Laos

Context

The success of the South East Asian (SEA) Games in December 2009 has accelerated foreign investment and urban development, mainly in the capital city of Vientiane. Major companies from China, South Korea and Viet Nam have obtained long-term land-use rights and invested in many areas such as excavation of minerals, large-scale plantations and resort development. However, there is a growing concern that these investments may turn out to be exploitation by the major powers, rather than contributing to the general public of Laos.

Summary

In the past several years, the SVA has run its activities by "creating model facilities and activities" "penetrating into more difficult areas" and "through networking". So far we have "modelized"; 1) Public Library Services, 2) Operation Support for the Children's House, 3) the Place for Teacher Training and Resource Sharing, as well as an approach to improve primary school education with an association for school building construction. In regards to networking and further penetration, the Children's Cultural Center modeled after Children's House that started being supported in 1996 is now being spread to as many as 35 places across the nation by the Department of Information and Culture. The SVA would like to evaluate "Primary School Construction and School Cluster Support" and the "Activity to Deliver Mobile Book-Boxes"respectively to examine how we can further roll out these activities in the future.

Primary School Construction and School Cluster Support

In order to improve primary school education, the SVA has provided support for both the "hard" aspect (infrastructure development) and the "soft" aspect (human resource development) in the southern province of Salavane and in a central province of Bolikhamsay. Regarding support for the "hard" aspect, the SVA has helped construct five elementary school buildings (two six-classroom buildings and three buildings with three classrooms), enabling about 440 children to learn in the new school buildings.
In regards to the support for the "soft" aspect, the SVA has held a total of four types of seminars as follows; 1) Seminar on school group management (for principals), 2) Seminar on teaching methods and library related matters (for teachers), 3) Seminar on how to participate in school operation (for parents and pupil's associations) and 4) Seminar on how to check the progress of the operation of the above-mentioned programs. 420 elementary school teachers and parents attended these seminars. In 2009 we have seen an increase of construction costs of school buildings due to soaring prices of construction materials, labor costs and transportation fees. There are other issues of the prolonged time for obtaining permission to procure wood because the forest preservation movement has become more intense than before. However, the SVA has successfully continued our program by coordinating with the administrative authority and by cooperating with local residents. For your information, the Department of Education has changed its education policy to: 1) renovate textbooks for primary school education, 2) abolish an examination for advamcement to the next year, 3) extend the junior-high-school education period from three years to four years.
In 2010, the SVA will continue to construct more elementary school buildings in the previously mentioned two provinces. In parallel with that, the SVA will hold a seminar for faculties, depending on how the education policy of the government will change as well how the actual classroom situation will develop.

Library and Youth Activities

In order to further expand and develop the "Reading Promotion Campaign" in Laos, the SVA has constructed a public library in the northern province of Sayaboury and conducted a seminar to develop librarians in 2009. The SVA also distributed mobile book-boxes in the central province of Xienkhouang for three three years in a row as well as offering a seminar on how to effectively use mobile book-boxes. Beneficiaries of mobile book-box distribution campaigns in 2009 include 13,500 children and 386 teachers. Two activities in the northern part of Laos, namely, construction of a public library and distribution of mobile book-boxes, offered more opportunities for reading books, for many students and for faculties.

In the capital of Vientiane, the SVA has continued its mobile-library campaign. The SVA has shifted our activity base to a new elementary school and the SVA provided its services at six elementary schools and one facility for visually-challenged people, covering 11,493 students who had previously been unable to appreciate the experience of reading books.






Concerning the publication of picture books, the SVA has published three titles of fantasy/folklore picture books (3,000 copies of each title). These picture books will be distributed to a national library, children's homes, as well as public and community libraries in seven provinces. At the "Children's Home" for culture and education, 13 courses including traditional dancing, singing, weaving and others were offered to many children to inherit the precious culture of Laos. These courses also offered children a rare opportunity where they can exercise their talents, which would otherwise be difficult to identify in a school education setting.