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IATP News for August 2005
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TURKMENISTAN
Residents of Mary, Turkmenistan
ask questions
of US Public
Diplomacy Coordinator Alexander
Feldman
Residents of Turkmenistan Discuss the Role of Web Chats with
US Official
On August 18, 35 individuals at IATP access sites throughout
Turkmenistan, including 13 alumni of US government-sponsored exchange
programs, participated in a worldwide online discussion with Alexander
Feldman, public diplomacy coordinator for the US State Department’s
International Information Programs (IIP). The purpose of the chat was
to discuss IIP chat usage to date and to express the participants’
ideas on how IIP could make future chats more worthwhile. In the course
of a one-hour chat, alumni from Turkmenistan submitted a variety of questions
to the IIP’s website (usinfo.state.gov).
Tatyana Djiganshina (FLEX 05) from Dashoguz asked about IATP’s future
to which Feldman replied, “IATP has been a very successful program
and there is enough funding to continue the program for 18 more months,
and more money is being sought through the Freedom Support Act …
to keep it going.” Responding to a question about the United States
not listening to foreign criticism, Feldman noted “Our introduction
of IIP Chat is a direct result of our desire to interact more with our
audiences, and -- as our new Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and
Public Affairs Karen Hughes has said, -- "to have conversations rather
than monologues." In addition to the aforementioned questions, Feldman
also answered questions on IIP’s emphases in its global message,
the importance of online discussions, and future IIP chats. Accessing
this IIP online chat through IATP access sites, alumni from Turkmenistan
had a unique opportunity to discuss with an important figure in US public
diplomacy the role and importance of Web chats in improving dialogue between
nations.
IATP and Alumni
-
In the past three months, more than 1,700 alumni have visited IATP access sites;
-
IATP has trained over 400 alumni since last May;
-
Alumni conducted approximately 200 IATP trainings in the last three months.
Jennet Tachkuliyeva gives advice to
her colleagues
on publishing
scientific articles
Alumna Shares Publishing Skills with Peers in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
On August 13, Dr. Jennet Tachkuliyeva (CI 02) conducted a presentation
on proper techniques of preparing and publishing medical articles for
six health care professionals at the IATP access site in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
Tachkuliyeva is an anesthesiologist and rheumatologist who has written
many publications, the latest of which is a book called Drug Abuse
and Social Psychology, published in Ashgabat in 2004. The primary
goal of the event was to share the knowledge that Tachkuliyeva gained
regarding publishing during her professional career. Tachkuliyeva learned
the skills necessary to conduct this Internet-oriented workshop through
numerous IATP trainings, and has previously led a Step-by-Step training.
She began the workshop by emphasizing that in spite of the growing amount
of published material worldwide and increasing opportunities to publish,
there is a dearth of input from experts in low- and middle-income countries
like Turkmenistan, who are often unaware of the requirements and challenges
of publishing medical articles. She continued with a slide show with guidelines
for inexperienced researchers on writing articles for scholarly journals,
including recommendations for appropriate formats and avoiding common
pitfalls in the writing process. She then outlined the major steps that
need to be taken when choosing a journal for submission, such as considering
an article’s target audience and the language of the publication,
as well as conforming the general content of an article to the journal’s
mission statement. As a concluding activity, the doctors browsed various
medical websites, including the website of Norris
Medical Library, where they familiarized themselves with articles
by physicians from many different countries. Participant Oleg Ponyatov
remarked, “This presentation broadened my knowledge on how to write
medical scientific articles and Internet opportunities for publishing
them.” As a result, Ponyatov recently was able to publish his own
article on the consequences of smoking and chewing tobacco in the online
version of the 2005
Abstract Book of the College on Problem of Drug Dependence. Through
this article Tachkulieyeva’s seminar has already contributed to
medical scholarship; it has also created the potential for many more publications
in the future.
