Organization of American States Department of<br />Human Development
Disaster Communications Management

NOTE TO ALL APPLICANTS TO OAS SCHOLARSHIPS

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This application must be completed on-line.


Professional Development Scholarship Program

 

“Disaster Communications Management”

 
                                                                                                                                                                       
OAS/DHDEC/CIR.134/2010

 

1. Study venue: United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), 1150 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 702, Washington, DC 20036, United States of America

2. Offered by: The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and USTTI under the auspices of the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), Regional Training Center of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL).

3. Coordinator: James O’Connor, USTTI Curriculum Coordinator, Email: [email protected] Phone: (202) 785-7373, Fax: (202) 785 1930

4. Modality: On site

5. Start and end dates: October 18 – 22, 2010

6. Course duration: One-week

7. Language: English

8. Objectives: The course is designed to address telecommunications needs for mitigating the effects of natural and manmade disasters in which normal communications are often disrupted by physical damage, system overload, weather conditions, or natural features such as terrain. Site selection, planning and design considerations, and the purposes and uses of Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) will be featured, along with the requirements for interfacing between EOCs and government officials, public safety operations, public and government media, emergency medical response and radio amateur networks. Participants will tour several types of ECOs, communications centers and commercial television facilities. Special focus will be on methods of tracking and exchanging critical information prior to, during and after an emergency, including use of computerized maps, data management, modeling and communications. The course will cover vulnerability assessment and telecommunications infrastructure development requirements for disaster prone regions, and operational issues such as emergency access to telephone central offices and reordering of existing radio networks.

9. Participant Learning Objectives: The ability to make choices concerning the application of disaster related communications technologies and to develop an understanding of information flow and how to integrate available and new communications technologies and services into a disaster network.

10. Eligibility Requirements:

a. Citizenship or permanent residence of an OAS Member State, with the exception of the United States since is the host country.

b. Participant profile: Policymakers, Engineers and Managers of all levels with at least two years of experience.

c. Submission of completed 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

d. In addition to the OAS application, applicants must also submit a formal application through the USTTI. Applications may be filed through USTTI’s web site: http://ustti.org

11. 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:

· The objectives and priorities established in the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development;

· The training priorities of the member states;

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

· The financial need of the candidate; and

· 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.

12. Benefits: For successful candidates:

· OAS/CITEL will cover round trip economy class air tickets from country of origin or residence to Washington, DC, United States of America. Funds for terminal and in-transit expenses are NOT provided.

· USTTI will provide a stipend of $400.00 to offset hotel and living expenses, as well as waiving the $150.00 administrative fee.

13. Responsibilities of the Scholarship Recipients:
a) Based on shared accommodations and an arrival date of Sunday, October 17th, 2010 and departure date of Saturday, October 23rd, 2010 the additional amount needed for this course is USD$425.00
b) Please be advised that:
1. The accommodation that is being provided requires participants to share hotel rooms, and
2. Each participant will be responsible for paying US$425.00 to share in the cost of accommodation (room and tax only) - - if single accommodations are requested, a total of $850.00 will be required.
c) 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 rfused, to appoint another candidate.
d) The selected candidates must confirm their acceptance of the scholarship by signing and returning to DHDEC 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.
e) 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.
f) 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.
g) 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, Education and Culture.
h) 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.
i) 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.

15. Certification: The participants will receive a diploma from the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), regional Training Center of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL).

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.

REQUIRED APPLICATION DOCUMENTATION:

 

 

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 Organization of American States through the National Liaison Office that serves as the official channel established by the Government of each country (ONE).  This is a mandatory requirement.

 

 

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

 

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 2010 REGULAR BUDGET

 

  

LZe         LZeaYonker/PDSP/Disaster Communications Management/CITEL/USA/2010

 

 


[1] The deadline for presentation of applications to the (ONE) differs from country to country and should therefore be confirmed with the relevant ONE in the applicant's country of origin or permanent residence.

 

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