Thursday, August 30, 2007

Capacite de traduction du Reseau Equateur / Capacidad de Traduccion de la Red Ecuatorial / Equator Net Translation Capacity

English: For the English version of this message, please scroll down.
Español: Por favor mire abajo para la version español.

Français

Chers Membres du Réseau Equateur ('Equator Net'),

Au cours des dernières semaines, nous avons reçu des e-mails de plusieurs membres francophones et hispanophones exprimant leur regret concernant le manque d'information distribuée en français et en espagnol. Bien que nous ayons répondu individuellement à ces demandes, nous saisissons cette opportunité pour vous envoyer ce message afin de vous expliquer la situation en plus grand détail. Nous espérons que vous jugerez cette information utile et nous nous excusons d'avance pour tout inconvénient causé par notre capacité limitée de traduction.

L'initiative Equateur n'est qu'une petite équipe, composée de trois employés permanents et comptant pour la plupart sur les contributions volontaires de quelques assistants de programme (deux au maximum). Dû à notre portfolio compréhensif, un emploi du temps très chargé, le manque de ressources, ainsi que le grand nombre et la diversité des participants au Réseau, nos capacités de traduction sont malheureusement très limitées. Par conséquent, les membres du Réseau Equateur sont encouragés à solliciter un Anglophone dans leur organisation, d'autres institutions affiliées ou au sein de leur communauté qui sera prêt à les assister dans la traduction de l'information en anglais. Ceci est important étant donné que beaucoup des opportunités que nous recevons de nos partenaires ou d'autres organisations demandent une mise en candidature en anglais.

Dans ce contexte, nous voudrions aussi vous informer que nous sommes en train de deviser un plan de coopération avec des institutions académiques visant à identifier de nouvelles solutions sur Internet qui nous aideront à améliorer la communication avec et parmi les membres du Réseau Equateur. Nous espérons être bientôt en mesure de vous offrir un forum interactif, un blog ou un portail en ligne permettant aux participants de communiquer directement entre eux afin de minimiser les difficultés mentionnées ci-dessus.

Entretemps, nous encourageons tous nos membres de contribuer au Réseau Equateur en anglais, espagnol, français et portugais afin d'augmenter et de faciliter l'échange d'information.

De nouveau, nous voudrions nous excuser de tout inconvénient causé par notre capacité linguistique limitée. Nous espérons que cet e-mail a pu clarifier au moins quelques unes des questions soulevées par vous. Soyez assurés que nous ferons toujours de notre mieux pour accommoder les intérêts, vœux et soucis de chacun et chacune d'entre vous.

Sincèrement,

Gaby

Español

Queridos miembros de la Red Ecuatorial (Equator Net),

Durante las últimas semanas hemos recibido varios correos electrónicos de nuestros miembros francófonos e hispanohablantes, expresando su preocupación por la carencia de información distribuida en francés y español. Mientras que hemos respondido individualmente a estas preocupaciones, quisiéramos tomar esta oportunidad para enviar un mensaje que explica la situación más detalladamente. Esperamos que usted encuentre esta información útil y nos disculpe por adelantado por cualquier inconveniencia causada por nuestra limitada capacidad de traducir nuestras comunicaciones.

La Iniciativa Ecuatorial tiene un equipo pequeño, integrado por solamente tres empleados, y confiando en el trabajo voluntario de hasta dos ayudantes del programa. Debido a nuestro programa comprensivo, un horario ocupado, carencia de recursos, y el gran número y la diversidad de los participantes de la Red Ecuatorial, desafortunadamente nuestras capacidades de traducción son muy limitadas. Por lo tanto, motivamos a los miembros de la Red Ecuatorial a que soliciten a una persona que hable ingles y venga de su organización, comunidad, u otra institución afiliada para que les ayude con la traducción de oportunidades distribuidas por la Equator Net. Esto es aún más importante, dado que muchas de las oportunidades que recibimos de nuestros socios y otras organizaciones requieren una solicitud en inglés.

