CIFAL Atlanta

Green Dreams Campaign

marcelag85 — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:47:02 +0000

The Green Dreams Around the World campaign was created to give a voice to the dreams of thousands of individuals as a contribution to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, taking place in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro. Green Dreams campaign is rooted in the power of our dreams to invoke a future that is worth creating, a sustainable future that draws forth the deepest potentials of all citizens of the world.

The project aims to engage people from all sectors, communities and regions from the Americas and around the world, bringing an international perspective to local, regional and national issues.     The systematic mapping of these dreams and their collection over the next 5 months around the world will be a valuable input on the discussions of Rio+20, introducing the local context in the international sustainability debate.

But what is a Green Dream?

A Green Dream can be a vision of tomorrow’s reality and is based on the power of imagining a sustainable world. Perhaps your green dream is about yourself, your community, village, town, city, neighbourhood, country… or even for the future of life on this planet.

It can be about a zero waste society or reforesting the planet. It can be about strengthening the local economy and growing opportunities for low-carbon jobs. It can be related to creative local responses to global challenges of climate-change and shrinking supplies of fossil fuels. It can be about more leisure options for the elderly and true contentment for young people…it’s your dream, play with it!

Dreams of 20 seconds to 1 minute are recorded with smart phones and cameras and uploaded in a Youtube Channel and website. They are organized in 14 thematic areas and compose a virtual gallery of dreams. The intersection of green dreams will converge in networks formed from people who share the same vision of the future.

Partner Organizations

The campaign is the flagship of the CIFAL Network- the United Nations ‘Network of International Training Centers for Local Actors’, composed of 9 Training Centers covering Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe.

Inspired by the project “Dream: IN” implemented in India, the Green Dreams Campaign was launched during the Innovative Cities Conference in May 2011 by CIFAL Curitiba and the Federation of Industries of Parana. CIFAL Findhorn recently launched the campaign in the UK where “Dream Catchers” are emerging in the main cities and universities. CIFAL Atlanta is leading the UN campaign in the Americas. To get involved and for more information, contact us at greendreams@cifalatlanta.org | http://green-dream.co.uk | www.meusonhoverde.com.br

Want to Post Your Dream and join the Green Dreams Initiative? Click to learn more.

Americas Competitiveness Forum V

alexo05 — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 05:36:13 +0000

Americas Competitiveness Forum V

The fifth annual Americas Competitiveness Forum was held October 5-7 2011 in the beautiful and historic city of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The largest and most highly attended Competitiveness Forum to date was hosted by His Excellency Dr. Leonel Fernåndez Reyna, President of the Dominican Republic. The forum was attended by over 1,000 senior business and government officials, including ministers of economy, industry, and finance from more than 30 countries throughout the Western Hemisphere. Also present were former and current heads of state, as well as representatives from multinational corporations and international organizations.

Under the pledge of “Committed to Education to Compete” and through the collective efforts of CIFAL Atlanta, the Competitiveness Council of the Dominican Republic (CNC) and FUNGLODE, the Americas Competitiveness Forum focused on 5 key drivers of competitiveness:

- Innovation in Services

- Education

- Renewable Energy

- Business Climate

- Trade Facilitation

Highlighting education for the 21^st century, CIFAL Atlanta, with the support of Promethean, Intel, Pearson, Positivo Informatica, Royal Technologies and DidaTech succeeded in implementing a simulated “Classroom of the XXI Century”. Within this platform and with the support of the First Lady of the Dominican Republic, Madame Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, CIFAL Atlanta was able to facilitate the donation of an Interactive Board and digital content on science from Promethean, Classmate PCs of Intel, E-blocks from Positivo Informatica, and Digital content and literature on Math and English from Pearson to School Celina Pellier and their students.

In addition to panels and keynote discussions on competitiveness, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in attendance at the opening banquet on October 5, 2011. Secretary Clinton stated that, “… education, is one of the foundational steps that must be taken. Educating our citizens to compete is the theme of this year’s forum. And I know that you understand, because you are here, that unless we improve the education and training of our workforces, we will not grow to the full extent of our potential. So focusing on education is absolutely essential.”

