PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Training for the use of the Global Portal of Telecommunications for Indigenous People

                            OAS/DHD-CIR.099/2009

1.               Study venue:  Memorial de los Pueblos Indígenas - Eixo Monumental, Praça do Buriti (in front of the Memorial JK) CEP 70.075-900 - Brasilia, Federal District, Brazil.

2.            Coordinator:  ITU Coordinators for Global and Regional Indigenous

• Mrs. Roxana Widmer-Iliescu, Youth Programme Officer Focal Point for Assistance to indigenous people -Global Office, TEL: (55-41) 730-5474, E-mail: [email protected];
• Mrs. Vera Zanetti, Focal Point for Assistance to indigenous people – ITU Regional Office for Americas  TEL: (55-61) 231-2730 [email protected];   [email protected]

Academic Coordinator:

• Mrs. Melba Lucía de Reyes, Centre of Excellence for Americas Region TEL: (504) 220-6666 Ext: 123    E-mail: [email protected]

3.                  Modality:                                           On site

4.                  Start and end dates:                                  August 7 to 9^th, 2009

5.                  Workshop duration:                          Three (3) Days

6.                  Language:                                          Spanish and English

7.                  Main Objective:  To facilitate the integration of America's indigenous peoples to the Knowledge Society through the training in the use of an Internet portal with contents related to culture, indigenous traditions of peoples, and the dissemination and preservation of traditional knowledge in the communities, and to encourage the use of information and communication technologies -ICTs- in indigenous communities.

8.         Specific Objectives:

• Training on the use of an Internet portal with contents related to the indigenous culture and traditions which will be managed by the IITF (ICT Indigenous Task Force)- through an Agreement to be signed by the parties, and used by community members for allowing the use of information and communication technologies -ICTs- in indigenous communities.
• Understanding applications such as e-health, e-commerce, e-culture, e-learning, among others, by means of tutorial modules that allow a better comprehension of these applications.
• To give to students a technical training for the uploading of different types of information (text, audio, video) and the administration of an Internet portal.
• To approach indigenous people to the ICTs, in a practical and easy way, in order to get that they perceive Internet and its applications, in particular e-commerce, as a very useful tool to the development and conservation of their cultures.

9.         Program:

·         THEORETICAL SESSION: (It will be developed on each morning of the course) Internet Portal Definition. Classes and characteristics of portals. Content management portals. i. Uploading of contents into the portal (audio, video, text, web pages), ii. Web page design into the portal, iii. Uploading of links into the portal, iv. Explanation about electronic services that can be used on line: e-government, e-culture, e-marketing, e-business, v. Other tools to be use in a portal, e-commerce:  a) sale and purchase by Internet, b) Online payment.

·         PRACTICE SESSION: (It will be developed each afternoon of the course) Workshop in which each student will put into practice the knowledge studied in each theoretical session.

10.       Course Methodology: Seminar and workshop (theory and practice) that is intended to get that the students apply the acquired knowledge and can go back to their communities to implement that knowledge. During the process, the facilitator will give all the theory needed by the course participants to use and manage an Internet portal.

The theoretical sessions (during the mornings) are intended to gather all the information and the knowledge needed to the practice sessions. The practice sessions (during the afternoons) are intended to get that the students begin to work with the portal and to learn to implement that knowledge in their communities. In these sessions, students will upload different contents to the portal, design and upload web pages, and establish links to other Internet sites of interest for their communities.

To get this objective, the selected course participants must bring to Brasilia different digital files (text, audio, video) in order to have information to upload to the portal. This training process will be in the Telecentro Cultural Indigena, a site that will be equipped with computers and Internet access to facilitate the training activities. 

11.       Requirements:

·         Citizenship or permanent residence of an OAS Member State, with the exception of the Brasil since is the host country.

·         Membership in an indigenous group, community or organization, and to be endorsed by them to participate in this Seminar – Workshop.

·         Intermediate level of knowledge of computer tools –hardware ands software-. Practice in the use of Internet tools, such as electronic mail, web pages, chats.

·         Participation and approval of one of the online courses for indigenous people annually developed since 2004, through the ITU e-learning platform, will be an advantage.

·         As the Seminar-Workshop will be in Spanish or English, it is requested that participants may communicate in one of these languages, if it is not the mother tongue.