En este contexto, quisiéramos también informarles que estamos actualmente planeando cooperar con instituciones académicas para identificar nuevas soluciones en Internet que nos ayudarán a mejorar la comunicación con y entre los miembros de la Red Ecuatorial. Esperamos que pronto podamos ofrecer un foro, un blog, o un web portal interactivo permitiendo a participantes comunicarse directamente entre sí, así aliviando algunas de las dificultades mencionadas anteriormente.

Mientras tanto, animamos a todos los miembros que contribuyen a la Red Ecuatorial en inglés, español, francés, y portugués para aumentar y facilitar el flujo de información.

Una vez más quisiéramos disculparnos por cualquier inconveniente que nuestra capacidad limitada de traducción pueda causar y esperamos que este correo haya clarificado algunas de las preguntas que recibimos. Por favor tengan por seguro que haremos siempre nuestro mejor esfuerzo para acomodar los intereses, deseos, y preocupaciones de todos.

Saludos cordiales,

Gaby

English

Dear Equator Net Members,

Over recent weeks, we have received several e-mails from some of our francophone and Spanish-speaking members who have expressed their concern about the lack of information distributed in French and Spanish. While we have responded individually to these concerns, we would like to take this opportunity to send out a message explaining the situation to you in more detail. We hope that you will find this information useful and apologize in advance for any inconvenience caused by our limited capacity for translation.

The Equator Initiative is a small team, composed of only three permanent staff members, and relying for the most part on the voluntary work of up to two program assistants. Given our very comprehensive mandate, a tight time schedule, lack of resources, and the large number and diversity of Equator Net participants, our translation capacities unfortunately are rather limited. Members of the Equator Net are therefore encouraged to solicit an English speaker within their organization, other affiliated institution or wider community who will be able to help them with the translation of opportunities. This is even more important given that many of the opportunities we receive from our partners and other organizations require an application in English.

In this context, we would also like to inform you that we are currently planning to cooperate with academic institutions to identify new web-based solutions which will help us improve communication with and between Equator Net members. We hope to soon be able to offer an interactive forum, blog, or web portal enabling participants to directly communicate with each other so as to alleviate some of the difficulties mentioned above.

In the meantime, we would like to encourage all members to contribute to the Equator Net in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese to increase and facilitate the flow of information.

Again, we would like to apologize for any inconvenience our limited language capacity may cause and hope that this e-mail has clarified some of the concerns that have been raised. Please rest assured that we will always do our best to accommodate everyone's interests, wishes and concerns.

Warm regards,

Gaby

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Equator Net Members - Introducing Online Network by MBAs Without Borders!

Dear Equator Net Members,


Want to join MBAs Without Borders' own new online network, b2d and get the online business support you always wanted?

Our MBAs and Partners (i.e. businesses and NGOs in developing countries) have said they want a place where they can find projects, jobs and ask and answer questions related to business in developing countries, so we thought, it's time to get everyone talking.

So...we're trying out a new online platform and have created a MBAs Without Borders online network called b2d - 'business 2 development'. We've just launched it and will be testing it over the next weeks and months, so please feel free to sign up, try it out and make as many suggestions as you like, so we can truly benefit the users - MBAs and Local Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries.

About MBAs Without Borders

MBAs Without Borders (MWB) is an international not-for-profit that sends MBA (Masters in Business Administration) volunteers to developing countries to work with local businesses, and NGOs that are in need of business support. MWB was founded in Canada in 2004 and has recently opened MWB USA with an office in San Francisco, California. MWB has supported 20+ businesses and NGOs in developing countries in over 15 countries to date and by 2010, MWB plans to have partnered 150+ MBAs with over 125 business/NGOs in at least 35 countries.

With over 5,000 MBAs within its direct network and links to 400 MBA communities around the world, MWB works within five industries: Healthcare, Agriculture, Financial, Income-Generation and Climate Change. MWB is focused on bringing MBAs to Africa, Central Asia, South-East Asia, South Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America (including Mexico) and the Caribbean.

To sum it up…MBAs Without Borders is bringing innovative solutions to developing countries by matching experienced business volunteers with local businesses and NGOs to unleash a big secret…Business Can do Amazing Things!

