Distance Education for the Americas Beginning of a Joint Program IICA-CATIE

1. Distance Education for the Americas Beginning of a Joint ProgramIICA-CATIE ADEC Annual Meeting, May 2006

3. Mission • To support the Member States  in their pursuit of progress and prosperity in the hemisphere  through the modernization of the rural sector, the promotion of food security, and the development of an agricultural sector that is competitive, , technologically prepared, environmentally managed, and socially equitable for the peoples of the Americas.

4. Vision • To transform IICA into a development agency designed to promote sustainable agricultural  development, food security and prosperity in the rural communities of the Americas.

5. Brief history of IICA • 1942: Founded as The Inter-American Institute Of Agricultural Sciences • Located in Turrialba, Costa Rica • Purpose: Research on strategic tropical crops • Established as a Center for Education and Research.

6. Brief history of IICA • 1944: First multilateral Convention on IICA was signed • 1948: Creation of OAS, IICA became the specialized agency for agriculture of the Inter-American System. • 1964: 21 Member States of the OAS became members of IICA • 1970’s: IICA carries out multinational programs for hemispheric projection • Moves Headquarters to San José

7. Brief history of IICA • In 1973: Creation of the Tropical Agriculture Research and Education Center (CATIE) in Turrialba • 1979: Leading role in agricultural development and integration. • Creation of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA). • Renamed the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture. (29 Member States)

8. Strategic Areas of technical Cooperation • Education and Training • Technology and Innovation • Sustainable Rural Development • Policies and Trade • Agribusiness Development • Agriculture Health and Food Safety New Hemispheric Programs • Biotechnology • Bio-Energy

9. IICA Offices and Member States in the Americas

10. Distance Training CenterCECADI • Objective: To support training and agribusiness development within public and private institutions in the member countries; and to facilitate the role of technical cooperation as part of IICA's educational mission.

11. CECADI Services: • Adaptation of course contents to multimedia format • Adaptation of teaching materials to multimedia formats for distance training • Distance education via multimedia and videoconferencing

12. CECADI Services: • Interactive CD-Rom courses • Online Training with McGill University • Videoconferencing System with GDLN network (World Bank)

14. Mission • Contribute to poverty reduction and rural development in the American tropics, through the promotion of diversified and competitive agriculture and sustainable management of our natural resources

15. Regular Members 1- Belize2- Bolivia 3- Colombia 4- Costa Rica5- Dominican Republic 6- El Salvador7- Guatemala8- Honduras9- Mexico10- Nicaragua11- Panama12- Paraguay 13- Venezuela 14- IICA 2003 2005

16. Research Outreach Education Our Strength Lies in the integration of our programs

17. Education Program OUR GRADUATE SCHOOL, CREATED IN 1946 IS THE OLDEST IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

18. Post-Graduate ProgramsM.Sc. & Ph.D. • Tropical Agroforestry, • Integrated Watershed Management, • Forestry and Biodiversity Management, • Tropical Agriculture, • Environmental Economics.

19. OUTREACH Outreach activities include: • Joint research with partner organizations • Participative work with communities • Training and dissemination of new knowledge and • technologies • Support for improving national policies • Technical assistance and national and regional institutional • strengthening • Validation of new technologies in the field

20. RESEARCH • CATIE is a regional platform for the generation of cutting-edge technology and knowledge in agricultural and silvopastoral systems, socio-economics, integrated watershed management, competitiveness of eco-enterprises, agroforestry, forestry, climate change, biotechnology, as well as natural resource conservation and management of biodiversity.

21. TRAINING Strategic Courses: CATIE strengths • Agroforesty • Forest Mangement • Silvopastoral systems • Protected Areas Specialized Courses according to demand Virtual Classroom for video conferencing

22. IICA-CATIE Joint Program Distance Education

23. IICA-CATIE Historical Alliance: Extensive presence in Latin America and the Caribbean Countries • Shared objective: Provide educational services to Member Countries • Development of multimedia courses in order to establish distance education programs • Contacts, agreements, and projects with various Universities in the USA, Latin America and the Caribbean

24. Future Plans • Build a joint program in distance education for the Hemisphere • Develop joint educational materials to carry out distance education programs • Identify and adapt (tropicalizar) available courses from ADEC members for Latin America and Caribbean target groups • Develop strategic alliances and joint projects to enhance distance education in the Hemisphere • Learn from the experiences of ADEC’s members in developing materials and offering courses

25. Target Groups • Educational Leaders • National research Institutions • Leaders within public sector • Farmers and farm groups • Policy makers • Private sector • Graduates

26. STRENGTHEN OUR CAPACITIES TO OFFER DISTANCE EDUCATION • Non-degree continuing education. • Develop strategic partnerships. • Target group needs and marketing. • Identify and adapt existing materials. • Design quality courses to ensure learning. • Appropriate and most effective delivery mechanisms.

27. Thank you 2006

28. Contact information • Juan Caliva: juan.caliva@iica.int • Jim French: james.french@iica.int • Glen Galloway: galloway@catie.ac.cr • Gabriel Robles: grobles@catie.ac.cr