News

The Institute for Connectivity in the Americas

The first meeting of the ICA Hemispheric Advisory Board (HAB) that took place in Washington, D.C. on May 9-10 was the occasion to officially launch the Institute. The HAB gathers 15 representatives of  the Americas'  foremost digital pioneers active in ICTs for development in the region.  HAB members stem from the private and academic sectors, government, international institutions (OAS, Inter- American Development Bank, World Bank), non-government organizations and civil society in the hemisphere. Board members will provided the ICA with valuable regional intelligence and feedback, and assist with establishing the proper network of contacts throughout the region. 

The first Board meeting provided an opportunity for the regional representatives to exchange views and provide guidance for the program development of the ICA. In determining the strategic vision and positioning of the Institute, three major areas of focus were identified, namely Knowledge Networking, Policies and Startegies, and Innovation and Demonstration Projects. Under these major thematic areas, it was agreed that the ICA will provide help in bringing players together through virtual networks, facilitate the sharing of lessons learned and best practices, provide awards and rewards for successful initiatives, identify cost of access and coverage issues as well as new business models, consolidate strategic partnerships, develop scaled up regional projects, highlight simple and powerful ideas, and integrate and transfer proven models, among others. 

Further information visit: http://www.icamericas.net
 

The turret: electronic bulletin

ECOPLATA has recently launched a new electronic bulletin. This bulletin intends to maintain informed the people involved in the project and the general public on new activities, events and other issues of interest. ECOPLATA is an inter-institutional agreement for the integrated management of the Río de la Plata executed by the Ministry of Housing, Land use Planning and Environment (MVOTMA/DINAMA-DINOT), Ministry of Defense (SOHMA); Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (DINARA) and the University of the Republic (Social Sciences Faculty). The project has the technical support of the Acadia University, Bedford Insitute of Oceanography, Dalhousie University and Environment Canada.

Ecoplata is financed by IDRC the MVOTMA, UNDP and has the support of UNESCO

For further information ecoplata@adinet.com.uy

Selected proposals - "Peace Building and Reconstruction in Central America"

The selection committee met last week and analyzed the eight proposals received for call of 2002-2003 "Peacebuilding and Reconstruction in Central America"

The proposals were varied and the themes considered were: economic, social and cultural rights of women; constitutional law and democratic transition; small arms and light weapons (options for control & use); political institutional reform and public confidence and political participation of women; peacebuilding in El Salvador and Guatemala, etc.

The Committee selected two (2) semi-finalists "Asociación de Investigación y Estudios Sociales-ASIES/Fundación Guillermo Ungo-FUNDAUNGO; and Panama-based regional network for Popular Education Red ALFORJA.. Each of these will be awarded CAD $20,000 and will have three months to develop a full research proposal. A single proposal will be selected at the end of September.

For further information visit: http://www.idrc.ca/peace/
 

Jean La Rose has been awarded with the Goldman Environmental Prize (2002)

Jean La Rose, 40, lives and works in Georgetown, Guyana, located between Venezuela and Suriname. She is an indigenous Arawak and the program administrator of the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA).

Jean participates in an IDRC project "Exploring indigenous perspectives on consultation and engagement within the mining sector in LAC" (100158) http://www.idrc.ca/minga/100158_e.html

For further information visit: http://www.goldmanprize.org/index.htm
 

Competitive funds, fellowships, contests and vacancies

International Course on "Ecosystem Approaches to Human Health.  Vector-borne diseases and environmental contamination"

As part of the refresher summer program on Public Health and Epidemiology that takes place at the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) of Mexico, IDRC has promoted and supports an International Course on "Ecosystem Approaches to Human Health. Vector-borne diseases and environmental contamination". It will take place in Cuernavaca (México) at the INSP from August 19 to 23, 2002, with the participation of international teachers in different disciplines. A limited number of fellowships are offered by IDRC for Latin American participants to cover transport and local expenses.

Deadline: June 30, 2002

Contact: Teresa Téllez at the INSP ttellez@insp.mx
For further information visit http://www.insp.mx

Use of Fertility enhancing food, forage and cover crops in sustainably managed agroecosystems: The Bentley Fellowship

The fellowship provides assistance to Canadian or developing country students or researchers with a university degree in Agriculture, Forestry or Biology, who wish to undertake post-graduate applied on-farm research in a developing country with cooperating farmers. The fellowship is administered by IDRC.

