Launch of the UNESCO OER Platform and the UNESCO/COL OER Policy Guidelines

Dear Members,
I have just received this communication which I guess might be of interest to some of you. Check below for more details:

On Tuesday 1 Nov, Ms. Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO will be officiating the launch of:

1. The UNESCO Open Educational Resources Platform
2. The UNESCO/COL Guidelines for OER in Higher Education

The UNESCO Open Educational Resources Platform is a first-ever, innovative online Platform offering selected UNESCO publications as open educational resources allowing our global community of stakeholders to freely use, copy, adapt, and re-share.

The OER Platform will be launched with an OER version of the UNESCO Model Curricula for Journalism Education with shared OER adaptations from the Polytechnic of Namibia and the University of Namibia.

The UNESCO/COL Guidelines on Open Educational Resources in Higher Education outlines key issues and suggestions for integrating OER into higher education to support quality teaching and learning. The aim of this document, prepared by the Secretariat, is to encourage educational stakeholders to invest in the production, adaptation, and use of OER, and to improve the quality of curricula and teaching.

The Launch is scheduled for 6:30pm Paris time (GMT-1) and will be live-streamed in:
English - mms://stream.unesco.org/live/room_10_en.wmv
Français - mms://stream.unesco.org/live/room_10_fr.wmv

Please refer to the UNESCO OER Programme site (www.unesco.org/webworld/en/oer) for more information.

We'll be tweeting the Launch on #oerlaunch and would greatly appreciate it if you would please forward this message to all your OER colleagues, and to tweet and retweet.

Please excuse the cross-postings and don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Regards,
Abel CAINE

UNESCO OER Programme

ICT in Education, Science and Culture Section
Knowledge Societies Division
Communication and Information Sector
UNESCO
France

+33 1 45 68 42 37
a.caine@unesco.orgwww.unesco.org/webworld/en/oerTwitter: @abelcaine

The Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship

Scholarship
Dr. Anita Borg devoted her adult life to revolutionising the way we think about technology and dismantling barriers that keep women and minorities from entering computing and technology fields. Her combination of technical expertise and fearless vision continues to inspire and motivate countless women to become active participants and leaders in creating technology.

As part of Google’s ongoing commitment to furthering Anita’s vision, we are pleased to announce The Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship: Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Through the scholarship, we aim to encourage women to excel in computing and technology, and become active role models and leaders.
Multiple scholarships will be awarded based on the strength of candidates’ academic performance, leadership experience and demonstrated passion for computer science. A group of female Bachelors, Masters, and PhD student finalists will be chosen from the applicant pool. The scholarship recipients will each receive a €7,000 (or equivalent) scholarship.
In June 2012, all scholarship recipients and finalists will be invited to visit a Google office in Europe for a networking retreat. It will include workshops with a series of speakers, panels, breakout sessions and social activities, and will provide an opportunity for all finalists to meet and share their experiences.


Eligibility requirements
Candidates must:

Be a female student enrolled in a Bachelors, Masters or PhD programme (or equivalent) in 2012/2013.
Be enrolled at a University in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa. Citizens, permanent residents, and international students are eligible to apply.
Be studying Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Informatics, or a closely related technical field.
Maintain an excellent academic record (e.g. a First Class Honours degree).
How to apply
Please complete the online application and submit all requested documents by 1st February 2012. All application documents must be in English. Scholars and Finalists will be notified in April 2012.

You will be required to submit the following:

Up-to-date copy of your CV
Answers to the following questions (Suggested word count is 400-600 words per question. You should treat question 1 and 3 as technical reports or research papers):
Describe a significant technical project you have worked on. If you have worked on a major independent research project (such as research for a Master’s or PhD programme), please describe that work here. Give an overview of the problem and your approaches to the key technical challenges. If this was a group effort, be sure to specify your individual role and contributions.
Give one or two examples of your leadership abilities. Explain how you were influential and what you were trying to achieve. These need not be demonstrated through formal or traditional leadership roles. Feel free to think broadly and examine the many ways you impact members of your technical community.
Suppose someone gave you the funding and resources for a 3- to 12-month project to investigate a technical topic of your choice. Write a short version of a proposal, including a description of the project, your planned methodology, and your expected results. Please pick something other than the project you described for the first question.
Transcripts
Bachelors: A copy of your current academic record.
Masters and PhD: A copy of your previous and current academic records.
Enrollment confirmation for 2012/2013 or confirmation of graduation date
Please include with your application an official enrollment confirmation or a confirmation of your graduation date issued by an official authority of the university e.g. your departmental administrator or a professor.
Recommendation letters
Two strong referral letters from individuals who are qualified to evaluate your academic and leadership accomplishments, e.g. from a professor, adviser or supervisor.
For specific questions not answered on this page or in the FAQ section, please e-mail anitaborgscholars-emea@google.com. We look forward to receiving your application!
www.anitaborg.org

International conference on innovaton in extension and advisory services in Kenya