For more information, please vist www.mbaswithoutborders.org or sign up to our online network, b2d, at: http://b2d.mbaswithoutborders.org.

Also, please feel free to read our recent press:
MWB featured in Business 2.0 this month in 'The do-gooder's MBA' by Peter Viles in What Works. Check out page 42 and 43.
http://mag1.olivesoftware.com/ActiveMagazine/welcome/BSN/BSN-2007-08fd98f8.asp

MWB featured in Canada's Globe and Mail (Career Section) newspaper.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070719.wcamba0720/BNStory/robNews/
--
Tal Dehtiar, Co-Founder & President
MBAs Without Borders -
www.mbaswithoutborders.org

4th International Conference on Environmental Education in Ahmedabad, India (24-28 November 2007)

Dear Equator Net members,

The 4th International Conference on Environmental Education will take place on 24-28 November 2007 in Ahmedabad, India.

The Conference will be a forum to show that Education works, to make it a part of decision-making, and scale it up. It will be a platform for sharing of practices and learnings; exchange of ideas and information on ongoing and planned initiatives in the field of Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) the world over. The event will highlight partnerships between the two fields, discuss the role of EE as a Champion of ESD and deliberate on partnerships with several other disciplines / organizations.

The Conference will bring together participants from all over the world, including educators from the field of environment, health, water and sanitation, human rights, gender, peace, citizenship, social justice and others, civil society /NGOs, corporations, academics, media, government officials and representatives of UN agencies. You can register online. Please note that the Early Bird Registration ends August 31, 2007 and that participants will have to pay a conference fee.

Call For Papers And Proposals

You are invited to submit papers and posters related to the conference’s working themes. Note the following deadlines:

  • Last date of Submission of Abstracts extended to August 21, 2007 .
  • Acceptance of abstracts: September 7, 2007
  • Deadline for the submission of papers: September 30, 2007

For further information, visit: www.tbilisiplus30.org/index.htm

Warm regards,

Gaby

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Equator Net Discussion: Does the Equator Net need a Blog?

Discussion Topic: Does the Equator Net need a Blog?

Dear Equator Net members,

The enclosed message from Yasmin (yasmingn@yahoo.com) may be the start of a new discussion thread. Please do not hesitate to send your feedback to the network – the recommended steps for Equator Net contributions are attached.

Dear Yasmin, it would be great to see the proposal you mentioned. Thank you for your contribution!

Warm regards,

Gaby

Dear Mr. Sodhi and Equator Net Members,

Dear Mr. Sodhi, congratulations for your initiative in sharing these cases with Equator Net. Like other members said, I also think that sharing experiences is very important in the learning process and sharing best practices experiences can motivate and inspire people that are in similar processes in social and environmental projects. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy the Equator Initiative and partners work, which I had the opportunity to get know better in Taba Community-COP8.

I also agree with Mr. Balakrishna that we could establish some formats to the stories presentation. I was thinking also that we could even create a group Blog in internet, where we could add texts, pictures and videos. We could create sections by themes, geographical areas, Section for comments, campaigns, etc. What do you think? I’ve been working, lately, in a proposal that involves knowledge exchange network using blog and discussion groups, at the NGO I work. If the equator net members are interested, I can present this proposal for discussion. And we can create a team to work on it.

This could be a good activity to add to the great work that the Equator Initiative have been doing with the Learning Exchange Program. What the Equator Initiative Team think about ?

If there is more members in the Equator net that share from this view, are interested in develop these ideas and have more things to add, please give your opinion.

Best Regards,

Yasmin [yasmingn@yahoo.com]

Yasmin Grummt Naddaf

Environmental Services Association – ASA

Curitiba, Brazil

Recommended Steps for Sending Equator Net Contributions

Dear Equator Net members,

We would like to make sure that this recent, very exciting, and hopefully continuous exchange of information between Equator Net members is fruitful and interesting to the users of this list serve.

