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July 28, 2011
 I have been managing IREX’s Tech Age Girls (TAG) project for several years and the transformation that happens in the participants in the short period of 5-6 month continues to inspire me. TAG is a unique project because it uses technology as a means of developing leadership, sense of volunteerism, and confidence in high school girls. |
July 21, 2011
 On behalf of IREX, I am pleased to announce that 22 diligent Azerbaijani students and their mentors won netbooks and flipcameras in a recent national contest for the ‘Best Research Essays Using Internet.' One hundred and sixty nine candidates entered from all over the country, notably Sumgait, Guba, Shirvan, Imishli, Ganja, Gazakh, Sheki, Zagatala, Ismayilli and Mingachevir. Plagiarism was penalised, with positive results. |
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July 20, 2011
 A week prior to the Romania Digital Agenda conference, the Biblionet training manager feverishly called to tell me that the Vice President of the European Commission, Ms. Neelie Kroes, was going to visit Bucharest and that I should be ready to attend the conference. That Monday, I met with Sanda Foamete, Manager for Microsoft and Gabi Barna from EOS (Educating for an Open Socienty) Foundation to discuss how to best approach a 25-minute private meeting they had organized with Ms. Kroes. I knew my unexpected meeting with such an openhearted EU official would grant IREX the platform to detail the imperative work of libraries in reaching large numbers of people in providing access to key e-government services. |
July 19, 2011
 A small television station in Batumi, Georgia gets a boost from its partners at a local station in Roanoke, VA via the Georgian Media Partnership Program. |
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July 19, 2011
 Like many women hungry for better representation in the Middle East, 22-year-old Dina Najem is finding her voice through social media tools, which she is actively using to promote women rights in Iraq’s largely patriarchal and tribal society. |
July 8, 2011
 Where there were once ales and liver sausages, there are now books, computers and a well-trained librarian waiting to give patrons a taste of the World Wide Web. Romanians benefit in many ways thanks to Biblionet's work with the local government to convert an old pub into a modern library. |
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July 7, 2011
 IREX has been working with public access to information / telecenters for more than 15 years. In that time we’ve encountered many of the difficulties. How do the telecenters continue operation after outside funding dries up? How do you embed the telecenter into the community? As our thinking on this topic has evolved over the years, we’ve begun focusing our efforts on the one existing public institution that is owned by the local community and can provide a variety of information services: the public library. |
June 30, 2011
 Forty-three years ago today, IREX was created to help advance exchanges, not just of people, but of ideas. As we celebrate IREX’s founding, we honor its original charge by continuing to bring people together, to link institutions both within and across countries and regions, and to host events where the latest thinking and research is shared with the world. |
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June 24, 2011
 On June 4, 2011, IREX sponsored an Advanced Photojournalism Course through a small grant to Iraq’s first photo agency, Metrography. Founded by international photographer Sebastian Meyer and Iraqi photojournalist Kamaran Najm, Metrography is the only Iraqi photography agency covering all 18 of Iraq’s governorates. |
June 24, 2011
 Seeking work abroad is a necessity for many families in Romania, and labor migrants often leave children behind. These children need support, so public libraries are getting involved in a new project called, “Te Iubeste Mama,” or “Mommy Loves You.” This project will connect parents working in Italy with their children at home in Romania through audio-visual communication like Skype, a new service that libraries in the Biblionet program offer to patrons. |
