Empowering Local Communities through Local Language Education and Skill-Based Trainingwith Open Learning Exchange Nepal – Project 021
Project 021 / 2024 – 2028
The project aims to make education more accessible and better suited to Nepal’s linguistic diversity. It develops interactive stories in Newari, Maithili and Tibetan to help young children learn in their mother tongue, whilst offering teenagers, out-of-school young people and adults practical training to help them acquire skills that will be useful for their future careers.
- Key objectives:
• To encourage learning in local languages in order to improve young children’s language skills and early learning
• To preserve and promote local cultures through the creation and dissemination of stories from the Newari, Maithili and Tibetan communities
• To enhance the vocational skills of young people and adults through free training courses
- The main initiatives :
• Translation and adaptation of interactive stories into English, Newari, Maithili and Tibetan, supplemented by 10 new local stories and their printable versions
• Development of new vocational training programmes focusing in particular on agriculture, entrepreneurship, IT and financial management
• Training for teachers and parents on the roll-out of digital solutions in schools and rural communities
- Sustainability of the project :
• Free and sustainable access to resources, available offline and on all digital devices
• Involvement of local communities and authorities in the design, dissemination and integration of educational content
• Strengthening local capacity so that teachers, parents and facilitators can use and promote the applications independently
Project details
€ 274 941
The project aims to directly impact a diverse range of beneficiaries, fostering positive educational outcomes and skills development across multiple communities in Nepal. The total estimated number of direct beneficiaries over the 5-year project duration is approximately 23,000 individuals. Primary beneficiaries include students, parents, teachers, and local governments in Nepal, spanning diverse socio-economic backgrounds and gender groups across Tibetan, Newari, and Maithili communities. Specific student populations in Dolpo and Mustang range from 50-200 per school, with larger populations in Kathmandu and Madhesh. For HRK app training, 1-2 parents per child and 3-4 teachers per school. For SBT app training, 50-100 students in each school in Mustang and Dolpo, 100+ students in each school in Lalitpur Metropolitan City and Madhesh province.
Open Learning Exchange Nepal (OLE Nepal) is a Nepalese social enterprise founded in 2007. It works to improve the quality of education and reduce inequalities in access to educational resources between regions, schools and different population groups. Its mission is to integrate digital technologies into the teaching process to provide all pupils, including those in rural and remote areas, with equitable access to high-quality educational content.
The organisation develops and distributes digital resources free of charge, tailored to the national curriculum. Among its key tools are E-Paath, a platform for interactive activities, and E-Pustakalaya, a digital library accessible online or via offline servers. OLE Nepal also equips schools with IT equipment and trains teachers so that they can integrate these tools into their lessons on a long-term basis.
Since its inception, OLE Nepal reports that it has benefited more than 400,000 pupils in over 400 state schools and trained more than 4,000 teachers. The organisation has also deployed more than 7,000 laptops, 1,700 offline servers and developed more than 1,000 learning modules, stories and educational games. These initiatives enable schools with limited or no internet connection to access a wide range of educational resources.
Through its interactive content, training programmes and the strengthening of school infrastructure, OLE Nepal aims to make learning more accessible, engaging and inclusive.
- Content development: Head office in Sanepa, Lalitpur.
- Research/needs assessments, community workshops and field testing:
- In ethnic Newaris communities in the Kathmandu Valley,
- In Maithili communities in Madhesh province, and
- In ethnically Tibetan high mountain areas such as Mustang and Dolpo, covering the provinces of Gandaki and Karnali.
- The project targets schools throughout the country, particularly in rural areas.
IT
Education
Equal opportunities
SGD 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
SGD 10 - Reduce inequality within and among countries
SGD 17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
Link to our partner
