International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences "IATSS FORUM" Leadership Training Program in Japan For Young Professionals in ASEAN countries

Application Guideline

Application for the 55th & 56th IATSS Forum Program in 2016

[ Period ]
Application for the 55th & 56th IATSS Forum Program in 2016

55th IATSS Forum: *May - July, 2016 (57days)
56th IATSS Forum: *September - November, 2016 (57days)

* Applications are accepted once a year.

[ Participating Countries ]

• Cambodia
• Indonesia
• Laos
• Malaysia
• Myanmar
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Vietnam

Language Used: English

Communications will be based in English.

Number of participants

55th IATSS Forum: 18 participants , 2 participants for 9 countries
56th IATSS Forum: 18 participants , 2 participants for 9 countries

Closing Date of Application for 55th & 56th

From February-1st to June-10th,2015

Fees The IATSS Forum pays for the round trip airfare, participation fees for the program, accommodations, and almost all food expenses, etc.
Participants need to pay for their personal expenses.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be from one of the above mentioned countries and possess the physical and mental capabilities necessary to participate fully in program activities.
• Applicants should be 35 years old or younger at the time of the closing date of the application.
• Applicants should have at least 2 years of full-time professional job experience at the time of the application and be eligible for reinstatement to his/her current position after completing the program.

Application Procedure

Application documents: All documents are to be sent to the applicant's Country Secretariat.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Need to submit

• IATSS Forum application form (A4 size)
• 2 essays (A4 size)
• 2 photos (4 cm x 3 cm, name on the back)
• 2 recommendation forms (A4) (One of them should be your direct supervisor at your present job)
• Certificate of English Proficiency (if possible)

• 
• 

Please carefully read the application booklet above first and download the application form (word) for submission.

Selection

There are three stages to the screening process.

First Screening

(May-June, 2015)Examination of application documents by the IATSS Forum Country Committee

Second Screening

(August-September, 2015)Examination of application documents by the IATSS Forum Steering Committee in Japan

Final Screening

(November-December, 2015)Interview with prospective applicants by the IATSS Forum Steering Committee and the IATSS Forum Country Committee, in their country

Other terms and conditions

• Only those applicants who have successfully passed screening at each stage will be contacted.
• Schedule subject to change.
• We can not guarantee which season's forum you will be able to participate in.

New Opportunity to the United States is now open

Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA) 2016

 
The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce a call for applications for the Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA). This program will provide Cambodian teachers with unique opportunities to develop expertise in their subject areas, enhance their teaching skills, and increase their knowledge of 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 their 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 (January – March) or fall (September – November) 2016.
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.
Teaching disciplines for the TEA Program are:

• English or English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
• Social Studies (social studies, civics, history, geography, etc.)
• Mathematics
• Science
• Special Education teachers in the disciplines listed above

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

Applicants must:

• Be current secondary school-level, full-time teachers in a school that serves a primarily local (not expatriate) population;
• Have five or more years of classroom experience in TEA teaching disciplines: English, EFL, Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, or Special Education;
• Be citizens of and residents in Cambodia;
• Have earned a bachelor’s degree or equivalent;
• Obtain a minimum score of 450 on paper based TOEFL or equivalent English language examination*; and
• Demonstrate a commitment to continue teaching after completion of the program;

* A limited number of participants with TOEFL scores between 425 and 450, or equivalent, will be accepted for the program into a special cohort with additional English language training included in the professional development program.
Please note that this is a program for practicing teachers of Cambodian students. Ministry of Education officials, full-time principals or educational administrators, full-time teacher trainers, university faculty, private English language tutors, and teachers from schools primarily serving expatriates are not eligible.

Tentative Program Dates in the U.S.

• Cohort I: January – March 2016 (Spring)
• Cohort II: September – November 2016 (Fall)

Required Documents (Application Package)

There are two ways you can submit your application: hardcopy or online.