Deadline for submissions: October 2, 2002

For further information visit: http://archive.idrc.ca/awards/ebentinf.html

Third Call "FoodLinks" fund

As part of the agreement between IICA-IDRC in support of PRODAR we announce the third call of Foodlinks fund. Through this fund, rural agroindustries in Latin America and the Caribbean are encouraged to the generate and apply strategies and mechanisms that can contribute to improve their commercialization conditions.

Deadline for submission of proposals: June 30, 2002

For further information visit: http://www.prodar.org

IDRC Internship Awards

These awards provide exposure to research for international development through a program of training in research management and grant administration under the guidance of IDRC program staff. The internship is designed to provide hands-on learning experiences in research program management - in the creation, dissemination and utilization of knowledge from an international perspective.

Internships will be considered for a program of training and research responding to IDRC's research priorities. IDRC's research activities focus on three Program Areas: Social and Economic Equity; Environmental and Natural Resources Management; Information and Communication Technologies for Development.

Deadline for submission of applications: September 12, 2002

Further information: http://www.idrc.ca/awards/ecintrn.htm
 

Second Call for Research Proposals Conflict and Collaboration in Natural Resources Management in Latin America and the Caribbean

The program, financed by the IDRC and managed by the University for Peace, offers small grants from of USD$ 8,000 and up to USD$ 22,000 for research projects in the field of environmental conflict management. Individuals and institutions from all the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (continental and insular) may apply to the program.

Deadline for applications: June 17, 2002.

For more information, visit http://www.upeace.org/cyc
 

New IDRC approved projects

IDRC has approved the following projects in the LAC Region:

• 100997 - Support of Masters Thesis Research on Gender and Natural Resources

• 101158 - ICTs and Poverty Alleviation in LAC

• 101252 - Renacer: internet with children at risk

• 101428 - Policy Tools for equity in Population Health

The database has been updated. It can be accessed at http://idrinfo.idrc.ca/

New Projects approved by the EMS:

1. "Integrated Management of Urban Solid Waste Impact and Potentialities", Prefeitura do Municipio de Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo / Instituto Pólis

2. "Institutional association alternatives for the management of waste in the Cotahuma District in the City of La Paz" Municipalidad de La Paz / Fundación ProHabitat

3. "Maximisation in the management of urban and industrial solid waste in the Villa El Salvador District" Municipalidad de Villa El Salvador - Lima, Perú / IPES Promoción del Desarrollo Sostenible

New IDRC publications

Documents resulting from IDRC funding:

• "Volcanic Aquifers and the sustainable development of Central America" Marcelo Losilla, Hugo Rodriguez, Gunther Schosinsky, Jesse Stimson, David Bethune. Editorial del la Universidad de Costa Rica, 2001, 205 p. email@edituc@cariari.ucr.ac.cr (Spanish only)

• " Workshop report Small-Scale Mining" IDRC/UNESCO/EKAMOLLE, April 4-5, 2002 Lima Perú http://www.idrc.ca/mpri/documents/taller_asm.html

• "Decades of research bear fruit"

• "A Robin Hood for the digital Era"

Conferences

International Forum on the New Economy 8th Edition

The "International Forum on the New Economy" will take place in Montreal, Canada June 24-28, 2002 (http://www.conferencedemontreal.com). IDRC, though the Environmental Management Secretariat (EMS), will present during the sessions to be held on June 27, the International Forum "Rethinking Cities: Towards Innovative Partnerships between Governments, the Private Sector and Civil Society".

"Rethinking the City" aims to share experiences of cities and towns from countries of North America, Latin America and Europe for the identification and prioritisation of urban issues, formulating urban management strategies; formulating and implementing action plans; and institutionalizing environmental planning and management.

"Rethinking the City" will attempt to summarise a number of "international guidelines" that can be suggested, each of which reflects the knowledge and insights - the "lessons learned to share" - gained through different city experiences.

