28 February 2012: The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR, in collaboration with the UN University International Institute for Software Technology (UNU-IIST), held a workshop to introduce the Poverty Reduction and Agricultural Management (PRAM) Knowledge Sharing Network (KSN) software, which supports ongoing poverty reduction initiatives, to extension staff from District Agriculture and Forestry Offices Technical Service Centers and Village Development Centers.

The workshop took place on 7 February 2012. The PRAM initiative was designed to assist the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to implement programmes aimed at reducing poverty and improving food security. It is an educational programme aimed at building the capacity of government officials at the local level and equip them with the tools necessary to reduce poverty in their districts. The KSN software will enable district officers to share information about local level poverty reduction projects in a peer-to-peer learning environment. It also supports the dissemination of information to the district level.

The initiative, part of the UNU-IIST project ICT-Enabled Education for Poverty Reduction in Lao PDR, is a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Wetlands Alliance Program, the University of Bremen and the institute in the country. [UNU-IIST Press Release]