Hardcopy Application:

Applicants must submit the original hardcopy application and two complete copies (total of three copies). Each copy of the application should be submitted in the following order:

• Application. Click here to download (PDF).
• Completed Institutional Support and Reference Form. Click here to download (PDF).
• A copy of your passport (if available).

For application instructions, click here to download (PDF).

Online Application:

• To apply online, please visit our implementing partner, IREX here.
• Online application guide, click here to download (PDF).

English Language Proficiency

Interested applicants who do not already have a valid TOEFL score of 450 or above should plan to take the TOEFL ITP at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). 
For registration, please contact:
EducationUSA Advising Center
Room 103, Building A
Royal University of Phnom Penh
Tel: 023 884 320
Instructions & Submission Guidelines

• Please answer all questions on the application.
• Please type or print in black ink.
• If a question does not apply to you, enter “N/A” (Not Applicable).
• Include your full, legal name as spelled on your passport (if available) or other photo identification.
• Include complete contact information (House number, street number, khum/sangkat, srok/khan, city/province).
• Write your full name, city, and country in the top right corner of each page.
• You may attach additional pages if necessary to answer the questions completely.
• Please indicate in which cohort (Cohort I or Cohort II of 2016) you would prefer to participate in. (Please note that every effort will be made to accommodate your first choice; however, applicants will be considered for both cohorts and placement in your first choice is not guaranteed.)

Institutional Support and Reference Form (ISRF)

• The “characteristics” section must be completed by the applicant’s supervisor (i.e., school director). A family member may not complete the reference form. Please provide an English translation if it is not written in English (informal translation is acceptable).
• The “recommendation letter” section must also be completed by the applicant’s supervisor.
• The ISRF must be signed by the school director. This will confirm that the school supports your participation in this program.
• If you’re completing the application online, the ISRF is still required for applicants. There is a section within the online application where you are prompted to print the form. You then need to upload the completed form and reference to the same section of the application for it to be considered “complete.” The Online Application System will not let you submit your application without uploading the ISRF.

For more information about TEA Program, please visit TEA’s website.
Deadline for submission:  March 27, 2015

Submission of Application

For hardcopy application, please return the completed application package (one original and two photocopies) to:
Mr. Socheat Ou
Public Affairs Specialist
Public Affairs Section
Embassy of the United States of America
#1, Street 96, Sangkat Wat Phnom, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh
Telephone: 023-728-248
Email: ous1@state.gov
If you are submitting the application online, you are not required to submit the application and supporting documents to the U.S. Embassy.

(Source: www.cambodia.usembassy.gov)

