Professional Development Scholarships Program

^{Sustainable Cities[1]}

                                                                                                                                                                                                        OAS/DHDEE/CIR.013/2014

1.    Venue:   Trinidad & Tobago  University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, POS, Trinidad

2. Coordination: OAS Department of Sustainable Development. E-Mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

3. Type of course: Face-to-face

4. Date: December 1-5, 2014

5. Duration of the course: Five (5) days

6. Language: English

7. Objectives

General Objective: Provide theoretical and practical knowledge on the different elements that contribute to the development of sustainable cities to government officials and members of civil society involved in planning processes and urban development.

Specific Objectives:

· Provide state of the art knowledge on the set of systems involved in the sustainable cities combining geodesign, socio-economic and bio-physical disciplines

· Analyze case studies and identify best practices

· Provide a first hand experience regarding the benefits of green infrastructure through a field visit to greening initiatives and, if possible, LEED certified buildings.

8. Description of course content:

Day 1

Module I: Urban Sustainability

• Concepts and frameworks for approaching urban sustainability and planning
• Ecology and ecosystem science and geospatial technologies as applied to urban areas: cities as eco-systems, the relationship between the urban and the natural environment, including urban open space, biodiversity, and ecosystem services
• Making a city greener without creating inefficiencies that adversely affect residents’ lives
• Evaluating resilient cities
• Market based instruments for environmental policymaking

Module II: Waste management, recycling and water resource management

• Urban water management including stormwater and urban runoff to achieve sustainable water quality and conservation outcomes
• Resource conservation through effective waste management, reuse, recycling and support for sustainable products and services
• Electronic Waste (E-Waste) Collection and Disposal
• Hydrological cycle and urbanism

Module III: Sustainable Transport and Mobility

• Relationship between land use and transportation
• Pollutant emissions
• Public Transit (brt)
• Non Motorized Transportation

• Early warning systems in the Urban setting
• Climate change and adaptation strategies at the city level

Module IV: Renewable energy and energy efficiency in the context of Sustainable Cities

• Community-based initiatives to advance the use and adoption of clean, renewable energy solutions, and enhance energy efficiency
• Green Roof Retrofits, Lowering Temperatures and Reducing Emissions
• Photovoltaic (PV) Based Electrification and increased accessibility to solar equipment
• Sun, wind, tide: renewable technologies at the building and city scale

• Towards zero energy buildings
• Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of sustainable measures on new construction as well as the existing housing stock, or retrofitting the existing housing stock
• Green buildings, assessing cost and cost effectiveness
• Buildings energy efficiency
• Urban Island effect
• Policy making: regulatory and voluntary mechanisms

Mayor’s and Policymakers Roundtable to focus on Best Practices and Lesson’s Learned. (Invited Mayors from POS, Arima, San Fernando) that will highlight different aspects of the above course agenda.

Day 5

Field Visit to several case studies in Trinidad:

1. Urban Greening with the Botanic Garden, Savannah, Lady Young Road, National Parks;

2. Advances in Transit;

3. LEED and other certified building Frameworks;

4. Sewage and Storm Water Management

5. Air Pollution Control, Walkability, and Bicycle

6. Informal Settlement upgrading and Resettlement

7. Urban renewal and historic preservation

9.  Requirements:

• Be a citizen or permanent resident of an OAS member state.[2]^/ (Residents must send in a copy of their visa); with the exception of Trinidad & Tobago since is the host country.
• Have a Bachelor Economics, Engineering, Architecture, Environmental Sciences, Public Administration, Urban planning or related fields; with experience of two (2) years.
• Be physically able to meet the obligations of the Course

• A short background paper indicating analytical work done by the candidate pertinent to module 1-6 indicated above specific to their country that will form the basis of a case study analysis that will be published as workshop proceedings.

• Submit a properly completed application before the deadline set by the corresponding National Liaison Office (ONE).[3]/ Candidates are responsible for verifying that deadline with their respective ONE.

If you have been awarded an OAS Professional Development Program in the last twelve (12) months, or if you currently hold an Academic Scholarship, you are not eligible to apply for another scholarship from the Professional Development Program.

10. Criteria governing the award of OAS scholarships: Pursuant to Article 4.2 of the Manual of Procedures for Scholarships and Training Programs, OAS scholarships shall be granted on the basis of the following criteria:

• The objectives and priorities established in the OAS 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; Candidates should have demonstrated experience in implementing aspects of Module 1-6 above.
• The financial need of the candidate; and
• An extensive and equitable geographic distribution for the benefit of all member states that takes into account the greater needs of the smaller and relatively less developed economies.

The OAS Department of Human Development, Education and Employment of the OAS defrays coach-class return air fare between the scholarship-holder’s place of residence and place of study. Funds are not provided to cover terminal and transit expenses.[4]^/

The OAS Department of sustainable Development, will provide:

· Health and accident insurance for the duration of the Course.

· Terminal and Transit expenses may be provided based on a case-by-case basis.

· Coffee break

IMPORTANT NOTICE: THESE SCHOLARSHIPS ARE SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS IN THE REGULAR BUDGET FOR 2014

12.  Responsibility of Awardee:

• The selected candidates must provide proof of funding for lodging, meals and local transportation, about US$1,250.00
• In order to become scholarship recipients, the selected candidates must confirm their acceptance of the scholarship by signing and returning to the Department of Human Development, Education, and Employment DHDEE their completed “form of acceptance of the scholarship award”;
• If after accepting the scholarship, the scholarship recipient for whatever reason cannot attend the course, he or she must immediately notify the Department of Human Development, Education, and Employment of the OAS;
• Scholarship recipients must communicate in writing to the OAS/DHDEE on which dates they will be able to travel, so the OAS can make the necessary travel arrangements;
• 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 on time for the commencement of activities on the date established by the institution offering the course or program;
• If the scholarship recipient declines the scholarship, (after the ticket has been purchased without written authorization from the Department of Human Development, Education, and Culture of the OAS or fails to travel on the scheduled dates, or changes routes) the scholarship recipient will be responsible for paying the cost of the airfare or whatever additional cost is incurred;
• 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 on time; and
• The scholarship recipient will furthermore have to reimburse 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 of the OAS. The latter includes any additional costs, 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.

a. Select the course http://www.oas.org/en/scholarships/professionaldev.asp

b. After reading the course information fully, click "Continuar/Continue" at the end of the page.

c. Fill out the application form.

d. After filling out the application form, click "Enviar/Send” at the end of page 5.

e. A copy of the application form will be automatically sent to your email address.

f. Print and sign the application form sent to your email.

g.       Submit the signed form and the documents stipulated in the announcement, along with the documetns in this link:  http://www.oas.org/es/becas/PDSP/Formularios_becas_PDSP.pdf
to the National Liaison office of your country:  http://www.oas.org/es/becas/programaregular/one.asp

· Online Form, fully completed

· Recommendation Form

· Study and Development Form

· All the documentation requested by the offering institution

· All the documentation requested by the respective ONE

Any question about submitting applications for this course should be sent to: [email protected]