UKRAINE
Evhen Shubnikov explains
networking within the
Supercourse
Project
Alumnus Presents Online Project on Public Health in Sevastopol,
Ukraine
On August 19, Evhen Shubnikov (CI 00) delivered a presentation on the
Supercourse Project for six Community Connections (CC) program alumni,
working in public health, in the IATP access site in Sevastopol, Ukraine. The Supercourse Project is
an online library of interdisciplinary lectures intended to improve health
training and research. Professionals can use over 2,000 lectures for teaching,
research, and as a reference. Another essential component of the Supercourse
is networking – 27,000 scientists, including five Nobel Prize Winners,
are members of this network. Shubnikov demonstrated how to register on
the website, use lectures and the Internet-based distance learning materials,
and to join the Supercourse Faculty. Then participants searched for materials
of professional interest to them on the website and explored online tools
for communication with colleagues. As a result of the seminar, Anastasia
Kostsova, a member of Invasport, a nonprofit organization working with
disabled athletes, prepared two lectures (Rehabilitation of Disabled
Athletes and Children and Rehabilitation of Disabled Swimmers)
and published them on the Supercourse website. Thanks to Shubnikov’s
presentation, local physicians discovered a new online resource for collaboration
with their Ukrainian and foreign colleagues to improve the quality of
public health worldwide. Currently over 3,500 Ukrainian alumni of US government-sponsored
programs are registered IATP users and use the Internet for benefit of
local communities.
Dmytro Riabichenko explains
computer basics to
reserve officers
Decommissioned Army Officers Learn Computer and Internet Basics
in Kyiv, Ukraine
On August 3, IATP Training Coordinator Dmytro Riabichenko started trainings
on computer and Internet basics for nine decommissioned officers of the
Ukrainian army at the IATP access site in Kyiv, Ukraine. Oleksandr Hladky,
coordinator of the Human Dimension Program of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), requested the IATP trainings to help
former officers with job placement through information technology. Riabichenko
explained how to edit texts, work with tables, and manage files and folders
efficiently. Participants learned how to search the Web for information
of professional interest to them and how to send messages, images, and
scanned documents via e-mail. They also mastered skills for creating electronic
presentations and slide shows. Previously, two other groups of reserve
officers attended IATP trainings on computer and Internet basics. The
Ukrainian army, mainly consisting of career armed service members, is
one of the largest in the former Soviet republics. As the country can
no longer afford the army, Ukraine is implementing a military reform program
which includes demobilization of over 115,000 soldiers over the last four
years, many of whom are not adapted for civilian life and do not have
skills to start another career. Oleksandr Hladky remarked, “Computer
and Internet skills ensure competitiveness of former officers in the labor
market and contribute to social stability in Ukraine.” By holding
trainings for this audience, IATP contributed to their professional development.
The IATP network of 25 access sites in Ukraine provides over 250 trainings
to over 1400 citizens every month.
UZBEKISTAN
Tamara Abdurakhmanova gives
individual consultations
to Shukhrat
Tukhtasinov in Andijan, Uzbekistan
Partner Organizations Prepare for Sustainability in Uzbekistan
From July 24 to August 3, Tamara Abdurakhmanova, the administrator
of the IATP access site in Navoi, Uzbekistan, conducted three mobile trainings
on developing sustainability plans for 17 participants, including IATP
administrators, alumni, volunteers, and directors of partner organizations,
at the IATP access sites in Jizzakh, Samarkand, and Andijan. The purpose
of these trainings was to determine the best ways to sustain independent
Internet centers and develop business plans in accordance with the law
and national tax regulations. Abdurakhmanova helped the participants address
and resolve sustainability issues based on her accounting skills and experience
working for the Tashabbus Women’s Center for Social Partnership,
IATP’s partner organization in Navoi. With the help of Abdurakhmanova’s
expertise, Tashabbus has won 10 grants since its founding in 2002. Abdurakhmanova
asked the participants to brainstorm ways to offer future paid training
and Internet and computer services, develop their business plans, assess
possible expenses and income, and create a final budget for the remainder
of 2005. She also covered pricing, service quality, accessibility, and
service technology for their business plans. At her training in Samarkand,
Abdurakhmanova noted the advantages of the access site in a wide spectrum
of Internet and computer services, such as its reputation, large customer
base, and convenient site location. She encouraged the partner to consider
service marketing to make the site competitive and offer paid services
without diverting the access site from its core mission of expanding access
and training. As a result, the partner staff came up with 32 types of
paid services, including typing services for approximately $1 per hour.
