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Good practice Imported

Digital Literacy Initiative (DLI) Laos

Laos · Vientiane · See the Laos profile · See the Vientiane profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 100% 8/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Swisscontact and The Dariu Foundation launched a two-year coding, digital-entrepreneurship and code-club programme for upper-secondary and TVET students across three Lao provinces, working with the Ministry of Education and Sports.

2700 students
Upper-secondary students targeted for ICT training (2024-2026)
450 students
TVET students targeted for digital-business training (2024-2026)
49 people
Attendees at the programme launch event (3 April 2024)
Digital Literacy Initiative (DLI) Laos

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
Swisscontact / The Dariu Foundation
Period
2024-2026 (ongoing)
Keywords
digital literacy, coding, TVET, youth employability, education

Context

Laos has limited digital-skills provision within secondary and vocational education, and rising youth-unemployment concerns have pushed government and donors toward ICT-for-employability programmes.

Objectives

Build coding, digital-entrepreneurship and ICT skills among upper-secondary and TVET students in three Lao provinces (Khammouane, Xiangkhouang and Oudomxay), and work toward the Ministry of Education and Sports formally endorsing the approach.

Activities

The programme strengthens teachers' ICT-teaching capacity, establishes student "code clubs" where teams build tech solutions, and engages the Ministry of Education and Sports on institutionalising the approach as a non-formal educational activity; it launched on 3 April 2024 in Vientiane.

Results

As of mid-2026, no outcome results have been published; the figures of 2,700 upper-secondary students and 450 TVET students are enrolment targets set at launch, not verified achievements.

Conclusions

No independent third-party evaluation exists yet; available information comes only from the implementing and funding organisations themselves (Swisscontact and the Dariu Foundation).

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Two-year programme spanning three provinces, teacher training and student code clubs, funded by Bread for the World and The Dariu Foundation; no total budget figure given.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — Two-year programme (2024-2026), launched 3 April 2024; still within its original funding window as of mid-2026.
Staffing & skills
Swisscontact as lead implementer, Teachers trained under the programme to deliver coding/ICT lessons, Lao Ministry of Education and Sports as government partner

Conditions for success

  • Government (MoES) buy-in for eventual institutionalisation
  • Teacher ICT-capacity building preceding student-facing delivery
  • Coordination across three provinces (Khammouane, Xiangkhouang, Oudomxay)

Common failure modes

  • Institutionalisation into MoES is only an aspiration, not a secured continuation beyond the 2024-2026 project period
  • No outcome results published yet to confirm targets are being met

Commonly funded by

Philanthropic / foundation funding

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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