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October 2002 |
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| Women
political candidates in Morocco, participating in
a workshop on information and communication technology,
practice in teams using the Internet to conduct
topic-specific searches. [PHOTO: Nadira Sansour] |
Women Learn Information and Communication Technology
to Advance in Politics
With
help from RTI, women in Morocco are on their way to cracking
the "technology ceiling," one of the barriers
that has kept them from full participation in their country's
political life.
Moroccan women see
this year's elections as a breakthrough opportunity. Although
there are currently only two women in Parliament (or 0.5%
of seats), six political parties have agreed to a plan
to increase women's participation in their activities.
In November 2001,
women political candidates attending a campaign training
school expressed a desire to deepen their knowledge of
computers and the Internet for use in networking, advocacy,
and campaigning. RTI was subcontracted to help make that
desire a reality.
RTI's Nadira Sansour was the lead information and communication
technology (ICT) training expert for the initiative. She
worked in Morocco with a local company, the Morocco Trade
and Development Services, and with the National Democratic
Institute, a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization (NGO)
that promotes democracy worldwide. Together they recruited
10 individuals for a "training of trainers"
workshop and then conducted two three-day ICT training
workshops in Rabat for 40 women candidates.
Sansour notes there are still some obstacles facing Morocco's
women candidates who want to make the fullest use of computers
and the Internet for outreach and grassroots mobilization.
These include the still-developing Internet infrastructure
in Morocco, competing demands of work and family, fear
of the technology, and even telephone costs. Nevertheless,
"The women were very enthusiastic about learning
how to use the new technologies and realized how powerful
the tools could be," Sansour says.
This project is funded
through the U.S. Agency for International Development's
DOT-COM (Digital Opportunity through Technology and Communication)
Alliance. RTI is a partner under the "dot-ORG"
cooperative agreement, led by the Academy for Educational
Development.
More
information: Nadira Sansour, e-mail nts@rti.org
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The HIV/AIDS Epidemic and Education
The HIV/AIDS epidemic has introduced new uncertainty into
education planning in South Africa. Recent estimates indicate
that as many as 12% of the country's teachers are HIV
positive, leaving open the question of how to replace
those who will be lost to AIDS. To address this looming
shortage, education policymakers in South Africa need
accurate information to determine how many new teachers
will be required and how best to recruit them.
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| A
South African educator, Mrs. Morweng, makes a point
to her students at the Othusitswe Combined School
in the Northern Cape Province. South Africa may
need to train 20,000 to 30,000 new educators per
year beginning in 2004/2005 to meet the predicted
shortage. [PHOTO: Brian Chinsamy] |
Acting as a consultant
to the South African Department of Education, RTI economist
Luis Crouch (with funding from the United States Agency
for International Development's District Development Support
Program) has analyzed information available in South African
censuses and databases to illuminate the makeup of the
teacher workforce and predict its future characteristics.
He has modeled data from three annual October Household
Surveys, the recent Labour Force Survey, and administrative
records to gauge the epidemic's effect on future teacher
availability.
Crouch suggests that,
beginning in 2004 or 2005, as many as 20,000 to 30,000
new teachers may need to be trained per year to avert
severe disruption of schools. While he warns preparation
is necessary, however, he emphasizes that "despite
the enormity of the problem and the fears it may spark,
we can help the Department of Education, through careful,
deliberative analysis, to make rational, informed decisions."
With reliable information
in hand, South African authorities can design effective
policies to attract new recruits, to draw teachers who
have left the profession back into it, and to retain teachers
already on the job.
More
information:
Richard Cartier, e-mail rcartier@rti.org
Pundy Pillay, e-mail ppillay@rti.org.za
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Building Modern, Democratic
Local Governments
With the signing of
formal Peace Accords in 1996, Guatemala officially ended
36 consecutive years of civil war--years that took a high
toll in human life and the basic functioning of society.
Soon after, the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) and the government of Guatemala began
a long-term program to nurture the democratic systems
emerging from the Peace Accords.
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| Citizens
of the municipality of Chajul, Department of El
Quiché, Guatemala, wait in line to vote in
the general elections of November 2000. LGP will
work with citizens and local governments to continue
improving democratic processes. [PHOTO: Vicente
Ajpop; used by permission of USAID] |
In June 2002, USAID
and the Guatemalan government committed to continue and
expand this assistance through the Local Governance Program
(LGP). With Guatemalan organizations and counterparts,
RTI will put to use its years of experience in decentralization
and local governance programming worldwide. The assistance
will cover:
- Citizen participation--Working with indigenous leaders,
local organizations, women's groups, and other citizens
to better collaborate with local governments in defining
development priorities.
- Municipal strengthening--Helping municipalities
better provide and manage public services.
- Policy dialogue--Supporting municipal associations
and national-level agencies with critical policy issues.
Home office manager
Stephen Pereira says that "demonstrating tangible
results from democratic processes is key." The
program expects, for example, to train leaders in conflict
resolution, communication, and leadership and delegation;
to improve municipalities' ability to raise their own
revenues and use them transparently; to help citizens
and local governments plan, finance, and carry out long-term
investments of their choosing; and to improve services
such as water and solid waste.
The 20 project municipalities
that will receive focused assistance have been selected,
and will serve as models for others as LGP begins to
register well-received changes.
More
information: Stephen Pereira, e-mail svp@rti.org
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Municipal Development Loan
Fund Project
In its transition
from a Soviet republic to an independent nation, Ukraine
has encountered many economic challenges, including how
to finance and maintain municipal services. The country's
towns and cities lack significant financial
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| Ukrainian
delegates from MDLF pilot cities in 1999 survey
a district heating construction project in Warsaw
financed by a loan from the World Bank. Loans from
the present MDLF will fund similar projects. [PHOTO:
Bohdan Radejko] |
resources as well as the political and economic autonomy
and the skill sets needed to maintain adequate public
utility, transportation, and other systems.
In 2003, the World Bank plans to make available a line
of credit to Ukraine's Ministry of Finance to establish
a Municipal Development Loan Fund (MDLF), which will
allow cities to obtain medium-term (3- to 8-year) loans
to improve their infrastructure and services. RTI is
currently working directly for the Ministry of Finance
to write the Fund's "guidelines" or by-laws
and an operational manual in preparation for the loan
program. The guidelines will assist municipal officials
in applying for MDLF loans, and the manual will serve
as an administrative handbook for the Fund's future
staff. RTI consultants from the United States, Poland,
and Ukraine will also provide a training workshop for
key stakeholders from local and central levels of government
in early October.
RTI has contributed
significantly to previous municipal government and finance
initiatives in Ukraine, including work under an MDLF pilot
project (funded by the United States Agency for International
Development) to help develop business plans for heat and
water supply projects and to strengthen local self-government.
"The present work is an extension of these earlier
efforts," says Bohdan Radejko, who is overseeing
the project for RTI. "It is aimed at helping Ukraine
build a sustainable infrastructure for financing and providing
public services."
More
information: Bohdan Radejko, e-mail bradejko@rti.org
Morocco:
Women Learn ICT Skills to Advance in Politics
South Africa: The HIV/AIDS Epidemic
and Education
Guatemala: Building Modern,
Democratic Local Governments
Ukraine: Municipal Development
Loan Fund Project
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©2002 RTI. All
rights reserved.
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