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency), the International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture (ICRA) and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in collaboration with several national, regional and international partners including the African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education (ANAFE), Biovision, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), the Ministry of Agriculture – Kenya, the European Initiative on Agricultural Research for Development (EIARD), the University of Nairobi, the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the University of the South Pacific (USP) will organise an international conference to take stock of current policies, thinking and practice, successes and failures of ongoing and past reforms in extension and advisory services and build a coalition moving forward to specifically address meeting the future needs of small-holder farmers, marginalized communities, women and youth in a sustainable and cost effective manner. This conference integrates the GFRAS 2nd annual conference.

http://extensionconference2011.cta.int/

A Viable Food Future (Facts from Development Innovation Update, October 2011 Newsletter)

excepts from http://enews.nieuwskiosk.nl/

Hunger. More than 1 billion people are permanently
undernourished, 75% of them are food producers and their
families.
Obesity. 400 million people are suffering of obesity, and
1.2 billion more are overweight. This is a fast-growing
health problem not only in the industrialized countries, but
also in developing countries.

Malnutrition. In addition to undernourishment and
obesity, other forms of malnutrition cause the death and
serious health problems of millions of people.
Climate change. Food production and livelihoods are
threatened by changing climates, and at the same time,
agriculture is also a main contributor to climate change.

Environmental threats. Agricultural diversity, soil and
water are critical for future food production and food
security, but these resources are being drastically depleted
and polluted.
Poverty. Almost half the world’s population – 3 billion people
– live in poverty, and almost 1.4 billion people live in extreme
poverty. The majority of the poor live in rural areas and are
linked to agriculture and other kind of food production.


Hunger is one of the world’s most burning issues. Although the numbers exist that
quantify hunger, it is critical to recognize that understanding of hunger starts with individuals, not data. Hunger means women and men too weak to work, and children who will never develop full mental capacities because their mothers were malnourished and did not pass on proper nutrition. Hunger means parents see their children suffer and die.

Hunger: the silent killer.
Those individual stories multiply and data does illustrate the unbelievable dimension of hunger.
Every day, 16,000 children die of malnutrition and hunger-related diseases.4
According to the latest FAO figures, more than one billion people suffer from hunger,more than ever in human history.

Add to this the fact that each year, our planet’s population increases by about 74 million people. From 6.9 billion in 2010, population will reach 8.3 billion in 2030 and, by 2050, the number will be 9,1 billion, according to the UN Population Division5.
The Right to Food is a basic human right, but with the reality
of the looming population growth, can this right be fulfilled for all? Is it possible to produce enough to feed everyone?

more see the Newsletter (Development Innovation Update, October 2011)

Quality Protein Maize Impact in DRC

Quality Protein Maize (QPM) is making a huge difference in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). On a recent monitoring tour of several DONATA (Dissemination of New Agricultural Technologies in Africa) sites near Mbujimayi, in central DRC, FARA staff found that QPM has dramatically affected the lives and livelihoods of farmers and consumers throughout the region. Children suffering from – and dying from – malnutrition have obtained new leases on life. (see http://www.fara-africa.org)
Women whose breast milk had dried up have been able to nurse their babies after consuming QPM for only a single day. And significantly, farmers are making money by sowing this highly nutritious variety, which is loaded with protein and lysine – up to 10 times as much as the traditional varieties. QPM puts good food on the table and brings immediate financial returns. Take Samy Ntumba, a farmer in Nandajika. Samy, shown in his grain storage above, has made enough money cultivating QPM to send his eldest son Emmanuel to the University of Kinshasa, the first person in his village to attend university. Emmanuel’s chosen course of study? Agronomy. This son of the soil will not desert it!

published: 2011-09-01 (FARA News)

Technology for the Rich?? No there is always a portion for LDCs

NEW DDIGITAL CLOUD LETS FARMER KNOW WHEN TO WATER

By Fiona Graham (Technology of business reporter), BBC News


Dry as dust: Where irrigation is not in use, crops across the state of Texas have failed thanks to a severe drought
"Water availability is gradually declining. Even 30 years ago we had probably twice as much water as we have now."

Glenn Schur has been farming for 30 years.

His father first moved to the plains around Plainview, Texas in the late 1940s, and after graduating from college Mr Schur returned home to work on the farm he now owns.

Almost half of the property's 1,800 acres are given over to cotton production, the rest is divided between grain sorghum, wheat, seed crops and livestock.

Times are hard for Texan farmers. The state is in the grip of a severe drought, and there has been no rain in Plainview for nearly a year.

"What we're having to do is irrigate rather extensively to make a crop. In all the dry areas, the seed is still laying in the ground like the day we planted it," he says.

"We recorded the highest average temperature for the month of July since records have been kept, and that was in 1911. We've experienced record wind speeds as well."


Glenn Schur says technology in water management has improved over the last 15 years When the rains fail, this area of the United States relies on the Ogallala aquifer, which stretches from North Dakota all the way down to Texas. But this is a finite resource, and one that is in danger of drying out.

The farmers of Texas aren't giving up without a fight though.

Water level

Mr Schur is part of the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation. Across 32 sites in two counties, the group is monitoring the rainfall and the water that is pumped, calculating the gross profit margin for every crop.

"What we're trying to do is to come up with ways to conserve water and maximise profits," says Mr Schur.

