Khaled El Hamedi, Chairman of Eng Holding, Provides Training and Certiport IC3 Certification to 30,000 Workers Following More Than Two Decades of Embargo

TORONTO, August 5, 2009 (ME Newswire): Certiport today presented the Inspiration Award recognizing visionary leadership in promoting digital literacy to Khaled El Hamedi, chairman of Eng Holding in Libya. El Hamedi, who was honored during the Certiport PATHWAYS™ 2009 Gala awards ceremony, was selected among five other candidates hailing from China, Japan, Peru, Scotland and the United States.

"Mr. El Hamedi's work to proliferate digital literacy among Libya's citizens is truly inspiring," said Ray Kelly, president and CEO of Certiport. "He recognizes that geographic boundaries are less important than current and relevant job skills in the global economy."

In 2004, following the removal of the U.S. trade embargo, it became increasingly apparent that Libya needed to reinvest in the country's infrastructure and re-skill its citizenry for 21st Century jobs. El Hamedi elected to bring the Certiport Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC3®) digital literacy program into Libya as a crucial bridge for developing current and relevant skills. To date, he has helped train and certify more than 30,000 public and private workers in his country.

  • Access a video interview with El Hamedi on the Certiport channel: www.youtube.com/user/certiportcomms.

  • Download print-quality photos of El Hamedi and the Gala event at: www.flickr.com/photos/certiport/sets/72157621505916808.

The Champions of Digital Literacy Inspiration Award recognizes the visionary leadership required to transform communities and nations through large-scale digital literacy initiatives. Earlier in the day, all six candidates for the Inspiration Award were inducted into the Champions of Digital Literacy Hall of Fame for their exemplary efforts to champion the adoption of digital literacy standards. In addition to El Hamedi, they include:

  • Deryck Nutley, manager of the IT Providers Consortium in Scotland (ITPCS)

  • Dr. Esther Johnson, national director of Job Corps in the United States

  • Professor Haoqiang Tan, chairman of the Association of Computer Fundamentals China on Higher Education (AFCEC)

  • Mariko Horigome, social welfare counselor for Tokyo Colony in Japan

  • Peter Kurt Schreier Reck, national director of the National Service for Industrial Works Skills (SENATI) in Peru

Honorable mentions to this year's Hall of Fame include:

  • Michelle Robinson Cook, IT and Web teacher at Florida's Niceville High School in the United States

  • Roxanne Laborde-Couvillion, technology teacher at Louisiana's Avoyelles High School in the United States

  • Erlito Damo, Aplaya elementary school principal and ICT consultant for the Philippines Department of Education

  • Mino Takeuchi and Sonoko Uchida, trainers for Ricoh Human Creates Co., Ltd. in Japan

For more information about all of this year's Champions of Digital Literacy, visit www.certiport.com/champions.

-Ends-

ABOUT CERTIPORT
Certiport prepares individuals with current and relevant digital skills and credentials for the competitive global workforce. These solutions are delivered by more than 12,000 Certiport Centers worldwide and include Certiport Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC3®), the official Microsoft® Office certification programs and the Adobe® Certified Associate certification program. For more information, visit www.certiport.com.

"Certiport" and "IC3" are registered trademarks of Certiport, Inc. in the United States and other countries. "Microsoft" is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

© Press Release 2009