·         Physical aptitude to complete the Seminar - Workshop

·         Submission of completed online application form by the deadline set by the National Liaison Organization (ONE).[1]  It is the candidate’s responsibility to ascertain the deadline set by the ONE in his or her country of residence

12.       OAS Scholarship Selection Criteria:  In accordance with article 4.2 of the Manual of Procedures of the Scholarship and Training Programs of the OAS, OAS scholarships shall be granted based on the following criteria:

a.       the objectives and priorities established in the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development;

b.      the training priorities of the member states;

c.      the merits and overall credentials of the candidate, including his/her academic and professional background;

d.      the financial need of the candidate; and

e.      An extensive and equitable geographic distribution for the benefit of all member states and that takes into account the greater needs of the smaller and relatively less developed economies.

13.       Benefits: 

• The OAS Department of Human Development will cover round trip economy class air tickets from country of origin or residence to study location. Funds for terminal and in-transit expenses are NOT provided.
• The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will pay the costs of inscriptions and logistics of the Seminar-Workshop. This project, on the other hand, has resources from external donations that will be devoted to pay accommodation and food services, and health and accident insurances of the participants who obtain this OEA/CITEL scholarship, during the Seminar-Workshop. The transportation within the city will be courtesy of the Brasilia Administration.

14.       Certification: Participants will receive from OEA / CITEL and ITU a certification of participation and approval of the Seminar - Workshop.

15.       Responsibilities of selected candidates:  

·         The selected candidates must confirm their acceptance to the OAS General Secretariat Office in their respective countries and through the ONE in order for the OAS to proceed with making the necessary travel arrangements to purchase the air travel tickets, economy class, round-trip, between their country of origin or residence and the study location or, if the scholarship is refused, to appoint another candidate.

·         The selected candidates must confirm their acceptance of the scholarship by signing and returning to DHD their completed “form of acceptance of the scholarship award”; only after this has been done will the OAS proceed with the necessary travel arrangements to purchase the air travel tickets, economy class, round-trip, between the scholarship recipient’s country of origin and the study location.

·         Upon selection, candidates must accept the scholarship by confirming   their availability to follow the course during the period indicated and their acceptance of the duly provided conditions of study. 

·         Selected scholarship recipients are responsible for obtaining the necessary visa(s) to enter the country of study and the corresponding transit(s). The OAS will not be responsible for any costs related to obtaining visas or transfer documentation.

·         Each scholarship recipient is responsible for arriving in time for the commencement of activities on the date established by the institution offering the course or program.  

·         If the scholarship recipient fails to travel on the scheduled dates, or change routes, after the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS/OAS) has purchased his/her travel ticket, he/she will be responsible for paying the difference in ticket costs in order to arrive at the course site in time. The scholarship recipient will furthermore have to reimburse the GS/OAS the total cost of the airfare for his/her travel from his/her country of residence to the site where the Professional Development Course will take place and back if, after the ticket has been purchased, he/she declines the scholarship without written authorization from the Department of Human Development.

·         The latter includes any additional costs, if any, incurred by the GS/OAS, such as extra costs for accommodation during the scholarship recipient’s travel to and from the country where the course will be held.

·         If the fellow declines, cancels or terminates the Scholarship after the course or program has started without providing the GS/OAS with a compelling reason, he or she will have to reimburse GS/OAS the total amount of incurred costs/expenses.

16.       Presentation of candidacies:

            Please Notice:  If you were awarded an OAS Professional Development Scholarship in the past twelve (12) months or if you currently hold an OAS Scholarship for Academic Studies, you are not eligible to apply for another Professional Development Scholarship.

The online application form must be completed on-line and can be accessed at:  http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/oasbecas/onsite.aspx?culture=en&navid=282  here you’ll find the announcements of all the onsite courses, click in the one you are interested in, go though the end of the page, and then you’ll find the Continue button which will direct you to the online application form.

Once the applicant has completed the online application form and submitted it, a copy will be sent automatically to his/her e-mail account. This completed form must be printed, signed and submitted to the National Liaison Office (ONE).  This is a mandatory requirement.  with all other forms (http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/oasbecas/formspd.aspx?culture=en&navid=282)

All the additional forms must be completed electronically or in typewritten format.

The following is the list of National Liaison Organizations (ONEs) in the OAS Member states:  http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/oasbecas/ones.aspx?culture=en&navid=282

Please note that the official announcement is published in the language of instruction of the course and is available via the Educational Portal of the Americas Web page at: http://www.educoea.org. 

Any questions regarding submission of applications for this course should be sent to: [email protected]

IMPORTANT NOTICE:  THESE SCHOLARSHIPS ARE SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS CORRESPONDING TO THE 2009 REGULAR BUDGET 

LZea-Yonker/DHD/Training for the use of the Global Portal of Telecommunications for Indigenous People/Brazil/ CITEL-ITU/2009