"We're using all the newest available technology for water management."

Pumping water costs money. Although the farmers in this area don't have to pay for the supply, they do have to pay for the electricity to bring it to the surface.

Over-watering an area can also mean using more pesticides and fertilisers than you need to - and when the crop stops absorbing them, the only place left to go is down into the water table.

Cloud cover

To tackle this Mr Schur uses drought-resistant seed, evaporation transformation technologies, and a system of water probes that harness cloud computing and the internet to predict when to water and when to turn the taps off.

The solar-powered probes are placed in the fields, buried to a depth of about 60 inches (1.5 metres), with soil moisture sensors every four inches along a vertical column.


The solar-powered probes have a small mobile phone mast so they can send the data for analysis The sensors send signals every three minutes, tracking moisture and salinity at each level, and the state of the roots of your crop.

At the top of the probes are mini mobile phone masts that transmit the data gathered to servers where it is processed using complex algorithms.

The results are then held in the cloud and displayed on a dashboard accessible online from any computer or smart phone.

The system can also send text alerts and emails with instructions on when irrigation should next take place, whether to fertilise, and if pesticides can be used.

Mr Schur says technology like this has saved him $30 an acre per year on energy costs alone, before adding in savings on chemicals, and the increase in yield that precision agriculture like this can give.

"With the probes it gives us an idea of the water movement into the soil profile, it also allows us to look at the plant development all along, and in several cases we've been able to stop an irrigation or delay it for several days."

Appliance of science

The system has been developed by a company called Aqua Spy. The firm started out in Australia before expanding across water-scarce areas of the US.

They are in the process of rolling out a new version, with an improved online dashboard on what they feel is a more cost-effective subscription model.

Bruce Moeller is Aqua Spy's chief executive. He says that by monitoring the conditions of the roots, farmers can ensure the plant is given exactly what it needs - and no more. Avoiding over-watering is just as important as under-watering.


Aqua Spy's subscribers can access crop data from this dashboard from any computer or smartphone "The reason that's important is because a plant will grow through certain growth stages when it's getting ready to fruit," he says.

"It also needs to be trained to have its roots go down further and deeper to look for the ground water, so it's not getting lazy.

"It's just like raising a child - if you give it everything it wants right away, it doesn't have to work for anything. It gets lazy and somewhat indolent."

Mr Moeller says that by monitoring the crop, and using data gathered over long periods to predict how it will behave, farmers can maximise crop yield.

"With precision agriculture you can even control the size of the crop.

"You can dial in with a fair degree of accuracy the water content that's in an orange, the size of that orange, and then when you're shipping it there are certain receivers of those goods who will only accept a certain size and quality.

"With corn at close to $7 per bushel the payback on that is within the same season for sure, a per cent or two of extra yield will pay for the service."

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
The great challenge in all aspects of water management is making people value it”
End Quote
Dr David Lloyd Owen

Water consultant
The cost works out at about $1.35 per acre per month, and Mr Moeller plans to reduce that further.

"Our model is to do more of this at ever lower cost so we can penetrate more and more places on the globe.

"My mantra is: let's cover the earth with a green solution and make it a financially-viable no-brainer for the grower."

Although water sensor technology has been around for some time, using the internet and communications technology to deliver data to farmers is newer.

Other companies doing similar things include John Deere and PureSense, who launched a smartphone app to complement their system last year.

Water shortage

There are currently between 1-2bn people living in places where water is in short supply, and this is expected to increase significantly.

Population growth, urbanisation, climate change, and damming (70% of the world's rivers are shared by more than one country) mean water is often quite simply in the wrong place.

Water consultant Dr David Lloyd Owen says often supply is not the problem.


Dr Lloyd Owen: "Getting water from one place to another is an energy intensive and costly process" "What humans are not very good at is managing it. What there's a shortage of is management capacity and political will to put our natural resources to beneficial use."

Agriculture is all too often an example of this, says Dr Lloyd Owen.

"In a typical traditional irrigation system maybe 10-20% of water put into the system actually gets anywhere near a root. It's an extremely wasteful way of using what is already a scarce resource."

Water is not the only scarce resource, he says. Not only can fertilisers damage the environment when used in excess - supplies of nitrogen and phosphorous are also finite.

"We can't run away from food production. Wherever people are around the world there ought to be an appropriate amount of food growing.

"The art here is with what water you use - whether through water harvesting, waste water reuse, desalination, [or] ground water - to use it in the most effective way. The great challenge in all aspects of water management is making people value it."

And this means technology that controls water use is doubly important.

"If areas have continued population growth, and they're not able to improve the efficiency of irrigation agriculture, they're going to have increasing and quite frankly terrifying problems in feeding their people in the decades to come," says Dr Lloyd Owen.

Under a baking sun, in the cotton fields of Texas, Mr Schur at least is optimistic.

"Technology in agriculture is moving very fast, and we're looking at a lot of ways of using the internet to gain information on what is happening on our farm," he says.

"What I'm seeing is, in the last 15 years, that technology as far as water management goes has really improved, and our crops have become more water-efficient as well, especially cotton.

"We're seeing higher yields than we've ever experienced, with less water.