In Jizzakh, Abdurakhmanova helped to establish a flexible discount system
for disabled and poor residents. In Andijan, Abdurakhmanova suggested
using a computer classroom at Andijan State University, which partners
with IATP, for IT trainings to enlarge the customer base. Thanks to Abdurakhmanova’s
trainings, the partners of these three access sites now better understand
the business principles that will prepare them for sustainability.
Website of the distance learning
course on the
Technology of
Developing Multimedia Projects
Participants Complete Distance Learning Course on the Development
of Multimedia Projects in Uzbekistan
On August 13, fourteen students from Tashkent, Samarkand, Karshi, Termez,
Andijan, and Navoi, Uzbekistan, completed Makhmud Batirov’s distance
learning (DL) course on the development of multimedia projects, hosted
on IATP’s DL portal. From November
to December 2004, IATP staff taught Batirov and 29 other DL consultants
how to create DL courses. Each DL consultant then incorporated lectures,
forums, chats, tests, and glossaries to create their own online courses.
Batirov heads the Information Center of the Academy of State and Social
Construction (ASSC), an organization that publishes electronic books used
in high schools and colleges in Uzbekistan. He developed a 24-week DL
course on the basics of multimedia theory and using various software programs,
a necessity since there is otherwise little chance to develop advanced
multimedia projects in Uzbek. As a result of the course, all 14 of the
students created their own electronic books, websites, slide show presentations,
and flash animations to for either academic or professional purposes.
For instance, Ulugbek Sodikov, a senior specialist at ASSC, created a
website on the ancient architecture of Bukhara on the Intranet of the
academy, thereby allowing the students to use the website’s information
as an additional resource for history and literature classes. Engineering
teachers at Tashkent Technical University, Gulnora Knolmatova and Khamida
Tuprpova, created electronic manuals on Uzbek traffic laws and database
software for teachers at the Chilanzar Radio-Technical College in Tashkent,
Uzbekistan. Batirov’s course is the eleventh in a series of IATP
DL courses offered by 14 trainers. These courses have included training-of-trainer
basics, project management, leadership, and business development. Thus
far, more than 30 students have graduated from these courses.
AZERBAIJAN
The website created by Ayaz
Shirinov is now available
College Student Enriches Internet with Information on Azerbaijani
Artists
On August 5, Ayaz Shirinov, a sophomore economics major at Nakchivan
State University (NSU), completed a website about Azerbaijani
artists from the eleventh to nineteenth centuries after attending
a Web design course at the IATP access site in Nakchivan, Azerbaijan.
Shirinov had previously participated in a series of Step-by-Step trainings
in graphics editing and website development wherein he learned how to
design a website, use a common programming language, create links, optimize
images for the Web, and create user-friendly layouts. These skills enabled
Shirinov to create several Web resources, including a website about the city of Nakchivan. NSU professor
Ali Feyzullayev wanted to create a website about the artists and asked
IATP for help. The access site recommended Shirinov for the task. The
resulting Azeri-language website is one of the few online sources for
information on famous Azeribaijani artists, such as Ali Rza Tabrizi, Mir
Imad, Garabaqli Mir Mohsum, and Ustad Sultan Urmevi. Including this new
resource, the IATP server in Azerbaijan now hosts 401 websites, almost
50% of the total noncommercial websites in the country.
Lawyers Learn to Use Online and Offline Legal Resources in Ali-Bayramli,
Azerbaijan
On August 22, the IATP access site in Ali-Bayramli, Azerbaijan hosted
a one-day course on online and digital resources for 10 lawyers, civil
practitioners, and representatives of legal nonprofit organizations. Representatives
of the American Bar Association, the Central European and Eurasian Law
Initiative (ABA/CEELI) and Azerbaijan National Bank organized this event
to help participants learn how to search for legal resources in Azeri,
Russian, and English utilizing the Internet. Participants also learned
how to work with a database of legal documents, which includes information
on legislation specific to Azerbaijan and is now available free-of-charge
to IATP users in Ali-Bayramli courtesy of ABA/CEELI. After a welcome from
ABA/CEELI representative Parviz Tahmazov, trainer Fuad Eminov, chief lawyer
of Azerbaijan National Bank, discussed using legal databases and popular
websites for research on legal issues, as well as utilizing the legislative
sections of websites of the Ministry
of Taxes of Azerbaijan and the National
Bank of Azerbaijan. Later Tahmazov described how the Kitab
Electronic Catalogue of ABA/CEELI, a leading library catalogue network
created with the support of IATP in 2004, can be used as a source of legal
information. With their new knowledge of how to use the Internet to easily
access legal information, the participants are now better informed and
thus better able to serve their community. This training was part of IATP’s
continuing dedication to providing Ali-Bayramli citizens with legal information.
