The Technical Workshop that World Links and Digital Links International held in Dakar, Senegal from April 7^th to April 9^th, 2003 with Phil Sheppard and Steve Lenton From Digital Links International was very successful. It was hailed by the 22 participants and computer-lab attendants as a model of capacity building that will help implement Tech/Ed programs in a more efficacious and sustainable way. On behalf of Mr. Racine Senghor, President of World Links Senegal, Mr. Samba Guisse World Links National Coordinator, and all participants I would like to commend the Digital Links consultants for their dedication, their expertise, and their pedagogical approach. The team worked long hours on a weekend to address technical and logistical problems. Furthermore, the linguistic barrier that we were so apprehensive of being a major constraint was minimized by the group dynamics, and an adequate and optimal use of the available human resources. The social skills compounded with the participatory and constructivist approach of Phil Sheppard, Steve Lenton, and John Townshend helped create the congenial and conducive environment that yielded invaluable outcomes. In one breadth, the participants had a crash course in hardware, networking, and troubleshooting. They dissemble and reassembled the PC’s, installed the operating system, and networked all computers. At the end of the workshop, participants gave a positive feedback to the Digital Links professional development team, expressed their desire to take the training further, and set up plans to cascade the training in their respective regions.

I am confident that this partnership between Digital Links International and World Links will chart new territories in our quest for innovative strategies to build technical capacity for sustainable IT/Ed programs.

I will recommend wholeheartedly and without reservation the Digital Links International capacity building team led by Phil Sheppard to the Executive Director of World Links, Sam Carlson, to all members of staff, and to all World Links national and regional coordinators for their professionalism and their expertise.

While thanking you again for your cooperation, I remain.