NEWS ARCHIVE: 2006, 1999/2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
May-July 2006
SAF AT GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE PARTNERSHIP'S INTERNATIONAL MEETING, SRI LANKA
In May 2006, representatives of the Science and Arts Foundation
participated in the Global Knowledge Partnership* International Forum
2006 and Annual Members' Meeting held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The
Forum, entitled "Creating Prosperity through Innovation: ICT at Work
in Development", attracted GKP member and non-member representing
leading civil society, private, public and international organizations
in the field of ICT for Development. Dr. Yahya Tabesh, SAF-Iran board
member, was invited to take part in the Forum panel "Redefining
Context". He delivered the well received presentation "ICT Relief
Program" and discussed SAF's experiences in developing the Bam ICT
Center and programs carried out after the tragic 2003 earthquake. To
view Dr. Tabesh's presentation and other details from the Forum, you
can visit here. During the
Annual Members' Meeting, open to GKP members only, SAF actively
contributed to the Middle East North Africa regional cluster's
discussions on a workplan which was further developed at a regional
workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this July (see below for details).
The workplan is a series of multistakeholder projects to be undertaken
by GKP members and their partners in the time preceding GK3, the GKP's
3rd Global Knowledge Conference. SAF came away from the two Colombo
events with a renewed commitment to engaging in the GKP's two pillars
of "Sharing Knowledge" and "Building Partnerships".
13th INTERNATIONAL IEARN WORLD CONFERENCE, SUMMER 2006
This year, 14 teachers and 6 students from Iran, in addition to the
iEARN-Iran coordinator, were among the 425 participants representing
45 countries who attended the 13th International iEARN World
Conference (www.iearn.org) held in the Netherlands July 3-7, 2006. The
Iranian participants shared results of their projects and
collaborations with other members of the iEARN community through
interesting presentations. Furthermore, the
iEARN-Iran Coordinator was invited by the iEARN International
Executive Council to take part in Assembly Meetings as an observer in
order to explore the possibility of Iran's promotion in the network as
a Center. Distinctions for this group included the recognition of two
teachers and three students from Farzanegan Zeinab High School for
their work in a collaborative project with Dutch teachers called Track
Gender Disparity by iEARN-Netherlands and received full scholarships
to attend the conference.
Iranian students were actively involved in the Youth Summit programs
as well and we are proud to announce that two of the students were
among the YS Media team. Moreover, the iEARN International Youth
Representative elections were held earlier this April, and Mostafa
Nejati from Guilan SchoolNet was elected for a two year term. The
Youth Representative is a member of the Assembly and Mostafa's
achievement is another example of Iran's fruitful involvement in iEARN
programs and activities.
On the 8th of July, Iranian participants left the conference with
wonderful memories of knowledge sharing, discussions of mutual
barriers, cultural interactions, gift exchanges and lots of productive
sessions and workshops. The impact of such experience on both students
and their educators through the academic year is immensely promising
for years to come. For iEARN projects of Iranian schools please visit
here.
SAF PARTICIPATES IN GKP AFRICA & MENA REGIONAL WORKPLAN WORKSHOP
The Global Knowledge Partnership conducted a special workshop from 10
to 11 July 2006 at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
(UNECA) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Workshop participants
included members of the MENA and Africa regional clusters alongside
the regional coordinators in order "to help both regional networks to
streamline and harmonize their proposed Regional Workplans to meet
their regional goals and to qualify for GKP Seed Funding." SAF
representatives enthusiastically engaged in dialogue with workshop
participants to finalize the GKP MENA workplan and to advance
partnerships in the fields of education, youth entrepreneurship and
Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). At present, SAF is in the
process of completing project proposals in the above fields to be
presented to the GKP. SAF aims to work with national partners in
order further engage them in GKP activities. To learn more about the
GKP, please visit www.globalknowledge.org.
"GKP is the leading international multi-stakeholder network
committed to harnessing the potential of information and communication
technologies (ICT) for sustainable and equitable development. Ranging
from grassroot practitioners to policy-makers, GKP members and
partners are innovators in the practical use of ICT for development"
(www.globalknowledge.org).
SAF has been a member of the GKP since
2004.
February-April 2006
SAF PAVES WAY FOR ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES IN IRANIAN
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
The existing system of education in Iran is a study in contrasts, with
a wide discrepancy in the resources available to students and
educators both between and within different regions. While some
schools have access to proper and up-to-date resources, many are
lacking in vital areas. Information and Communication Technologies is
a key means to bridge this growing gap.
As part of its mission to assist in the development of education in
Iran, SAF has initiated a program aimed at improving access to mental
health resources for Iranian students and the educators and
counsellors working within the system. The goal of the project is to
overcome the challenge of a limited number of mental health
professionals and guidance counsellors available to students and
limited opportunities for professionals working in the field to
consult one another on a consistent basis.
During the current academic year, SAF's MIND Club, part of SchoolNet's
electronic club program, has initiated a collaborative project with
the Department of Education to address deficiencies in psychosocial
care in education. The components of the project include:
In 3 months, a selected number of counsellors were trained to work
with the technology needed to run the above programs. This training
included how to write messages in the forum, how to respond to queries
through email or offline messages and how to use the website forum as
a tool for discussions.
The website also features articles on psychology in Persian and works
with an international team of volunteer mental health professionals as
consultants. The address for the main page of the website is
moshavereh.tsch.ir
and the forum can be found at
moshavereh.tsch.ir/fourm.
In order to promote issues related to mental health and use of the
website, a number of steps have been taken, including a seminar held
in Tehran on Sunday, 15 January 2006. Over 500 high school
counsellors from across Tehran took part in this event upon an
official invitation by the Counsellors' Center of the Tehran
Department of Education. The day's program included three specialized
lectures, as follows:
In addition to the above seminar, the team has also carried out a
number of workshops for counsellors as well as students in various
schools.
If you would like to learn more about, or support, the MIND club and
other activities initiated by SAF, please visit www.saf.ir.
January 2006
EMPOWERING YOUTH IN THE INFORMATION AGE
With the onset of 2006, we present to you a review of SAF's activities
in 2005 along with highlights of programs, projects and achievements
since its establishment in March 1999
(Click
here to download SAF's 2005 annual report (PDF)).
In keeping with its stated mission, SAF has made significant strides by
"empowering youth in the information age". Having established itself
as the first organization to provide Iranian schools computer sites
with Internet access and infusing the culture of information and
communication technologies in the classroom, SAF has embarked on its
second phase of programs, that of content development.
This new challenge engages educators and students alike, particularly in
economically disadvantages areas around the country, in the
development and promotion of specialized online programs to enhance
the academic process while promoting social and economic development.
Please take a moment to review the online version of SAF's 2005 annual
report in the above link, which includes summaries our activities in
the following key
areas:
If you would like to support SAF maintain and widen the scope of programs such as those listed above, please consider making a contribution by visiting our support page.