IATP user Sevinc Agakishiyeva commented, "Access to legal databases
at IATP has already helped me to understand how my salary is calculated,
what taxes are to be paid from my income, and what I am entitled to receive
as a schoolteacher.”
KYRGYZSTAN
The public working group’s
website is available
at
http://public.host.net.kg
Public Working Group in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Develops Website
on Public Policy
On August 19, Erik Taranchiev and Sergey Masaulov posted the Public Working Group’s website to IATP’s server. Based on President Kurmanbek Bakiev’s June
14 decree, the Public Working Group was designed to prepare a program
to introduce and expand interaction between government agencies, local
governments, and civil society on topics including decentralization, coordination
of work between governmental and nongovernmental actors, and tax policy
reform. Taranchiev, the investment and corporative management advisor
for the Presidential Administration, and Masaulov, the coordinator of
a local analytical consortium called Perspectiva, requested that
the IATP staff provide them with Web design consultations since they only
possessed basic computer skills and wanted to create a website for the
group. IATP staff introduced Taranchiev and Masaulov to the basic features
of Web page editors and taught them how to design a website, use a common
programming language, create links, optimize images for the Web, and create
user-friendly layouts. As a result, Taranchiev and Masaulov created a
website to publicize the efforts of the working group. The website contains
an overview of the project, a list of people involved in the group, a
list of recommendations and goals developed so far, plans of action to
educate public officials, and an introduction to public policy basics.
Each of the these online sections has an open forum designed to generate
a discussion of the working group’s accomplishments and let interested
citizens, political officials, and representatives of nonprofit organizations
express their opinions and play an active role in public political interaction.
Taranchiev remarked, “The website is open to all interested citizens
who would like to participate in developing a new form of interaction
between the government and civil society,” a process greatly aided
by the Public Working Group website.
Marika Djergalbaeva (left)
accesses the DL course
on
project management at the IATP
access site in Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan
Residents of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan Complete Online Course
on Project Management
On August 9, five Kyrgyzstanis and two Kazakhstanis received IATP certificates
after completing Asel Karymbaeva’s distance learning (DL) course
on project management on the Kyrgyz DL
portal in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. In June, IATP staff had taught Karymbaeva,
the senior trainer at the Consulting and Training Center, and three other
consultants how to create DL courses incorporating lectures, forums, chats,
tests, and glossaries. Karymbaeva then taught her four-module, four-week
DL course from June 20 to July 22 to participants including representatives
of local nonprofit organizations, university faculty, and college students.
Her course covered elements of project management, including project goals
and tasks, types and categories of projects, planning and monitoring activities,
conflict situations, employee roles, and work distribution. Participant
Marika Djergalbaeva, Head of the Statistics Department at the International
Academy of Management, Law, Finance, and Business, remarked, “Our
educational institute runs several projects aimed at improving the quality
of education... [the IATP DL course] is a unique opportunity to prepare
for the management side of these projects.” DL is a growing educational
medium that utilizes the Internet to provide the same quality of instruction
that one would receive in a normal classroom, but with more flexibility
for the student. Karymbaeva’s course is the twelfth in a series
of IATP DL courses, which are offered by 14 trainers who have developed
their own courses on subjects such as project management, leadership,
and business start-up. One hundred and sixty students have already been
trained online through these courses, and many more are expected to be
trained in the future.
