Digital Literacy Initiative (DLI) Laos

The Digital Literacy Initiative (DLI) is a two-year (2024-2026) programme run by the Swiss NGO Swisscontact with The Dariu Foundation and Bread for the World as funding partners, and Laos's Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) as government partner. It aims to build coding, digital-entrepreneurship and ICT skills among upper-secondary school and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students in three provinces: Khammouane, Xiangkhouang and Oudomxay.

The programme has three components: strengthening teachers' ICT capacity so they can deliver coding and programming lessons; establishing student "code clubs" where teams develop tech solutions; and working with MoES to institutionalise the DLI approach as an endorsed non-formal educational activity. It targets 2,700 upper-secondary students for ICT training and 450 TVET students for digital-business training.

The project was formally launched on 3 April 2024 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Vientiane, with 49 attendees from provincial and central government, development partners and the private sector, including MoES International Cooperation Department Director General Silinthone Sacklokham, Dariu Foundation Vice-President Daniel Paul Keller, and Swisscontact Lao PDR Country Director Michael Fink.

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

Stakeholders involved: Swisscontact (lead implementer), The Dariu Foundation and Bread for the World (funders), Lao Ministry of Education and Sports (government partner), participating upper-secondary schools and TVET colleges in Khammouane, Xiangkhouang and Oudomxay.

Key learning points: As a newly launched (2024) initiative, no outcome results are yet published; the cited figures (2,700 and 450 students) are enrolment targets set at launch, not verified achievements.

Evaluation: No independent third-party evaluation has been published as of mid-2026; both public sources are from directly involved implementing/funding organisations (Swisscontact and Dariu Foundation), not arms-length evaluators.

Information sources: https://www.swisscontact.org/en/projects/digital-literacy-initiative-laos ; https://dariu.org/news-en/

Read the full analysis: https://www.swisscontact.org/en/projects/digital-literacy-initiative-laos