Last week, we opened the first Internet Classroom in Baghnazargah School, Herat, Afghanistan, and we are already working on the second classroom in Houz-e-Karbas, Herat, Afghanistan. Now the students have the connection to enter the global community of the World Wide Web and the tools to position themselves online.
As of today, Film Annex has a registration and navigation in Dari. The language can be activated by clicking on the Afghan flag 
at the bottom of the screen and browsing on a browser set to the Dari language or Afghan Geo-location. Buttons maintain English and Dari so that students can memorize both languages and learn English right away! Here's a snapshot of the results:
The goal is to establish a Dari friendly environment for students in Afghanistan, help them to create a profile on Film Annex, understand the value of Social Media, be introduced to the value of having profiles on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, post pictures, watch videos, and potentially, use Film Annex for tests and school related activities. This is the first very basic tool to introduce a proper Social Media Curriculum to the students.
Our partner, The Afghan Citadel Software Company has developed great educational tools and we are working on understanding what fits the needs of the Afghan Development Project.
An essential part of this initiative is the direct connection between digital media and learning how to make money online via writing blogs and advertising. Students and educational institutions can be rewarded financially with scholarships tailored to the needs of each school and district. It's not a coincidence that we have interviewed the CEOs and COOs of several AdNetworks so that they are aware of initiative and can participate in it with their know-how and promotion. Here's an example.
Our partner Mike Sweeney is a Cornell University graduate, and we often joke about the fact he is an Ivy League graduate. A question to Mike and other highly educated people:
- Is it easier to educate people to become CEOs and Nobel Prize winner? Look here for an example.
or
- Is it easier to define an interactive platform to educate and reward 160,000 children in Afghanistan who are learning Dari?
I wonder which educational institution out there could take this challenge. Film Annex is working on this now!
The US Government invested 500 Billion Dollars in Afghanistan; let's make sure the money was well spent and we don't come back to thinking this was only a WAR.
On a simple business level, pages like these are of extreme value for young people to understand what INTERNET can do for them: www.filmannex.com/pages/create_a_webtv
Feel free to drop comments, send suggestions of how to improve schooling in Afghanistan, and share with friends. We can all participate in this global learning experience. American and European youth have a lot to learn from the Afghan youth, and this type of cultural exchange is what we all need.
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