The Inter-American Competitiveness Network (RIAC) also held its yearly meeting during the framework of the ACF, bringing together representatives from more than 30 public and private competitiveness councils from the Western Hemisphere to discuss the state of the region’s competitiveness, exchange experiences and best practices, and consider reforms and public policies. At this year’s meeting, the vote was passed on the Santo Domingo Consensus, a set of 10 policy objectives designed to promote a more competitive and prosperous region. Taking into account the need to foster growth and competitiveness amidst an environment of international economic uncertainty, the objectives of the Santo Domingo Consensus call for, among other goals, investment in education and human capital; improvements in infrastructure and the business environment; increased access to capital; and the promotion of trade.

CIFAL Atlanta was also delighted to host the fifth edition of the Americas Award at Puerto San Souci in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on October 6, 2011. Awards were presented to distinguished public officials of the region honoring the tangible progress towards the achievement of United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Awards were given to those individuals that displayed high quality Best Practices, maintaining the highest ethical standards, in each of the nine categories. Americas Award laureates include the President of the Dominican Republic, His Excellency Dr. Leonel Fernandez and Her Excellency Dr. Vanda Pignato, First Lady of El Salvador and Presidential Secretary of Social Inclusion. For a full list of Americas Award winners, please visit our website.

The next and sixth edition of the Americas Competitiveness Forum will be held in Cali, Colombia, October 25-27, 2012.

The Americas Award ceremony 2011

alexo05 — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 05:28:50 +0000

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. October 6

The 2011 Americas Award, an initiative of CIFAL Atlanta, was presented in a special ceremony on October 6, 2011, at the Renaissance Jaragua Hotel in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. More than one thousand national and local leaders from the thirty-four nations of the Americas were in attendance at the award ceremony, including Heads of State, trade delegates and academics, as well local and international non-governmental organizations. The ceremony was held within the framework of the Fifth Americas Competitiveness Forum.

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The 21st Century Classroom

alexo05 — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 05:24:24 +0000

Classroom of the XXI Century: Transformation of Learning

There is powerful evidence that technology can make a difference for both the effectiveness and efficiency of all facets of education and learning. Learning technologies are absolutely necessary components of any effective educational policy.

Preparing students to be successful in an innovation-based economy is a function of empowering educators to teach 21st Century content in a 21st Century context using 21st Century tools. So, how should schools re-engineer their practices and technology use to best prepare students for a 21st Century life? [1]

In this context, the classroom of the XXI Century is a space in which teachers and students can interact with each others using a wide range of Information and Communication Technology resources that enable[2]:

Improving academic performance
Updating teaching practice
Incorporation of a collaborative work environment
Addressing curriculum into modernization process
Efficient scholar management
Giving added value to teaching-learning process

CIFAL Atlanta with the support of Promethean, Intel, Pearson, Positivo Informatica, Royal Technologies and DidaTech are currently implementing a pilot project of the “Classroom of the XXI Century” at School Celina Pellier in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Through this project innovative educational technologies were donated to fifth graders from School Celina Pellier to provide students with access to 21^st century tools. The donation included:

In addition, teachers from School Celina Pellier are receiving training related to the use of these technological tools and how they can be integrated into the teaching process.

The donation of the “Classroom of the XXI Century” was done in the framework of the Americas Competitiveness Forum V held in Santo Domingo on October 5-7, 2011. The First Lady of the Dominican Republic, Madame Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez thanked the companies involved in this initiative for their efforts in advancing education. The Head of the School, Antonia Pichardo along with the students received the donation and stressed the importance of “providing our children with high quality education and tools that will make them more competitive in the XXI century”.

Juan Tobon from Intel indicated that he expects that “fifth graders from School Celina Pellier achieve better learning results through the use of this technology”. Geoff Drayton from Promethean highlighted that “efforts should be made so that more schools in Latin America have this opportunities and greater access to ICTs”.