All ADEC Meeting at Minneapolis

1
All ADEC Meeting at Minneapolis

• Draft proposal for consideration
• Partnership for the Development and Utilization
  of Distance Education in Latin America to Foster
  Agricultural Innovation, Competitiveness and
  Sustainable Development
• Minneapolis, April 2008

2
Overview

• Shorter version of last years presentation
• This time we aim at
• Having All ADEC support of this initiative
• Establishing a petite committee to have this
  proposal funded in the shortest time possible,
  integrated by
• 2 US-ADEC members
• 2 LA-ADEC members
• Note an advanced version of the full proposal
• has been already written

3
Introduction

• Let us quickly remember some of the World Bank
  objectives for the developing countries in the
  next couple of decades, shared by LA-ADEC
  members
• Reduction of poverty
• Food safety and security
• Rural education
• Mikcrobusiness development (banking for the
  poor!!!)
• Watershed management (insure water quality for
  future generations)

4
Can distance education provide an effective way
for helping achieve such objectives in our region
of influence?

• Conventional attemps have resulted in a large
  divide between existing worldwide information and
  that utilized by producers and professionals from
  emerging economies
• Prohibitive costs of traditional training and
  higher education programs
• Historic opportunity technologies are improving
  and costs are coming down emerging digital
  culture
• Dell and HP just announced 300 fully internet
  capable laptops, coming down during II semester
  of 2008
• Growing need among professionals for life-long
  learning
• And thus we strongly believe that It is now or
  never

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Reasons for the Partnership

• Members are convinced that networking together,
  we will better respond to the vast information
  needs in LAC, including our own
• Each member has experiences and strengths to
  contribute to this Partnership
• All members are committed to agriculture and
  sustainable rural development years devoted to
  these tasks
• All aspire to reaching a larger group of
  beneficiaries

6
Members of the Partnership

• ADEC needs no introduction
• Zamorano Leading agricultural university in the
  Region, devoting much effort to Distance
  Education creation of distance education center
• UCR Leading university in Costa Rica and the
  Region, strong program in agriculture, commitment
  to distance education

7
Members of the Partnership

• IICA Inter-American Institute for Cooperation
  in Agriculture, hemispheric international
  organization devoted to agriculture and rural
  sustainable development, policy issues
• CATIE Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher
  Education Center, first Graduate School in
  tropical agriculture in LAC, dynamic research
  program, regional presence
• EARTH Soon to be included
• AMEAS- 60 Ag Institutions from Mexico planning to
  join later on

8
Objectives of the Program

• General Objective
• To enhance capacity and utilization of distance
  education and training
• to foster agricultural innovation,
  competitiveness and sustainable development in
  Latin America
• through the productive collaboration of a
  partnership of institutions devoted to education
  and technical cooperation.

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Specific Objectives (S. O.)

• (S. O.) 1. Strengthening institutional
  capacities
•  
• Strengthen the capacities of the participants in
  the Partnership
• to develop and deliver distance education and
  training in Latin America.

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Specific Objectives

• (S. O.) 2. Mechanisms for promotion and delivery
  
•  
• Creation of cooperative mechanisms
• to promote and deliver distance education and
  training in Latin America.

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Specific Objectives

• (S. O.) 3. Development of products and services
•  
• Cooperative development and exchange of high
  quality, distance learning products and services.

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Specific Objectives

• Specific Objective 4. Regional program
  implementation
•  
• Increased utilization of distance education
  products and services
• in the education and training programs of
  partner institutions.

13
Program organization

• Program Headquarters and offices
•  
• Central offices of IICA, specifically CECADI
  under the directorate of Technical Leadership and
  Knowledge Management.
• Program will also be managed by each partner
  institution 
• National offices of IICA (34 countries) and CATIE
  (seven countries) will play an important role
  promotion of distance education courses,
  identification local trainers, link to graduates

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Ever heard the saying? Petting (killing not
ecologically acceptable anymore) two birds with a
single stone hand
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How about petting the whole flock!!!
16
IICA offices

• Northern Region
• Canada Mexico USA (Washington D. C.
  Miami)

• Central Region
• Belice Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala
  Honduras Nicaragua - Panama

• Andean Region
• Bolivia Colombia Ecuador Perú - Venezuela

• Southern Region
• Argentina Brasil Chile Paraguay - Uruguay

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IICA offices

• Caribbean Region
• Antigua Barbuda
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Dominica
• Granada
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Jamaica
• The Dominican Republic
• Santa Lucía
• San Cristobal Nieves
• Saint Vincent and The
• Granadines
• Surinam
• Trinidad Tobago

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We are glad to entertain questions, comments and
accept suggestions Thanks