Basic Education Program Policy in Remote Area in Cambodia

 
Cambodia’s education system has been illuminated during the Pol Pot regime in the 1970s so-called the Khmer Rouge. During this period, most of the infrastructures in the country including schools, hospitals, buildings, roads, etc have been destroyed. Professionals, intellectuals, teachers, students, and innocent people were killed which is leading to the country’s development impact leaving the poverty in the society until present. Since this regime has been deliberated from 1979, the government of Cambodia has prioritized its education policy and development by putting resources and fund in recovering the education system especially, in the primary education in rural and remote areas across the country. Although the education policy system has been put into place, the policy issues are still facing and needed to be addressed and reviewed. The current major education policy problems are within the government management system such as lacking of the government authorities to manage quality of education, raising the awareness of primary education in the communities, and fund location disbursement.
The purpose of this paper is to identify the current basic education policy issues in rural and remote areas in Cambodia and rectify the policy problems by requesting a new education policy strategies and identification as an adviser to the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports (MOEYS) to improve the awareness of education in the communities, enhance quality of education, increase the number of enrollment of Cambodian students as well as the capacity building of the school system. It will also identify the difficulties it might face in persuading the key players within the Ministry lines and local authorities of the proposal’s merits and how these obstacles might overcome. Therefore, it will lead to the major increase in academic achievements within the communities and improved education system especially, in the primary education in the rural and remote areas in Cambodia.
The government of Cambodia has prioritized its education policies system since the 1980s, however the education policy issues have still remained especially, within the primary education in rural and remote areas due to inefficient management of logistic, lacking of education awareness in the communities, education quality control and lacking of authorities to persuade the communities to get enrolled in the primary school. Although new teachers have been trained and schools have been limitedly rebuilt in various areas, it continues to be the main obstacles that made the children inaccessible to the primary school in the rural areas. According to Colebatch, H. (2002) defines that ‘Policy is a central concept in both the analysis and the practice of the way we are governed. It gives both observers and participants a handle on the process, a way of making sense of the complexity of governing’. It has shown that the policy is the complex issues of governing thus it needs to be monitored and evaluated within a period of time to define the policy problems. As the above policy issues defined, we are raising the two real examples of the policy problems which are currently facing in the remote area as below with requested proposal.
First, the local authorities in the rural areas have met difficulties for convincing the Cambodian communities, and students to attend the primary school and lacking of bringing the awareness of education in the communities. Tol Lah, (1997) states that ‘the Cambodian government has been taking steps to alleviate widespread poverty and has striven to eradicate illiteracy and improve access to quality basic education’. For instance, in one of the remote areas in Svay Rieng province which is nearby the border between Vietnam and Cambodia, the education local authorities are facing these problems. Most of the families have put their efforts in finding their daily living income rather than coming to school, otherwise they would not be able to support their families. By resolving these issues, MOEYS and the local authorities should establish an education awareness communities group including the local communities, parents and students in the area to attend which is managed and provided by the local authority at the beginning of each calendar year to improve the awareness of the families’ perceptions of the education system, leading to increase in enrollment and encouraging the students and parents to take an active part in education in the community. When they can see the value and understanding of education, which is introduced in the education community group, they will attend the school. However, it is needed to collaborate with MOEYS to identify the current issues and introduce this new strategy to the senior education officials of MOEYS and local authorities to overcome these obstacles.
Second, lacking of the government authorities to manage education quality and fund disbursements, has become the obstacles to have equitable access and expanded access through encouraging expansion of the community within the areas such as shortage of schools, classrooms and study materials, etc. particularly in rural areas. For example, in Svay Rieng province, there are not many primary schools in the rural areas which made it difficult for the communities and parents who wish to send their children to school because of a distance between their home and school. In the communities and parents are meeting difficulties with supporting their daily living which forces their children not to join the school by taking this time to support their families’ living needs.
Moreover, MOEYS is also facing with disbursement and locating fund within the region related to the primary school teachers’ government salaries. Usually, the primary school teachers’ government salaries range between USD 20 and USD 50 per month putting them below the poverty line. There are very limited qualified primary schools teachers wish to teach in the remote areas. Nevertheless, they need to collect extra informal school fees from the students in everyday class. As a result, the issues of lacking of government authorities, school resources, and little government funding result in insufficient teaching, school materials and education quality. MOEYS (1999) states that ‘the Cambodian government pledges USD1.50 to USD1.75 per student per year to each primary school for teaching materials and school operating costs’. Generally, the expense for the primary teachers is insufficient for even supporting their daily basic needs in the real situation.
By solving these problems, we are suggesting that MOEYS and the education local authorities to establish a focused basic education coverage system including school construction plan, deployment of trained teachers, and removing of access costs barriers by increasing operational budgets and teachers’ salaries leading to the increase of enrolment and the Cambodian communities and the students have more chance to attend primary school without any barriers. According to Jenkins Smith (1990) explains that ‘Policy analysis in the American style, which is concerned with the development of a methodology for determining the outcome of a specific policy and for making comparisons between alternative policies in terms of their likely outcomes’. However, in order to achieve this policy strategy which the policy problems are pointed out above following a request, we are working with the government of Cambodia, MOEYS and the local authorities to facilitate meetings with school administrators, and teachers to identify a community’s education needs and together, implement appropriate solutions, and also work with relevant projects, donors, nongovernmental organization within the areas to help MOEYS implements this policy. By achieving this, MOEYS must also be responsible for developing and evaluating these policies, strategies and programs that enable the continued growth of equitable access of quality education at all levels and share responsibilities to manage and monitor the delivery of education, and conducted by provincial and district education offices.
So as to have these new strategies to be considered, rectified and put into practice, we clearly defined and studied the above current policy issues in the real situation problems in this particular area which they are now facing these difficulties and needing helps, solutions and intervention from the relevant authorities specially, from MOEYS. By introducing these new strategies which clearly addressed the effectiveness of policy rectification to overcome the above issues such as to strive for success in primary education which enhance accessibility and education quality, raise the awareness of education in the communities, parents, students, capacity building for primary teachers and efficient way of using fund in the specific areas. As a strength and result of these new strategies, we are confident that the new policy strategies will be taken into consideration and put into practice by MOEYS and relevant education authorities to efficiently resolve the current policy problems as well as the real difficulties for the Cambodian communities and people within this region.
In summary, the basic education is a core foundation for the development of the country. Thus, strengthening, managing the education quality and enhancing the access to primary school across the country are a priority development sector for the government of Cambodia. By clearly defining the above current policy problems and seen the real difficulties for the Cambodian communities within this region. Therefore, we are confident that the new policy strategies will be taken into account and put into practice by the MOEYS and relevant authorities. As a result, the illiteracy in the rural and remote areas will be declined; more people are able to go to school and enhance the education quality of the primary education and have equitable access to the education across the country which will be leading to the development of the country as a whole.

