A Program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), U.S. Department of State, and implemented by IREX

Program announcement:

The Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA) provides international teachers with unique opportunities to develop expertise in their subject areas, enhance their teaching skills, and increase their knowledge about the United States. TEA consists of a six-week non-degree, non-credit customized academic program including seminars on new teaching methodologies, curriculum development, lesson planning, and instructional technology. Participants will also participate in a practicum in a U.S. secondary school near the host university to work closely with U.S. teachers and teach and present to U.S. students. Cultural enrichment, mentoring, and support will be provided throughout the program. The international participants will travel to the United States in two cohorts of approximately 80 teachers each in spring or fall 2014.

Upon returning home, TEA program alumni are eligible to apply for small grants for essential teaching materials, follow-on training for other teachers, collaborative projects between schools in their home country and the United States, and other activities that build on their U.S. experience.

The TEA fellowship is fully funded and provides:

• J-1 visa support;
• A pre-departure orientation held in participant’s home country;
• Round-trip airfare to and within the U.S
• A Welcome Orientation in Washington, D.C.;
• Academic program fees;
• Housing (generally shared with other program fellows) and meals;
• Accident and sickness medical insurance coverage;
• Transportation to the teaching practicum school (if necessary);
• A daily allowance for meals and incidentals during the academic program;
• A book/professional development allowance;
• A baggage/shipping allowance (domestic and international)
• A Closing Workshop in Washington, D.C.; and
• The opportunity to apply for alumni small grants.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Current secondary-level, full-time teachers with five or more years of classroom experience in disciplines including:
• English or English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
• Social Studies
• Math
• Sciences
• Citizens of and residents in Tajikistan
• Proficient in written and spoken English with a paper-based TOEFL score of 450 or higher
• Continue teaching after completion of the program; and
• Have submitted a complete application.

Application Deadline: January 31, 2013

To Apply: Applications for the Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program can be obtained and submitted by contacting:

Shafoat Kabilova, U.S. Embassy, Public Affairs Section,
109 A Somoni Avenue, Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Tel: (992 37) 229 2314, 229 2000;
Email: KobilovaS@state.gov
Web: http//dushanbe.usembassy.gov

Soro Marodalieva
Outreach Coordinator
Public Affairs
U.S. Embassy
109-A Ismoili Somoni Ave.
Dushanbe, 734019, Tajikistan
Tel: 229-23-58, cell: 98-580-70-32
email: MarodalievaSZ@state.gov
web: http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov/
U.S. Embassy on Facebook.com

http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov/

The Empower Access Program (EAP) is a regionally-focused professional exchange program for individuals and organizations working directly with people with disabilities.

EAP is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. For Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Tajikistan, EAP is administered by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS.

A total of up to 15 fellows from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Tajikistan will travel to the U.S. to undertake a month-long fellowship at a U.S. host organization that will allow participants to explore in-depth issues including: NGO management and capacity building, inclusive practices in the arts, adaptive technology, sports management, inclusive education, inclusive policies and legislation, wellness initiatives, and advocacy. In addition, EAP will enable up to 15 Americans to participate in a reciprocal visit to their Fellows’ host countries.

Program Goals:
· Support the ability of individuals and organizations to serve as leading disability advocates;
· Promote policies and programs benefiting people with disabilities;
· Promote a robust civil society by enabling individuals and organizations working with people with disabilities to share best practices and facilitate cross-sector cooperating through two-way professional exchanges;
· Ensure that people with sensory impairments, physical disabilities, cross-disabilities, and their families and communities benefit from the transformational power of international exchanges;
· Build or expand sustainable networks of individuals and organizations serving people with disabilities;
· Establish a common language to develop practical solutions for shared problems and concerns.

To be eligible for EAP, applicants must:
· Be a citizen and current resident of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan or Tajikistan (applicants must be resident in their country of citizenship);
· Have relevant experience in and demonstrated commitment to serving disability populations;
· Have demonstrated leadership and collaborative skills;
· Have a desire and ability to develop and implement a short reciprocal project for a U.S. participant;
· Be proficient in English. If you are selected as a semi-finalist, we will give you an institutional TOEFL exam, unless you have a valid TOEFL score over 500 (paper test) or over 60 (iBT test) or its equivalent (for example, valid IELTS band 6 or higher)

To apply: The application deadline is Monday, December 10, 2012. Applications are available on-line at http://lfp.americancouncils.org/?q=content/apply-empower-now. If you would like a paper application, please contact at empoweraccess@americancouncils-tj.org or by phone at 221-21-03,221-17-95

http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov/

Do you dream of landing a journalism fellowship or taking a media training course that will improve your skills or boost your career?

If so, you’ll want to join IJNet on Monday, Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. EST for a free live chat with International Center for Journalists Vice President for Programs Patrick Butler. He has read thousands of fellowship applications—and can tell you how to stand out from the pack.

From application tips to how to handle the interview, Butler is ready to answer all of your questions about getting the fellowships and training you need.

Patrick Butler worked as a reporter for more than a decade and earned a fellowship of his own in 1999. He spent five months in Nicaragua on a Knight International Journalism Fellowship.

We hope you’ll join us Monday! Click here to join the chat: http://ijnet.org/chats

http://ijnet.org/

Journalists interested in immigration and integration issues can apply for a fellowship.

With the support of the Ford Foundation, the French-American Foundation is launching the Immigration Journalism Fellowship.

