(From Left) Microsoft Qatar Country Manager Naim Yazbeck, ictQatar Digital Society Department Executive Director Reem al-Mansouri, RAF CEO Dr Mohamed Salah Ibrahim Rota Executive Director Essa al-Mannai at the signing ceremony. Picture: Jayan Orma

By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter


In a move aimed at boosting the morale of the country's expatriate workers, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR)  signed four memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to not only increase their ICT awareness but also help them stay in regular contact with their families and friends back home.
Qatari institutions, entities and local contracting firms are partners in the `Better Connections Programme,' under which low-skilled migrant workers will have free access to ICT tools and Internet in their residential compounds.
As per the MoU, digital services would be made available to the workers in Arabic, English, Hindi, Nepalese and Bengali in their accommodations.
The MoU partners hope the services would reach no less than 10,000 workers spread over 25 compounds in the initial months.
At the signing ceremony, the officials explained that the initiative would help bridge the digital gap that existed at some levels in the country, which is said to have more than 80% internet penetration.
As per the agreement, Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al-Thani Humanitarian Services (RAF) would source, prepare and donate computers for the programme while Reach out to Asia (Rota) will deploy its volunteers to train the unskilled workers to avail of the digital services.
The programme is expected to cover expatriate workers from India, The Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Thailand, Vietnam and Ghana.
ictQATAR also inked MoUs with the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), Qatar Foundation (QF) and CH2M HILL International BV (CH2M) which work on the most iconic infrastructure projects in the country.
Through the MoUs, these institutions will seek to include provisions with their contractors to provide ICT facilities for migrant workers where ICT can support their needs, provide connectivity to ensure a technically feasible Internet access and help contractors implement the Better Connections Programme.
Microsoft Qatar will co-ordinate between all stakeholders, provide information to migrant workers and their employers through the programme and provide e-learning content to support basic ICT skills training of migrant workers.
Microsoft Qatar’s contribution will be in the form of software donation, where it will donate 1000 free Windows OS and Office licenses to RAF under the Microsoft Software Donation Programme.
Representatives of five of the country's large contractors, namely Bin Omran Contracting, HBK, J & P, L&T and China Harbour Engineering Company were signatories to the MoU. Initially services would be made available in the accommodations of their workers, it is understood.           

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