Portal to Provide Open Educational Materials Online

On November 16th 2005, the Open Educational Resources portal was launched at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunisia. The new web initiative between Development Gateway, a public foundation putting the Internet to work for developing countries, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which concentrates its resources on activities in education, the environment and global development and population, connects anyone with Internet access and a desire to learn to free, high-quality educational materials.

The portal, which is hosted on the Development Gateway’s global web site for knowledge sharing and collaboration, features free course materials from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University and many other institutions from around the world and will act as a forum for any educator, student or self-learner in need of educational resources. These institutions, plus specialists from SchoolNet Africa and UNSECO, among others, also guide the portal’s online forum for educators, students and self-learners in need of educational resources.

According to Mike Pereira, manager of the Development Gateway’s online communities, the goal of this new portal “is to encourage more citizens and universities in the developing world to tap into the wealth of free educational resources available online. It also establishes a virtual meeting space where interested people can collaborate and advance the open educational resources movements.”

In conjunction with the Open Educational Resources portal, the Hewlett Foundation has also awarded a grant of $900,000 for the Teacher Edu-cation in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) initiative. The TESSA Project is a consortium comprising The Open Univer-sity of the UK, The Common-wealth of Learning, The Open University of Tanzania, Fort Hare University in South Africa, and the BBC World Services Trust Fund. One goal of the project is to promote research and development of all aspects of teacher education and development in sub-Saharan Africa.

The African Virtual Univer-sity (AVU) has been selected by TESSA to be its hub for materials production and distribution for the project. The Nairobi, Kenya-based AVU also acts as the center for a network of African universities working to support open, distance and eLearning initiatives via 54 learning centers in some 27 African countries.

For more information on the Development Gateway, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation or The African Virtual University please follow these links: www.developmentgateway.org, www.hewlett.org, www.avu.org.

Robin Hood Foundation Revitalizes Public School Libraries

The L!brary Initiative is a unique collaborative project of the Robin Hood Foundation and the New York City Department of Education, which aims to re-imagine and rebuild public elementary school libraries. The fundamental goal of the initiative is combating poverty by improving literacy and achievement in underserved public schools.

With support from the mayor, the Department of Education, corporate donors and a team of volunteer architects, Robin Hood is developing a blueprint to turn elementary school libraries into vibrant centers of teaching and learning equipped with the latest technology, a carefully selected and extensive collection of books and flexible, multi-purpose space. To staff the new facilities, Robin Hood is providing scholarships for librarians to receive their masters degrees in Library Education in collaboration with Syracuse University.

The L!brary Initiative created ten elementary school libraries in 2002. Twenty-one libraries were designed and built in 2004. For the third round, Robin Hood is undertaking more library renovations to be ready in late 2006. Low-performing schools in high-poverty neighborhoods are given first priority for inclusion in the L!brary Initiative, which has already met with great success. “You can’t fathom how much this library has done for this community and the 650 students served by the school,” says principal Robert Flores of P.S. 106 in Brooklyn.

The Robin Hood Foundation targets poverty in New York City unlike any other nonprofit. It finds and funds exemplary programs and initiatives, gives them expert management assistance to maximize results and, through independent evaluations, holds them accountable. Robin Hood’s board of directors underwrites 100 percent of all administrative and fundraising costs so that every single dollar donated flows directly to more than 200 programs that help New York City’s poor build better lives for themselves and their families.

Robin Hood’s executive director David Saltzman says, “The library initiative is a model of what public/private partnerships can and should be. Generations of poor children in New York City will benefit.”

For more information, go to www.robinhood.org.

Public/Private Partnership Helps Promote Local Sustainability and Natural and Cultural Heritage

A promising joint venture dicated to sustainable tourism and awareness of World Heritage sites is bringing together what some may say are two unlikely partners: Expedia, Inc., the world’s leading online travel company, and the United Nations Foundation, a public charity started by media mogul Ted Turner to bolster support for the United Nations and its efforts in health, humanitarian, environmental and socioeconomic issues. The two groups have officially launched the World Heritage Alliance—a joint venture designed to help protect and preserve World Heritage sites around the globe.

“True charitable partnerships are not just about writing checks. They are about sharing a passion and a vision as we do, and working together for positive change,” says UN Foundation president Tim Wirth.

The 812 unique sites around the world are protected by the 1972 World Heritage Convention, which was signed by 180 countries and is administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage sites, which are designated for their outstanding value as natural, cultural and historical treasures, include Stonehenge, Yellowstone National Park and the Historic Centre of Prague. This public/private partnership brings together two organizations with a passion for conserving World Heritage sites that not only benefits those with a penchant for travel, but also supports sustainable tourism efforts, safeguarding important natural and cultural sites around the world for generations to come. In November, Expedia launched specially created trips to World Heritage destinations that are available through their network of travel sites, with net proceeds from these trips being donated to the UN Foundation for investment in local community projects at World Heritage sites in need. Expedia Inc., in addition to funds donated as a result of the specialty travel package, will match their customers’ donations to support the development of locally owned tourism enterprises at Heritage sites.

Expedia Inc.’s commitment to this program goes beyond financial assistance to these communities. The company also seeks to lay the necessary groundwork to promote local business and raise awareness of heritage preservation through destination education, encouraging matching donations by Expedia customers to the UN Foundation and donating employee time and talent to local tourism business development. Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Expedia Inc., says of the endeavor, “Expedia is in the business of inspiring and empowering our customers in their travel choices, and UNESCO and the UN Foundation are actively working to preserve some of the most interesting travel destinations around the world.”