For further information visit: http://www.ems-sema.org/eventos/montreal/index_i.html

Competition Policy in Developing Countries the International Dimension

On April 18-19 a group of experts from throughout the world met in Montevideo, to examine the potential contribution that competition policy can make to sustainable human development in the context of growing international interdependence. The workshop, convened by IDRC's "Trade, Employment and Competitiveness" (TEC) Program Initiative, was an opportunity to exchange information on ongoing economic and policy changes and international negotiation processes, and to identify knowledge gaps that are limiting developing countries' ability to adopt pro-development competition policies at the national and international levels. The meeting provided extremely valuable input for TEC's program development efforts in the field. For more information contact Andrés Rius, Program Officer, LACRO (arius@idrc.org.uy).
 

International Trade in Health Services in Latin America and the Caribbean

A research scoping workshop on the health systems, trade and development implications of growing international exchanges in health services was held in Montevideo, on April 24-25, organized by IDRC's "Trade, Employment and Competitiveness" (TEC) Program Initiative. A qualified group of health policy, trade policy and development analysts and practitioners examined Latin American and Caribbean countries' challenges emerging from the growing international flows of trade in health services, and the domestic and international responses that are being tried or could be considered. The meeting helped refine a regional research agenda to inform policies and international cooperation agreements capable of promoting greater equity, efficiency and effectiveness in health service delivery, as well as the equitable distribution of the benefits from international specialization. IDRC will be considering ways of responding to the outcomes of the workshop through its programs on trade and health policies. A synthesis of the deliberations will soon be available. For more information contact Andrés Rius, Program Officer, LACRO (arius@idrc.org.uy).

New Information and Communication Technologies

Meeting and Working Lunch on New Information and Communication Technologies at the Canadian Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 24 . Organized by the Commercial Branch of the Canadian Embassy in Argentina, this meeting and working lunch was carried out at the Embassy headquarters with the participation of a selected group of specialists (professionals, journalists and policy makers) in the area of ICTs. Dr. Andre Caron, Director of Communications and New Technologies of the University of Montreal made a presentation on connectivity issues and media literacy. Alicia Richero, Lacro Research Officer made a presentation on the new Institute for Connectivity in the Americas. The ICA which was announced at the Summit of the Americas. The above-mentioned Institute is a joint initiative of DFAIT, Industry Canada, CIDA and IDRC of Canada.

Management of Public Goods: Governance, Equity and Health in Latin America

On April 26 IDRC invited 6 external experts -- three from the health sector, three from other sectors - to join us in reflecting on the potential of the Governance, Equity and Health approach to programming in LAC, the kinds of adjustments which might be needed to customize it to the realities of the region, and the scope over time for IDRC to expand this approach to encompass work on other "public goods" sectors. The external participants prepared presentations in response to a set of previously distributed documents marking the evolution of Governance, Equity and Health as well as a parallel exploration in LAC on Management of Public Goods. The reaction was very possitive the issues raised and the approach proposed through GEH and MPG -- linking technical and political analysis of the "nuts and bolts" of concrete problems; contributing to the capacity of citizens to effectively exercise their right to health; linking "governance" in all its meanings with the notion of equity -- were seen as highly relevant to the region. At the same time, the documents stimulated rather than foreclosing  rich discussion and debate. A meeting report will be available shortly.

ICA Caribbean Consultation

A two day seminar is planned for the end of July in Barbados, W.I. in partnership with the ITU and CIDA, aimed at compiling the opinions of the participants on the major thematic concentrations for the Institute’s policies and programs for the next year. Objectives of this consultation is to bring together senior level experts in connectivity and ICT of the region (active in ICTs for development within the private sector, government sector, CSOs and applied research sector) to help develop the strategic direction for the ICA within the framework of the Summit of the Americas.

Participants will interact in working groups to identify and initiate a dialogue about the needs and priorities of the region in the ICT field, identify potential ICA affiliates in the region, gather recommendations of the regional stakeholders regarding the lines of work and priorities to be tackled in the ICA Work Plan and assess current ICA priorities.  Each group will analyze and integrate the input and present final conclusions in a plenary session.

For further information visit: http://www.icamericas.net/