This program aims to provide media professionals with the financial means to produce objective and challenging material on one of the most heated and controversial contemporary issues. Fellows will be awarded up to US$10,000 for their work, to be completed over a four-to-six month period.

The fellowship is open to journalists of any nationality with a minimum of three years of professional journalism experience and outstanding achievements in the field. The foundation will pay special attention to innovative and groundbreaking material. All types of stories will be considered—local, global, cultural and economic—as long as they comply with journalism ethics of fairness and responsibility.

The deadline is November 30.

For more information, click here: http://equality.frenchamerican.org/page/fellowships

http://equality.frenchamerican.org/page/fellowships

Journalists can attend this free online session.

LinkedIn is offering a tutorial and a free one-year upgrade to LinkedIn Executive. The 35-minute session will take place on November 13 at 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

The tutorial will be led by Yumi Wilson, journalism professor at San Francisco State University and community manager of LinkedIn for Journalists.

The session and access to LinkedIn Executive is available to all professional journalists and members of the media. To join the session, participants must be logged in to their LinkedIn account. LinkedIn will provide a call-in number, depending on where participants are located.

For more information, click here: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Next-LinkedIn-Journalists-training-is-3753151.S.180908517?qid=8ffb9906-3c61-4c20-8604-f3a2374d2cd7&trk=group_most_popular-0-b-ttl&goback=%2Egmp_3753151

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Next-LinkedIn-Journalists-training-is-3753151.S.180908517?qid=8ffb990

Journalists worldwide interested in Web design can enroll in a self-directed course.

News University, the e-learning arm of the Poynter Institute, offers «Functional Web Design for Today’s News Audiences.»

Topics include analyzing a site’s strengths and weaknesses, avoiding information overload, organizing content that flows intuitively, developing design prototypes and evaluating your site to improve usability.

Course instructor Jennifer George-Palilonis teaches upper-level courses in multimedia storytelling, information graphics reporting and special topics in visual journalism at Ball State University.

This self-directed course takes about 2-3 hours to complete and is free for registered NewsU members. For non-registered users, the course costs US$29.95.

For more information, click here: http://www.newsu.org/courses/functional-web-design

http://www.newsu.org/courses/functional-web-design

ORAL, Kazakhstan — A court in Kazakhstan’s western city of Oral has again fined an opposition journalist for libel.

Lukpan Akhmedyarov and his employer, the «Uralskaya nedelya» weekly, were ordered to pay 1.5 million tenges ($7,700) to a local finance police officer for allegedly insulting him in an article.

In July, Akhmedyarov was found guilty of insulting a local official and ordered to pay him 5 million tenges ($33,000).

The international media group Reporters Without Borders condemned the court’s decision then.

The group called it a move «to strangle the journalist financially.»

In April, Akhmedyarov survived a vicious attack in which he was stabbed and shot with an air pistol.

Last month, Akhmedyarov received the prestigious Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism at a ceremony in the United States.

http://www.rferl.org/content/kazakhstan-opposition-journalist-fined/24766259.html

Dushanbe, Tajikistan, November 9, 2012 – From November 13 to 16, 2012, International Education Week will be celebrated in Tajikistan.

To kick of the program, American Corner Dushanbe will host an educational fair on the 4th floor of the National Library on November 13, 2012 from 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. with educational organizations including ACCELS, EducationUSA, IREX, Bactria Cultural Center, Tempus, DAAD, and UCA. Each organization will introduce their programs to participants, provide information on educational opportunities, and answer questions from attendees.

The educational fair will start at 2:00 p.m. with speeches from the U.S. Embassy and the Ministry of Education. After the fair, events will be held across Tajikistan from November 14-16 on a variety of educational topics and opportunities. For a full schedule, please visit http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov/program_announcements.html

International Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education is part of our efforts to prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States. Exchanges are critical to developing mutual understanding and respect, building leadership abroad, fostering an appreciation for the United States, and investing in the future relationship between Americans and people around the world.

http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov/program_announcements.html

The European Union Delegation issues the following statement in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission in Tajikistan.

The EU Delegation to Tajikistan is deeply concerned about the closure of the Association of Young Lawyers »Amparo» following a ruling by the Khujand City Court.

The EU Delegation is convinced that it is in Tajikistan’s best interest to have a strong and independent civil society, and it believes that the closure of the NGO »Amparo» could negatively affect the further development of civil society in the country.

The EU Delegation calls on the Tajik authorities to reconsider the decision and reinstate «Amparo’s» license to operate, in line with Tajikistan’s obligations to promote freedom of association.

www.deltjk.ec.europa.eu

KHUJAND, Tajikistan — A court in Tajikistan’s northern city of Khujand has shut down a human rights group, saying it operated without a proper license.

Junaid Ibodov, a lawyer for the Amparo group, told RFE/RL that the case was politically motivated.

Tajikistan’s Justice Ministry filed a lawsuit against Amparo, saying it failed to timely show its address change at the ministry.

Amparo was founded by about 30 young Tajik lawyers in 2005.

It monitors human rights violations, torture allegations, and the rights of Tajik Army soldiers.

It also helps local citizens to learn more about their rights through conferences and online discussions.

The association has often been cited by the UN Human Rights Commission.

Amparo leaders say they will appeal the court’s decision.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan-shuts-down-rights-group/24749874.html