communication

This month, in honor of IREX’s 45th anniversary, Allen Kassof, a founder of IREX, gives us a fascinating account of the power of knowledge for individuals and institutions. From IREX’s founding to its international presence today, Allen and his colleagues led the way. We are all grateful that he is still an active member of our IREX family and a resource for facts and advice.

Thirty years ago, I arrived in China as a young American diplomat after the normalization of relations between the two countries. This summer, I returned to China to witness the vast changes that have taken place.

I had the opportunity to attend the expansion ceremony for IREX’s China Student Journalism Program and the second annual journalism camp held in the remote northwestern province of Gansu. Walking into an auditorium filled with Chinese and American youth, I could feel the energy and excitement in the room. Students and their teachers were proud of the newspapers displayed on the walls of this large auditorium. Their eagerness and commitment to serving as voices for their peers and community were inspiring.

Donors and implementers who assisted Chileans in the aftermath of the 2010, 8.8-magnitude earthquake recently stood on stage at an event in Santiago organized by the Telecentre.org Foundation in front of representatives from 50 telecentre networks of 100 countries, to share ways information and communication technologies (ICT) helped ease the pain of the disaster. As is typical in crisis situations,utilities and communications were down, government offices were closed, if not destroyed, and media outlets were not broadcasting, leaving a field of misinformation open and alarming an already distraught population.

While university scholarships provided to Kazakhstan’s disadvantaged youth will certainly help them towards brighter futures, there is still an important component necessary for becoming an empowered and successful individual. That piece is the development of the life skills necessary in order to “effectively improve the economic and social situations of their families, communities, and nation."

In September, 17 young librarians from nine public libraries in Romania successfully graduated from Biblionet’s first Summer School for Young Librarians.

“I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” --Dwight D. Eisenhower