Internet Access and Training Program (IATP)

IATP News from the Caucasus

April 1-30, 2005

ARMENIA

IATP users
Gyumri users learn the essentials
of grant proposal writing

FLEX Alumna Shares Advanced Grant Proposal Writing Skills
On April 5, the IATP access site in Gyumri held a workshop on grant proposal writing, organized and conducted by Arpine Porsughyan (FLEX 00) for other alumni and members of NGOs, including Ajakic, Araks, Youth for Peace and Development, and Student Council. Porsughyan recently completed a distance learning (DL) course on advanced grant proposal writing offered by the California State University San Marcos via the IATP DL support fund. She was eager to pass on the skills she learned and share how she successfully completed the course online, including the unique format, grading, and exams of distance learning courses. Porsughyan urged participants to use concise, persuasive writing, and form a reasonable budget for funding. The applicant, she explained, must also clearly understand grant guidelines before writing the proposal and make sure that grant goals and objectives match the proposed activity. Porsughyan also presented the general processes of grant-writing and the National Network of Grantmakers’ common grant application format. The participants learned to state the need of proposed activities, and reflect planning, research, and vision in proposals. They also went over the format of proposals, paying attention to components that demonstrate project logic and outcome, impact of funds, and community support. Porsughyan also explained the difference between specific and broad goals, measurable objectives, and quantified outcomes. Participants also visited and explored a number of useful websites on grant writing. As a result of the workshop, participants better understand the grant writing process and requirements and are one step closer to writing successful grant proposals for their respective NGOs.

IATP Kapan Site Promotes E-market and E-business Awareness and Skills
On April 13, IATP Kapan held a seminar entitled “Researching Marketing Online.” The seminar targeted all individuals involved in business, commerce, and marketing, and was attended by seven representatives of Kapan Business Center and Kapan College, as well as local entrepreneurs. The purpose of the seminar was to acquaint participants with the increasingly important role of information technology (IT) in modern business and commerce, and to familiarize them with the notion and meaning of the electronic marketplace (e-marketplace), its resources, purposes, and possible uses. During the seminar participants explored the global e-marketplace Quadrem, learning the possibilities and advantages of utilizing the e-marketplace. Quadrem allows one to find information on related companies and connect to other businesses. Participants also learned how to regulate the growth of their business into e-business using the e-marketplace at http://developers.evrsoft.com. After that, Armenian High Technologies Portal was presented, where participants researched products, services, and related companies. The participants also learned how to conduct online advertising and post products and services in international and national networks. As a result of the seminar, participants learned that the prosperous future of any business and commerce is closely related with the utilization of IT resources.

AZERBAIJAN

National NGO Forum President Chats Online with Azeribaijani NGOs
On April 18, the president of the National NGO Forum (NNF), Azay Guliyev, joined an online forum for a discussion with local NGOs representatives to answer various questions. The NNF is an organization whose mission is to coordinate the activities of the national NGOs, including training on all aspects of organizational development, helping link the national NGOs with government, national, and international donors, technical institutions, private agencies, as well as representing national NGOs in different national and international forums. Members of 22 NGOs participated in the forum from cities all across Azerbaijan, including Ali-Bayramli, Ganja, Guba, Imishli, Lankaran, Mingachevir, Nakchivan, Gobustan, Khachmaz and Salyan. The participants were interested in topics ranging from what the NNF is planning to do to extend NGO activities in the rural regions of Azerbaijan to whether or not an increase in the number of NGOs in Azerbaijan has a positive or negative effect on the future of their country. The NGO representatives also discussed how to solve the problems that NGOs encounter during government registration. Most of the participants’ questions were answered during the two-hour event, but the remaining questions will be answered during the course of the following week. The US Embassy’s NGO Assistance Coordinator Stephanie Zorn watched the online event from the IATP Baku office. Through online chats organized by IATP, regional NGOs can remain informed about current issues and communicate by means that have previously been accessible only in the capital. In the last year in Azerbaijan, IATP has been successful in bringing 153 participants together for 16 Web chats.

website
Ganja Regional Information
Center’s newly created website

NGO Staff Create Website in Ganja
On April 4, the IATP access site staff in Ganja completed a series of Step-by-Step mobile trainings on Web design for five employees of the Ganja Regional Information Center (GRIC). The participants learned Web design basics such as a common programming language called HTML, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Flash. The series of courses equipped the participants with the skills to create basic documents in HTML, create animations, design websites, and use graphic elements properly. The Web design skills gained as a result of these trainings enabled the participants to create a website for their organization, which they hosted on IATP’s server in Baku. The website contains information about GRIC, its activities, and also the history of Ganja.

GEORGIA

IATP Organizes Web chat with National Assessment and Examination Center in Tbilisi, Georgia
On April 19, the Tbilisi Alumni Center hosted a Web chat on national exams with representatives of the Georgian National Assessment and Examination Center. Merab Topuria, an exam administrator, and Marina Elbakidze, an exam consultant, answered questions from students who participated in the event through local IATP sites. Standardized testing for university admission will be implemented for the first time in Georgia this year. Since this is a new system for Georgia, many questions have arisen among students and educators. The chat was organized to meet the growing number of questions and interest in issues related to national exams. The participants inquired about administrative and organizational issues, testing and assessment procedures, and content of the tests. The guest speakers provided comprehensive answers to the questions which shed light on topics previously considered vague by the audience, such as interpretation of test scores, merit awards based on test results, and assessment procedures. By educating the population through Internet chats, students will make the transition to the new testing system with fewer difficulties.

Alumni Advisory Council Holds Meeting with Ministry of Education and Science
On April 13, the Tbilisi Alumni Advisory Council organized a meeting with Rusudan Zurabashvili (Muskie 04), coordinator of the Project of Secondary School Computerization, at the Tbilisi Alumni Center. The project hopes to bring knowledge of modern computer technology as well as the necessary equipment to all secondary schools in Georgia by the end of 2009.The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Education, and funded by the Georgian government and international organizations. Twenty-two participants, including 15 alumni of the FLEX, PIE, and RSEP programs, secondary school teachers from Rustavi and Telavi, and administrators from the Institute of Public Sciences attended the roundtable discussion. Zurabashvili and Merab Labadze, a member of the Project Work Group, presented the main purpose of their project, namely, training of teachers, equipping schools with computers, developing IT-based lesson plans and methodology, and raising the level of computer literacy in secondary school students. The Alumni Advisory Council moderated constructive discussions regarding several aspects of the project, and offered to assist with the project. Representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science invited Alumni Council members to the Project Work Group meeting where specific aspects of project implementation as well as possibility of future cooperation will be discussed in a greater detail.