces, including 21 communal post offices.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Huu Minh said public internet access points in the locality have proven effective, meeting increasing information access demand of locals and visitors.

The project positively contributes to encouraging and supporting locals to use computers and internet, offering chances for disadvantaged people to access IT and improving the cultural and spiritual life of local people, Minh stressed.

Thua Thien-Hue has designed a plan for developing IT through 2020 which will focus on applications in community development to simplify access to necessary information on production and business, healthcare, education-training, tourism and administrative procedures.

The locality hopes to install broadband internet access points in 100 percent of local communes and wards and have 70 percent of the urban population will have their personal computers connected internet.

VNA