Announcements

IREX congratulates the five winners of our 2nd annual Make a Better World Photo Contest. Contest judges found winners’ photos were creative and technically sound, and also adeptly illustrated IREX’s international work in at least one of three main categories: Technology, Information & Participation, Improving Communities, and Education & Employment. Judges selected the winning photos out of a pool of more than 550 submissions from around the globe.

IREX’s latest Europe & Eurasia Media Sustainability Index (MSI) finds that new media sources are rapidly replacing traditional outlets as the preferred source of news. A decade after online media began sapping the advertising revenue of traditional outlets in the West, these same trends are now washing across the region to the east, undermining business models as they go. 

IREX congratulates Vice President Robert Cronin on his appointment to the first ever Advisory Council of the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI). Cronin, who heads IREX’s Center for Collaborative Technology and leads the Beyond Access team, will serve alongside representatives from Google, Cisco, Intel, Ericsson, USAID, DFID, CTO, US Department of State, Omidyar Foundation, New America Foundation, and Women in Global Science and Technology. 

IREX is pleased to launch a new video from the Namibia Library Development Program. Stunning views of Namibia combined with images of the libraries and patrons create a rich visual of the project. The Namibia Library Development Program is funded by the Millennium Challenge Account Namibia with support from the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation.

Working to meet the needs of today’s global workforce, IREX is proud to join with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State to implement the Community College Initiative (CCI) program. This program recruits and selects underserved participants from 12 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Africa, East Asia, and Western Hemisphere regions for training in the fields of Information Technology, Business Administration, and Agriculture at U.S. community colleges.

IREX congratulates 2013 U.S. Embassy Policy Specialist (EPS) fellow Matthew Rojansky on his new role as Director of the Kennan Institute, division of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars that focuses on Russia, Ukraine and other states in the region. Mr. Rojansky will lead the Kennan Institute’s efforts to publicize and integrate new research on the region into the policy community through scholarships, lectures, workshops, and publication programs.

IREX congratulates Mohammad Al Abdullah, the Syria Justice and Accountability Center’s (SJAC) Executive Director, on his special recognition from the Society for International Development (SID) Washington Chapter at their annual conference. Al Abdullah was recognized for his leadership in promoting justice and accountability for Syria. 

IREX is pleased to launch a new video showcasing the Syrian Justice and Accountability Center (SJAC). The documentary titled “Justice for Syria” details the story of Mohammad Al Abdallah, a Syrian human rights and democracy activist, who is working to document human rights abuses in Syria. Through the creation of the SJAC, and the support of IREX, Al Abdallah works to capture the events in Syria to eventually achieve justice for victims of human rights abuses.

Our second annual photo contest is now closed. Last year, we received more than 2,400 photos from across the globe that embodied our vision to “make a better world.” This year we are building on that theme by asking to participants to submit images that reflect the lives and locations of our work. The three prize categories are: 1) Technology, information and participation 2) Improving communities and 3) Education and employment.  

IREX is pleased to announce the 2013-2014 Short-Term Travel Grant fellowship recipients. This year's fellows will be traveling to 16 countries across Eastern Europe and Eurasia to perform policy relevant field research. After they complete their fellowship, their research findings will be posted on the IREX online library.