Ana Besolí Castells

Age: 27 years old
Position at Telecentre: Telecentre Operator
Years in Service (at current telecentre): 6 years
Years in Service (at current position): 4 years

Telecentre/Employer Information

Name of Telecentre: Telecentre de l'Alt Urgell
City: Alt Urgell (Lleida)
Country: Spain
Region: Europe
Name of Nominating Individual/Entity: Telecentre de l'Alt Urgell

Background:

Because of my age, my career is short, but not without experience.

My career began in 2005,  combining work and studies. I started in the telecentre as an administrative assistant and worked on Friday afternoon and Saturday all day. My duties were to control the correct functioning of the machinery and to help the users with their technology problems.

After I finished my studies in 2007, I stayed in the telecentre as a full-time worker. This increased my responsibilities and gave me the opportunity to organize and lead activities and projects to improve the digital literacy and broaden the knowledge of those who already use ICT.

Apart from digital literacy training, the telecentre offers more services. For example, due to the geographical remoteness of universities, the telecentre provides information and advice about careers and entry conditions on the Open University of Catalunya (UOC) and the University of Lleida (UDL). Another service that was recently incoroporated is the counseling and testing for the Accreditation of skills in communication technologies (ACTIC).

Another activity is training and advice for entrepreneurs, as the telecentre also has a "business incubator" that consists of 7 offices where entrepreneurs can start their business.

Contribution to Digital Literacy and Community Development:

The telecentre of Alt Urgell is located in hte north of Catalonia, in the Catalan Pyrenees, an area with a population density as low as of 15.5 inhabitants per km2.

Due to its complicated geography, l'Alt Urgell has had many difficulties to cover the entire zone with the internet.

Another factor that I believe is necessary to mention is that the principal sector of  the economy of the region is the primary sector, the family farm. The women combine the household tasks, with the care for their children and the work on the farms. This means  they have very little time for taking a course.

The telecentre has opened several lines of activity, the first is public internet access, which between 2007 and 2010 registered the connection of  119,449 users. Another activity are the computer training courses that are held both in the building as in other places decentralized throughout the region, this to facilitate the training for that part of the population that has difficulties with transport. During the same period, 1297 women out of a total of 2124 people were trained, with 6366 hours of training.

The third activity is about the university, as the telecentre provides information and assistance for tuition, validations, etc.. of the UOC and the UDL. This service has managed to bring university studies to an area far away from any university.

The telecentre has a "business incubator" to which only an innovative start-ups can access. Apart from offering an office where to start their business and hanks to my studies in business administration, the entrepreneurs also receive advice on the daily management questions management of their companies. Due to the economic situation, self-employment is a viable way to recover the economy and to reduce the unemployment in the region. During the years of functioning, the incubator has hosted 6 entrepreneurs, of whom 4 are women.

As said, the telecentre is a collaborating center for the ACTIC exame (accreditation of skills in information technology and communication). This accreditation provides assurance to companies about the computer knowledge of the workers they’re hiring.

Leadership, Partnership and Resource Mobilisation:

The call center works closely with the various areas of the County Council, the organization on which it depends, and also with the area of ​​youth, economic promotion, etc. In this way we can achieve to develop projects through joint activities for which we use financial resources that aren’t explicitly addressed to the telecentre. 

Partnerships were not only limited to the areas of the County Council, in a more general way the telecentre, together with the ICD (Catalan Institute of Women),  has forged relationships with women's associations in the region and in neighboring areas to improve the digital literacy of the women. We also worked together with the Catalan Employment Agency to improve the employability of the people who are unemployed. We also developed programs to educate and occupy vulnerable youth, through programs like PQPI and SUMA'T.

In the same way we participate regularly in meetings with the job counselors of the county. Through these meetings we plan and carry out joint activities to facilitate job placement. Another main pillar are the companies of the region and here we work together with the Association of Rural Tourism, the Association of Entrepreneurs of Alt Urgell, the International Foundation for Women Entrepreneurs and the European Centre for Innovative Enterprises.

Finally, the telecentre has created communication channels to keep the contact with the users and inform them of the activities performed. We send a monthly newsletter and publish interesting news and activities on the website of the District Council of Alt Urgell and on the blog www.telecentre.tk, and we also incorporated the 2.0 networks Facebook and Twitter.