VivaCell-MTS supported Creativity Lab opening in the Village of Dsegh

VivaCell-MTS and the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF)’s continuous collaboration resulted in the opening of the sixth Creativity Lab. Equipped with a smart board, modern computers, as well as special mobile furniture, the newly opened Creativity Lab will host students from the Dsegh Community School in Lori Marz of Armenia.

The Creativity Lab will help not only those students who are eager to learn, but also all the teachers who wish to integrate the use of technologies into the teaching process and make it more interesting and content-rich. The peculiarities of these innovative classrooms include powerful technological capacity, as well as availability of special mobile furniture. The latter allows for the implementation of individual work, work in pairs and in groups.

The partnering organizations are hopeful that provision of new opportunities to the village schools will encourage creativity, lead to the revelation of students’ talents and development of their skills. It is crucial that up-to-date tools for encouraging creativity are equally accessible to both urban and rural youth. The program that was implemented throughout 2013-2014, has already been beneficial to the schoolchildren from Sardarapat, Vanand, Hatsik communities of Armavir Marz, Arteni community of Aragatsotn Marz and Tumanyan community of Lori Marz.

“Education has an important place for any country striving for development. Acquisition of knowledge, though, is not enough for success. One should have the ability to make good use of the acquired information, the skill to identify the theoretical knowledge in practice and flexibility in decision-making. The knowledge acquired during school years becomes more useful when the student can reason logically and show a creative approach. I think that such creativity labs will functionally serve to this end,” VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian commented.

Anoush Yedigaryan, COAF Executive Director, attaches great importance to the development of technologies in rural educational facilities. “COAF’s development philosophy is based on the belief that rural communities are vital for boosting economies and ensuring sustainable development in the country, and for raising the level of education. The projects implemented jointly with our reliable partner VivaCell-MTS will allow us to improve the accessibility of information with the application of technologies, develop innovation and creativity”.

The Dsegh School, accommodating 245 students, is an educational facility following good traditions. It is home to numerous talented students who are participants and winners of various contests and festivals. In addition to the major foreign language taught in the school, there is also an English Language Club, functioning as part of the school’s afterschool activities. The newly opened Creativity Lab will enhance and develop the skills of Dsegh students, will improve the level of their informational and communication literacy, and encourage the application of technologies in learning and teaching practices.