Film Annex Builds Internet Classrooms in Afghanistan’s Schools in Collaboration with the Afghan Citadel Software Company
NEW YORK, NY, June 4, 2012 – After launching the Afghan Development Project in April 2012, the online film distribution company, Film Annex, completed the construction of two Internet classrooms in Herat, Afghanistan. With the mission to bring free Internet access to schools in order to educate the youth in Afghanistan and improve the country’s economy, Film Annex has added a list of projects to its initiative. With support from Roya Mahboob, the CEO of the Afghan Citadel Software Company, and her team, Film Annex is targeting to build 40 Internet classrooms and connect 160,000 Afghan students to the World Wide Web.
Film Annex built the first Internet classroom at the Baghnazargah School, 5 kilometers away from the center of Herat. The school was established in 1989 and is currently home to 4,000 students and 100 teachers. The Film Annex production team in Afghanistan documented the construction of the new classroom with videos. Film Annex provided the camera equipment used by the Afghanistan crew, and the footage was edited together in New York. The class’ opening was celebrated with a ceremony, where teachers, students, government officials, journalists, and administrators were present.
Last week, Film Annex celebrated the opening of another Internet Classroom at the Houz-e-Karbas High School near Herat, Afghanistan. The school was founded in 1962 and has 4000 students, two-thirds of which are female. There are 92 teachers, 5 senior teachers, one education manager, and one administrator. The Film Annex Afghan production team documented the process once again from the construction to the opening ceremony. To watch all the videos related to the project, visit the Afghan Development Web TV.
To the initiative, Film Annex added several new projects, including the development of an educational curriculum with a special focus on social media strategies, the development of an educational software in Dari, which will allow Film Annex to monitor test results and reward students, a direct investment into the Afghan “technology grid,” a direct investment into Herat’s school infrastructure, and micro payments for micro scholarships via mobile money system. In addition to these projects, Film Annex created a Film Annex production team in Afghanistan whose mission is to document positive stories and implemented a new navigation system onto the Film Annex platform in Dari for Dari-speaking users.
Francesco Rulli, CEO of Film Annex stated, "Much of the Internet infrastructure in Afghanistan is being built by Cisco Systems which is funded by our friends at USAID. We are excited for the introduction of the Internet and computers into Afghan schools, but none of this would be possible without the work of Cisco, Citadel Software, and USAID. The building of Afghanistan is happening now, and it takes a coordinated effort on many organizations to complete the Internet classrooms. The return on investment in this project is remarkable, considering that it gives access to thousand of creative minds with the power of social media and gaming. Our goal is to continue with an ROI of 200% net per month."
Film Annex is currently spending $15,000 to $30,000 per classroom for renovations, computer installation, and Internet connection. Currently, the company, in collaboration with the Afghan Citadel Software Company, is building the third Internet classroom and developing Examer, a software program that not only measures the students’ test results, but also monitors honesty of performance. For more information, visit our corporate page.
About Film Annex
Film Annex is an online film distribution platform and Web Television Network with 220,000 registered users and over 1.5 million viewers a day. The company creates free Web TV channels for content providers and supports them financially through an ad-revenue sharing model. A meeting point for filmmakers, film festivals, film enthusiasts, companies, and organizations, Film Annex educates and entertains audiences by making meaningful, diverse, and high- quality films available to a global audience. For more information, visit www.filmannex.com.
About Citadel Software Company
Citadel designs and develops commodity software in an expeditious fashion, using talented in-house designers. The objectives of Citadel are to generate profit, grow at a challenging and manageable rate, and to be good citizens. The keys to success for Citadel is marketing and networking, as well as responsiveness, quality, and having a loyal customer base. The local market for software business in Afghanistan, while not new, is wide open for fresh and expanding consulting firms. Citadel customizes software for the individual needs of each client while providing training and a follow-up service. For more information, visit http://acitasoft.com.
CONTACT
Eren Gulfidan
Film Annex
eg@filmannex.com