The Equator Net is currently 550 members strong and has great potential to benefit from an interactive sharing of resources and experiences. To ensure that this exchange continues to be valuable, please take a look at the following recommended steps to send your Equator Net contributions:

Draft a message that is of relevance for community-based initiatives working in poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation. Examples of contributions to the network are updates on environmental and poverty reduction issues, upcoming conferences, expressions of interests, financial opportunities such as grants or fellowships, educational opportunities, discussion points, organizational and personal experiences, and other pieces of information that may be of interest to the network. Please do not use the Equator Net as a contact list for organizational or personal fundraising inquiries.

  1. Please describe the information you would like to share with other Equator Net members – do not send attachments without a clear explanation of why this information may be useful for Equator Net members.
  2. Do not forget to include your name, organization, and email address – additional information is of course voluntary, yet other members might be curious to learn in what country you are located or what kind of work you do! ;-)
  3. Send your contribution to equator-net@groups.undp.org only if it is of relevance to all Equator Net members. If you would like to respond to individual senders of previous Equator Net messages please do not use the reply button (your response will go to all Equator Net members via equator-net@groups.undp.org). Assuming that all Equator Net members will follow step 3, you should be able to find the email address of each sender included in their original message.
  4. Once your message has been accepted by the moderator it will be delivered to all Equator Net members. Please keep in mind that your message may be sent out later via a consolidated reply. Therefore, please be patient should your message not be delivered to your inbox right away.

Even though the Equator Net is administered in English due to limited translation capacities, we encourage all Equator Net members to participate in Spanish, French, or Portuguese as well.

Should you have additional questions about sharing your information and experiences via the Equator Net please do not hesitate to contact me at gabriela.tobler@undp.org.

Thank you for your active participation. The Equator Net looks forward to your contributions!

Warm regards,

Gaby

Responses to Equator Net Discussion "Sharing Knowledge and Learning from Each Other via the Equator Net"

Discussion Topic: Sharing Knowledge and Learning from each other via the Equator Net

Dear Equator Net Members,

I would like to thank you for the inspiring contributions and replies we received lately. It is exciting to see that the Equator Net is turning into an interactive network!

In response to the increased email traffic and the request from several members we decided to consolidate all remaining responses to the message from Prabhjot Sodhi, National Coordinator of the GEF UNDP Small Grants Program in India - please scroll down to see Prabhjot’s original message and related recent responses.

Please keep sending us your input, funding opportunities, discussion points etc. and thank you once again for your much appreciated messages!

Warm regards,

Gaby

Original Equator Net Message

Dear Equator Net members,

Hello to one and all, I have been thinking of late that we need to share and learn from each other's experiences, knowledge and leverage resources and skills. Taking a start, I am sharing two stories/case studies of GEF UNDP Small grants program (SGP) projects in India for sharing with your partners. We will keep sharing more project stories and we would request you to ask other partners on your network to share success stories on their part so that we can cross learn. Enjoy... Looking forward for your comments, guidance and support.

Cheers and very best wishes.

Prabhjot Sodhi
National Coordinator, GEF UNDP Small Grants ProgramCentre for Environment Education (CEE)
New Delhi, India

English Responses

Dear Mr. Sodhi,

I was glad to see this mail and your interest to share the experiences that is very useful as well as vital to move forward not just the conservation agenda but also to link conservation with development as demonstrated by several SGP projects world-over.

However, I feel that it might be very helpful if you can work on a possible format for the stories to be written up. This can help get some consistency in the kind of information that people might put in as well as provide a common thread to the ‘story-line’. I am sure we can work on getting some products out of this, including providing the needed support to MDG initiatives being put together by UNDP themselves in different parts of the world.

Best regards

Bala Pisupati [pisupati@ias.unu.edu]

Response to message from Bala Pisupati:

Dear Dr. Bala,

Good to hear from you as equator-net mail recipient. You may recall that we met at Khulna press club and during your presentation of Bangaldesh National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan at Dhaka. Are you not at IUCN?

However, you have rightly mentioned for having a kind of format for compiling the conservation stories through UNDP-GEF-SGP format development. I do agree but we the Bangladeshi are unfortunate for NOT being eligible yet.