http://www.cameconomist.info/basic-education-program-policy-in-remote-area-in-cambodia/

Mark Zuckerberg’s New Year’s Resolution for 2015

By Angkeara Bong 06/01/2015 International News


While most people have vowed to lead a healthier lifestyle in 2015, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is a bit more interesting with his New Year’s resolution.
The Facebook FB, -1.61% founder crowdsourced his 2015 resolution—calling on his 20 million-plus friends—and ultimately decided on reading a new book every other week.
“I’m excited for my reading challenge,” Zuckerberg wrote in a post on Facebook. “Books allow you to fully explore a topic and immerse yourself in a deeper way than most media today.”
Essentially, Zuckerberg is planning to read 26 books in 2015. That will put him ahead of the average American, who in 2013 read one book a month, according to the Pew Research Center.
In his post, Zuckerberg said this challenge will allow him to focus on learning about different cultures, beliefs, histories and technologies.
Some of Zuckerberg’s past resolutions have included:
* 2014: Learning to speak Mandarin
* 2013: Meeting one new person, who doesn’t work at Facebook, every day.
* 2012: Writing a thank-you note each day to someone who made the world better.
* 2011: Being a vegetarian (or only eating meat if I killed the animal myself).
* 2010: Wearing a tie every day
Zuckerberg, sitting at the helm of the global community that is Facebook, established a way for those interested to get involved and follow along—more than 140,000 members ‘liked’ a community page the 30-year-old CEO created called “A Year of Books” as of Monday morning.
Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -0.93%  co-founder Bill Gates, also a keen reader, may join Zuckerberg’s book club. See: The five best books Bill Gates read in 2014
Zuckerberg’s first book of 2015 will be Moisés Naím’s “The End of Power.” In a 2013 review, former head of the World Bank Robert Zoellick said Naím’s main goal with “The End of Power” is to present people with a different way of thinking about power and that Naím, an economist and former Venezuelan Minister of Trade and Industry, resolves to adapt political parties to “inspire and mobilize people—especially the young.”
“At a time when critics of overreaching governments, big banks, media moguls and concentrated wealth decry the power of the ‘1%’,” Zoellick writes, “Mr. Naím argues that leaders of all types—political, corporate, military, religious, union—face bigger, more complex problems with weaker hands than in the past.”

(Source: www.marketwatch.com)