Students use their new Internet
skills at the
UNICEF-sponsored
camp in Khujand, Tajikistan
UNICEF Sends Students from Provinces to Learn IT in Khujand,
Tajikistan
On August 10, IATP staff completed a two-week series of computer and Internet
basics courses for 43 students at Orlenok, a summer camp co-sponsored
by UNICEF and Pulatov High School (PHS), IATP’s partner organization
in Khujand, Tajikistan. Held annually, the educational and recreational
camp brings 90 high school students together to learn leadership, healthy
living, debate, and computer skills. Many of the students, who were from
Dushanbe, Faizobod, Isfara, Panjikent, Chkalovsk, and Kairakkum, had previously
had little access to computers and the Internet. Thus, PHS requested that
IATP staff and volunteers lend their expertise to the training. All 43
course participants completed the courses led by Mustaeva and her volunteers,
learning computer basics and Internet skills such as e-mail and search
engines. As a final test of their knowledge, the students used computers
to prepare presentations based on information they learned at the camp
about healthy lifestyles. During the course all students proved their
ability to produce digital presentations, type papers, and conduct research
online, and most will be able to enhance further their information technology
knowledge at local IATP access sites. They have thus begun the process
of learning skills vital to their future academic careers, especially
given that many of the students intend to enter colleges in Khujand and
Dushanbe.
Elena Volovich (FLEX 03) introduces
students to
aspects of intercultural
business at the IATP access site in
Dushanbe,
Tajikistan
Alumna Shares DL Course Knowledge in Dushanbe, Tajikistan
On August 11, Elena Volovich (FLEX 03) conducted a seminar on cultural
differences in business practices for 15 participants, including five
alumni of US government-sponsored exchange programs, at the IATP access
site in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Volovich learned the skills she taught at
the seminar through a six-month distance learning (DL) course
on international business and management at the University of California-Berkeley,
a course she was able to take because of IATP’s Distance Learning
Support Fund (DLSF).Volovich was one of six winners of the DLSF in Tajikistan,
which provided alumni the opportunity to increase their professional and
academic knowledge through DL courses offered by US universities. IATP
covered 90% of the costs, and each DLSF recipient agreed to contribute
the other 10% and teach others in the community with the knowledge they
obtained through the DL course. Volovich’s contribution to the community
was based on the content of her course, which surveyed the principles
of international business and management fundamentals. For her seminar,
Volovich discussed another of her course topics: cultural differences
between businesspeople in different countries. She prepared dozens of
examples to demonstrate the differences between businesspeople in different
countries, including styles of business dress, conversation and public
behavior. After the seminar and discussion, participants browsed websites
on intercultural business such as International
Business Culture and Etiquette and Business
Culture to learn more about the topic. College student Sabohat Karimova
remarked, “These kinds of seminars help to create intercultural
awareness, knowledge which helps build global careers and function effectively
in a variety of cultures and environments.” Through the IATP DLSF
program, participants like Volovich then share their acquired knowledge
with community members; Volovich used this opportunity to promote better
understanding and respect for other world cultures.
KAZAKHSTAN
Irina Nozikova optimizes images to
upload to Almaty High School No.
44’s
website at the IATP access site
in Almaty, Kazakhstan
Computer Science Teachers Publish School Websites in Almaty,
Kazakhstan
On August 26, six computer science teachers from local high schools
created four new websites (www.school117.freenet.kz, www.gimnazic44.freenet.kz, www.gimnazic159.freenet.kz,
and www.kazakhschool12.freenet.kz)
after completing a Web design course at the IATP access site in Almaty,
Kazakhstan. Since the beginning of August, IATP Access Site Administrator
Aleksandr Parfentyev had been conducting an IATP Step-by-Step training
for these teachers. The series began by covering Internet basics and photo-editing
tools and culminated in a one-week Web design course, when Parfentyev
taught users how to use a common programming language, create pages and
links, optimize images for the web, and create user-friendly layouts.
Though only about 20% of Almaty high schools currently have an online
presence, more are developing websites as a tool to attract students and
partners. The resulting websites give parents an opportunity to choose
the best school for their children and also helps the Kazakh educational
system keep up with schools in other countries. All the participants in
the IATP training have already contributed to this process by creating
websites for their respective high schools. Almaty High School No. 44
teacher Irina Nozikova commented, “This training was important because
now kids from different areas are able to learn more about our school’s
achievements, professional staff, students, and modern methodology. Our
students can also share their thoughts and suggestions about learning
process development and future projects.” Nozikova introduced the
school’s website to seven students at her school’s summer
curricular club; as a result, they signed up for a similar course at the
IATP access site in September to obtain skills to improve the website
by adding more features such as a guestbook.