Regards,

Mowdudur Rahman [mowdud_ccec@yahoo.com]

Director, Centre for Coastal Environmental Conservation, Khulna, Bangladesh

Response to message from Bala Pisupati:

Hi Bala,

Great to see you online. I just would like to get an update of the action points we had during the MEA Brainstorming Session which you conducted in Bangkok last October 2006.

Best regards,

Donato Bumacas [kmcydkalinga@yahoo.com]

KAMICYDI, Philippines

Dear Mr. Sodhi and Equator Net Members,

Dear Mr. Sodhi, congratulations for your initiative in sharing these cases with Equator Net. Like other members said, I also think that sharing experiences is very important in the learning process and sharing best practices experiences can motivate and inspire people that are in similar processes in social and environmental projects. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy the Equator Initiative and partners work, which I had the opportunity to get know better in Taba Community-COP8.

I also agree with Mr. Balakrishna that we could establish some formats to the stories presentation. I was thinking also that we could even create a group Blog in internet, where we could add texts, pictures and videos. We could create sections by themes, geographical areas, Section for comments, campaigns, etc. What do you think? I’ve been working, lately, in a proposal that involves knowledge exchange network using blog and discussion groups, at the NGO I work. If the equator net members are interested, I can present this proposal for discussion. And we can create a team to work on it.

This could be a good activity to add to the great work that the Equator Initiative have been doing with the Learning Exchange Program. What the Equator Initiative Team think about ?

If there is more members in the Equator net that share from this view, are interested in develop these ideas and have more things to add, please give your opinion.

Best Regards,

Yasmin Grummt Naddaf [yasmingn@yahoo.com]

Environmental Services Association – ASA, Curitiba, Brazil

Dear Colleagues,

We are trying to get a similar initiative up and running, but focusing on issues of mobile pastoralism and the environment. We were asked to do this through our partnership with GEF and I hope that we will have a web-forum up and running in about a month or so. The forum is initially for GEF staff and will be private access, but if you are interested to join then please let me know.

Dr. Jonathan Davies [Jonathan.Davies@iucn.org]

Global Coordinator, World Initiative for Sustainable Pastoralism

IUCN-EARO, Nairobi

Tel +254 20 890 606-12

Mob +254 736 855 440

Visit WISP - http://www.iucn.org/wisp/

Respuestas en Español

Prabhjot Sodhi:

Es interesante su propuesta para aprender de lecciones, ejes motivadores, y también dificultades en la ejecución de experiencias. En Ecuador estaríamos dispuestos a participar con dos experiencias del PNUD. Recuperación de productos andinos en sistemas agroforestales y Manejo de Fuentes de agua por las comunidades en la parroquia Juan Montalvo. Ud cuenta con un formato para exponer las experiencias por favor envíenos.

Saludos

Consuelo Cederana [cederenauio@andinanet.net]

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Equator Net message from Prabhjot Sodhi, GEF UNDP Small Grants Program, India

Dear Equator Net members,

Hello to one and all, I have been thinking of late that we need to share and learn from each other's experiences, knowledge and leverage resources and skills.

Taking a start, i am sharing two stories/case studies of GEF UNDP Small grants program (SGP) projects in India for sharing with your partners. We will keep sharing more project stories and we would request you to ask other partners on your network to share success stories on their part so that we can cross learn. Enjoy...

Looking forward for your comments, guidance and support. Cheers and very best wishes..

With Best regards,

Prabhjot Sodhi
National Coordinator
GEF UNDP Small Grants Program
Centre for Environment Education (CEE)


Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Fellowship opportunities with TWAS

Dear Equator Net members,

We have an exciting new opportunity from
TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world. The objective of the organization is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable development in the South. The organization is currently accepting applications for various fellowships.

Please note these fellowships require the applicant to have at least a Master’s degree in science. The fellowships are divided into four categories: Postgraduate Training, Postdoctoral Research, Advanced Research, and Research Collaboration. For additional information and application details please visit:
http://www.ictp.trieste.it/~twas/Exchange.html

Warm regards,
Gaby