For more information on the World Heritage Alliance, please visit www.worldheritagealliance.org.

Knight Foundation Helps Immigrant Families Gain a Foothold in American Society

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s American Dream Fund will provide $1.4 million in support to 29 grassroots organizations serving Latino, Asian, African and other immigrant communities in 14 U.S. cities. In 2005, the Knight Foundation created the American Dream Fund as the local component of its $13.5 million Immigrant Integration Initiative, which focuses on welcoming newcomers into American life by encouraging civic participation, naturalization, voting and education.

In many communities, the foreign born are much more likely to live in poverty than the native born. “Our goal is to help hard-working, tax-paying immigrant families achieve the American dream of economic self-sufficiency and individual liberty,” says Alberto Ibargüen, Knight president. “The purpose of the American Dream Fund is to provide grassroots groups with direct funding for general support of their work and to link them to national resources.”

The $6 million American Dream Fund is administered by Public Interest Projects, a New York-based philanthropic organization with expertise in the area of immigration. Knight’s local advisory committees have recommended potential grantees for the fund. Applications to the fund are by invitations only.

While Knight is the sole contributor to the American Dream Fund, the foundation’s larger immigrant integration strategy is carried out in coor-dination with several other funding partners, including Carnegie Corporation, the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Institute and the Joyce Foundation. Other Knight Foundation grantees working on immigrant-related issues include the National Immigration Forum, the Center for Community Change, the National Council of La Raza and Hispanics in Philanthropy.

For further information go to www.knightfdn.org.

NLGJA Launches Online Educators’ Toolbox

The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) has announced the launch of an online resource for journalism professionals and educators to help them cover the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The Educators’ Toolbox is a comprehensive resource compiled by professors of journalism and mass communication for developing teaching curricula about sexual orientation issues and news coverage. It features sample syllabi, reading lists for 20 subjects and a speakers bureau. The toolbox is a tribute to NLGJA founder Leroy Aarons. Aarons, a highly regarded and awarded journalist in his own right, held positions as the executive editor at the Oakland Tribune, as a national correspondent for the Washington Post and at his death as the director of a program on gays in the media at the Annenberg School for Communication in Los Angeles.

The NLGJA is an organization of journalists, media professionals, educators and students who work within the news industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of issues concerning sexual orientation. The association provides professional training and development for its members. Through members’ unique positions inside the nation’s newsrooms and journalism schools, NLGJA aims to help ensure that journalism workplaces and classrooms are welcoming to all employees and students. Currently, more than 1,300 people in 24 local chapters nationwide belong to NLGJA.

For more information, go to www.nlgja.org.

1,000 Grants Made to Education and Health Professionals for Spanish Class

The Marion Park Deaver and Harry Gilbert Deaver Foundation has provided grants to enable 1,000 school personnel and health care providers in the U.S. and Canada to learn Spanish.

With Latino communities comprising some of the largest portions of the immigrant population, language is increasingly becoming a barrier to receiving adequate education and health care. The Deaver Foundation offered grants to pay half the cost of a complete, six-month Spanish course taught by SpanishNet College in an effort to ease the interactions between educators, health care workers, and those students and patients whose primary language is Spanish.

SpanishNet College is an Internet language school teaching people how to speak, read and write Spanish in a short time frame, using the most advanced technology in text and live audio virtual classrooms. The course has been specially enhanced for the specific needs of the health and education professions and offers a fast, common-sense approach to daily communication. Classes began in February 2006 and will end in August 2006. There will be two more course offerings throughout the year. Students from anywhere in the U.S. attend two online class meetings each week, or work independently under the supervision of a designated Spanish teacher.

The Deaver Foundation, established in 1991 by Marion Park Deaver, strives to promote
education in the states of Florida, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In addition to funding education,
the foundation also makes grants in the areas of religion, science, health, environment and literacy.

For more information, go to www.deaverfoundation.org.

The AARP Foundation to Assist Older Victims of Hurricanes in the Gulf Coast Region

In December 2005, the AARP Foundation announced a pledge of $1.3 million in disaster relief and recovery grants specifically earmarked for older persons in areas affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The foundation intends these grants to assist older victims who have been displaced and are dealing with health and legal concerns.

The grants, supporting health, housing and legal efforts, will be disbursed to 17 organizations assisting those living in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. State and local organizations such as Rebuilding Together, Boat People SOS and the National Housing Law Project were chosen after a competitive grant process in which 65 agencies vied for grant approval. Right after hurricanes Katrina and Rita ripped through the area, the AARP Foundation, which is the charity arm of AARP, awarded nearly $300,000 in grant money to deal with urgent problems. This new allocation will provide grants to meet both medium- and longer-term needs. The Foundation is steadfast in its desire to help older individuals get their lives back to normal. “While the hurricanes and their devastation are no longer the top story on the evening news, there are still many unmet human needs,” says the foundation’s executive director, Robin Talbert.

The Foundation and AARP members have worked tirelessly on the ground in the devastated areas, not only giving their time, energy and passion, but also their money. Grants of up to $100,000 have been made from the foundation’s Disaster Relief and Recovery fund, which has received contributions from its members, volunteers, and employees. Exhibitors and sponsors of the cancelled “Life at 50” event, which was scheduled to be held on September 29th in New Orleans, have also contributed their refunds to the foundation’s disaster relief fund, while AARP has agreed to match the foundation’s $1 million pledge.

For more information and a complete list of grantees please visit www.aarp.org/katrina.

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