Alumnus from Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan, to Attend Disability Symposium
in Moscow, Russia
On August 10, Dmitriy Lemayev (FLEX 03) called IATP staff to share his
good news. Lemayev has been accepted to attend a disability symposium
in Moscow, Russia from September 16 to 18. Funded by the Bureau of Educational
and Cultural Affairs and administered by American Councils, the goal of
the “Disability Symposium: FLEX Alumni Lead for Change” is
to bring 60 FLEX alumni, who either are disabled or work with the disabled,
together from 12 countries to develop partnerships and exchange best practices.
As an IATP trainer, Lemayev acquired considerable experience working with
the disabled community. He conducted nine Step-by-Step trainings in computer,
Internet, and Web design basics for people with disabilities. He has also
led 43 IATP courses on computer and Internet basics and trained 224 high
school students, NGO representatives, unemployed people, and other alumni.
By using IATP resources, Lemayev learned about the conference and applied
online. Lemayev stated, “Thanks to IATP, I have developed communication
and training skills and met so many different people. I had the chance
to help people with disabilities, and I think they really need it.”
Utilizing the knowledge and skills he will gain at the symposium, Lemayev
intends to hold a series of trainings for disabled children at the local
access site in October.
MOLDOVA
Enache (standing) explains how to
efficiently
manage files and folders
to a trainee at what has become a
sustainable
IATP access site
Former IATP Access Site Continues Mission in Sustainable Environment
in Ungheni, Moldova
The month of August marked a new, sustainable beginning for the former
IATP access site in Ungheni, Moldova. On August 1, IATP transitioned into
a new phase of the program and former administrators of IATP access sites
throughout Moldova worked together with partner institutions on sustainability
plans to prove to local governments and businesses that the program represents
an indispensable asset for the community and is worth further funding.
Iulian Enache, who administered the former IATP access site in Ungheni,
was well prepared for the task, as he had previously attended an IATP
sustainability conference in March, during which IATP staff and partner
representatives learned the practical side of marketing research, business
planning, and public relations to gain financial independence for IATP.
Enache stressed IATP successes in training groups from various professional
and academic fields and managed to build a sustainability bridge for IATP
in Ungheni by bringing together the objectives of local Dimitrie Cantemir
District Library, which hosted and partnered with the former IATP access
site, and the Ungheni District Council. Along with the library staff,
Enache created a sustainability plan, which was approved by Ungheni District
Council on July 21. As a result, the former IATP access site, which is
now called the Community Information Access Center of Dimitrie Cantemir
Ungheni District Library, has a budget of just under $1,000 to cover staff
salary and operational costs, such as fees for Internet, electricity,
and security, through the end of 2005. In accordance with the sustainability
plan, the Center continues to provide free Internet access for a minimum
of two hours per day and training for a minimum of two hours per week.
In August, Enache led an eight-hour course on computer and Internet basics
for six local government employees at the newly established independent
Internet center and trained them to incorporate text editing software
and e-mail in their work.
GEORGIA
Journalist Conducts Seminar on Women and the Media in Khashuri,
Georgia
On August 2, journalist Nino Suhiashvili led a seminar for nine representatives
of government agencies and nongovernmental organizations on the status
of women in post-Soviet countries at the IATP access site in Khashuri,
Georgia. She covered the status of women in the Caucasus, Central Asia,
Russia, and Ukraine, drawing on Internet-based materials she had gathered
at the IATP access site and a conference she had attended in July. Sponsored
by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and
organized by the Gender Media Caucasus (GMC) journalists’ association,
the conference’s agenda contained sessions on women’s representation
in the national media, journalist networks, supporting women leaders,
and gender equality in the media. In her seminar, Suhiashvili also introduced
the participants to Internet resources related to gender issues, such
as the electronic journal Caucasus and the GMC’s website (www.gmc.ge),
one of the few online resources devoted solely to gender issues in the
Caucasus; some seminar participants applied online to join the association.
This seminar was one of many events offered at IATP access sites in Georgia
for a variety of audiences, a service vital to providing current, specific
information on social issues both inside and outside the country.
Tsitsi Chikovani (FLEX 05)
introduces students
to Internet
resources on exchange programs
Alumna Shares Exchange Experiences in Khashuri, Georgia
On August 19, Tsitsi Chikovani (FLEX 05) led a two-hour seminar on the
FLEX program for six high school students at the IATP site in Khashuri,
Georgia. Before going to Steller Secondary School in Anchorage, AK, Chikovani
had registered at the IATP access site, where she attended IATP courses
on computer and Internet basics. These skills allowed her to maintain
contact with her family while abroad. Upon her return to Khashuri in June,
Chikovani decided to conduct a workshop to introduce participants to the
US high school system and the FLEX program in particular. To start the
seminar Chikovani provided an overview of the program, which provides
opportunities for high school students from Eurasia to spend a year in
the United States living with a family and attending an American high
school with the goal of providing students with the experience of living
in a democratic society in order to promote democratic values worldwide.
She also discussed practical aspects of the multilayered and merit-based
selection process. To provide participants with further resources on applying
to FLEX, she guided the participants to the website of the Georgian Office
of American Councils, the
organization that administers FLEX. Chikovani also talked about differences
between American and Georgian high schools, stating that whereas in Georgia
the focus is almost solely on academic study, American schools also put
emphasis on extracurricular activities. To provide concrete examples for
her discussion, Chikovani showed participants the website of the US
school where she studied. Thanks to the seminar, the participants
learned about the US system of education and US government-sponsored exchange
programs.
ARMENIA
IATP Administrator Karen
Arzumanyan guides participants
through online resources
Nonprofit Organization Representatives Trained in Usage of Online
Resources in Kapan, Armenia
On August 12, Karen Arzumanyan, the site administrator in Kapan, Armenia,
conducted a workshop for 12 employees of local nonprofit organizations
on the role Information Technology (IT) can play in developing organizations.
The workshop was organized in collaboration with Kapan Union, an organization
that works to increase citizen involvement in community issues such as
improving agricultural technology and the irrigation system. In addition
to Kapan Union Employees, members of the Syunik Union, an organization
dealing with youth issues and raising community awareness of human rights
and political processes, and the staff of Hzor Apaga (Powerful
Future), an organization with the goal of improving conditions in local
kindergartens, attended the workshop. The participants wanted to learn
about IATP resources to improve the quality of their information services
and to show them how to access various data on international organizations.
To begin the workshop, Arsumanyan stressed the roles the Internet and
IT play in providing quick access to information otherwise not available
in isolated cities like Kapan. Arzumanyan familiarized the participants
with a range of websites of local and international organizations, such
as the Armenia Development Gateway and the Open Society Institute Assistance
Foundation-Armenia. Arzumanyan also handed each participant a list
of search engines and portals for them to explore independently. Since
some of the organizations at the training are planning on establishing
an online presence, the information they obtained will prove invaluable;
all organizations will also now be better able to interact with the international
nonprofit community.
Teenagers and Teachers Gain Internet Skills at IATP Access Site
in Kapan, Armenia
On August 8, the IATP access site in Kapan, Armenia, hosted a seminar
on Internet skills for two teachers and nine teenagers from low-income
families. This IATP access site graduated from the ECA-funded program
and is now sustainable. The access site still offers some free services
to targeted audiences and charges a small fee for other services. Although
all of the participants had previous computer experience, the majority
had little knowledge of the Internet. Thus, site administrator Karen Arzumanyan
and Anna Minasyan (FLEX 01) taught the students how to use the Internet
both to search and to manage email accounts, the latter skill involving
the creation of new e-mail accounts, composing messages, attaching files,
and working with address books. The students then had the opportunity
to practice their skills by writing messages to acquaintances and relatives
outside of Kapan. To deepen their newly acquired Internet navigation skills,
the participants explored online resources on topics of their interest.
Training participants will now be able to use the acquired skills for
academic purposes, and they are also planning to organize trainings for
fellow students to pass on their knowledge and skills.