The following information is very important. It will help Partners of the Americas' Washington Office as well as your own Partners chapters assess the impact of your travel on partnership's activities, report back to our funders and prepare proposals for new grants to support your work. You may attach additional pages. Photographs, newspaper media reports, flyers, and materials you used are very helpful and should be included.
Trip reports must be submitted no later than thirty (30) days after the completion of your trip.
Partnership:
Colorado- Minas Gerais
Name of Traveler:
First Name Roger_________ Middle Initial/name L.______ Family Name Brown__________
Date of Application August 2006_____________________
Profession/occupation and title Teacher, Building Technology Specialist_________________
Mailing Address:
Name
Roger L. Brown_________________________________________________________
Street 2428 19th Ave. _________________________________________________________
City Greeley_____________ Province/State Colorado_______ Zip code 80631___________
P.O. Box ________________ Country USA_____________
Phone 970-353-5529 Fax____ e-mail roger.brown6@comcast.net____
Travel
Dates:
Left Home 11-11-2006________ Returned Home 11-29-2006_
Itinerary Greeley, CO-Denver-Dallas-Belize City, Belize City-Miami-Sao Paulo-Belo Horizonte, Belo-Diamantina-Belo, Belo Horizonte-Sao Paulo-Dallas-Denver-Greeley, CO___________________________________________
Dr. Roger L. Brown_______________________ Dec. 30, 2006_______________
Traveler's signature Date
1. Purpose and Activities: What was the main purpose of your trip? (should be same as purpose stated in your travel grant application). What specific activities took place? (please include your final schedule).
The purpose of the trip was to strengthen relations between the Minas Gerais and Colorado Chapters by working with and by assisting the Brazilian members in jointly developing a website which links both Chapters as well as the International POA website; by visiting and by meeting with staff at Hirama Escola to discuss a possible project involving digital inclusion for lower socio-economic children in the City of Cataguases, Minas Gerais; by visiting the Nutris Center to discuss a possible partnership in computer teaching; by meet with Todd Marshall of the ICBEU to discuss a possible partnership with the binational center; and by meeting with the EPIL Project Director in Diamantina to discuss a digital inclusion project.
Actual Schedule
Nov. 11 Traveled to Belize
Nov. 12-15 Worked on converting Colorado Partners’ documents from the past 6 years into web pages for future linking to main pages of a joint Minas-Colorado website.
Nov. 15-19 Attended the International Convention in Belize City.
Nov. 19-20 Traveled to Belo Horizonte
Nov. 20 Spent part of afternoon going over changes in itinerary due to non-availability of people during the originally scheduled itinerary and worked a little on the website. In the evening we had dinner with Alice Cordeiro and her boyfriend Henrique discussing the upcoming visit to Nutris and the 2006-7 Conventions
Nov. 21 Went with Acyr Salgarello to visit Hirama Escola Municipal. Met with the school’s Director Noara Resende to view school and discussed possible digital inclusion projects. In the afternoon, I went to the home of Nara Nilia Marques Noquiera to work on the website with Nara and Noara.
Nov.22 Worked on website, refining the organization (map) of the site and Portugese translations of the organizing pages. The meeting with Todd Marshall at the binational center was cancelled (he was not available during any of the days I was going to be in Belo Horizonte).
Nov.23 In the afternoon with Alice and Nara, I visited Nutris (Nucleo de Trabalho e Integracao Social http://www.amagis.com.br/nutris/) and met with the founder of Nutris Lucinda Alvarez de Oliveira Leite to discuss possible projects.
Nov. 24 Traveled to Diamantina, arriving in the afternoon. I was informed that the Director of EPIL (Escola Professional Irma Luiza) was called away to meetings in Brasilia and would not return until after I had returned to Belo Horizonte. All meetings Nov. 24-26 on my original schedule were canceled. I thus spent the time Nov. 24-26 visiting with the family of Maria Meira, viewing cultural sites and the grave of Joao Meira; and working on the website on my laptop computer.
Nov. 25-26 Some work on the website each day, refining the links and rewriting/revising.
Nov. 27 Traveled back to Belo Horizonte and attended the Partners of the Americas Chapter meeting at the home of Luzia Lisita, we made presentation of awards and the globe, discussed the 2007 convention, and demonstrated the website on my laptop.
Nov. 28 The visit to Salao do Encontro (http://www.tcartecidadania.com.br/Membros/membros_salaodoencontro.asp) had to be canceled. ( I am not sure why). I completed the website and uploaded it to the web server for approval by Noara and Nara. Left Belo Horizonte to return to the US in nthe afternoon.
Nov.29 Travel from Sao Paulo to Greeley.
2. Results/Impact:
2a. Did you accomplish the purpose of your trip? Describe the results in measurable terms. Please include names of institutions/organizations you worked with. Summarize all discussions held, lectures or workshops given, type/size of audiences.
A website was jointly developed by myself, Noara Resende, (Director of Hirama Escola Municipal Hilda Rabello Matta) and Nara Nilia Marques Noqueira, a university student. The three of us have full access to the website and can make changes to the website. The URL of the website is http://coloradominaspartners.home.comcast.net/default.html. The website has yet to be linked to the POA website. Matt Clausen is aware of our URL and will do a short training of me over the phone to link our website with the POA website.
The visit to Hirama Escola Municipal (http://www.hirama.com.br) may develop into several possible projects. Hirama students have a chess club and can play chess interactively over the internet. John Evans Middle School in Evans, Colorado, where I work, also has a chess club and access to the internet. We are going to try to set up games between the students from each school. Language should not be a barrier for this activity.
John Evans Middle School has an International Baccalaureate Program. As part of the program students are required to do a social service project. Our school district also has a warehouse full of old computer equiptment. The boyfriend of Alice Cordeiro, a Minas Gerais partner, runs a shipping company and could help in shipping the equiptment. As a project involving digital inclusion for lower socio-economic children in the City of Cataguases, Minas Gerais we will try to send our old but working computer equiptment to the students at Hirama.
We might also exchange digital copies of student art work, musical compositions, poems, social studies and science projects. Language should not be a barrier for music and art.
The visitation to Nutris, as of yet, has not lead to any possible projects. Most of their needs required financial support for construction or equiptment. It may be possible to exchange art work digitally or even videos of their theatrical performances.
Diamantina, Minas Gerais has a Sister City relationship with Greeley, Colorado. We have been working for many years trying to get an exchange going with the childrens choirs of both cities. Nothing has come of this, primarily because of the expense of doing this. However, it should be possible to exchange exhibits of student artworks between the schools of the two cities and even exchange videos of student productions and performances.
2b. What difficulties did you encounter? What lessons did you learn that might be useful for future travelers?
The airtraffic controllers
strike and re-checking baggage after customs presented problems in
traveling.
After going through immigration and customs in Sao Paulo, one must take
their
baggage from the international side of the airport to the local part
and then
stand in line at the check-in counter to recheck their bags for the
local
flight. This took us 2.5 hours to accomplish. Persons traveling to next
years
convention in Ouro Preto and traveling through Sao Paulo need to know
that the
transfer of their bags is not like we normally expect, (going through
customs
and immediately rechecking bag on the othwer side) and they should have
plenty
of time to accomplish this before getting their flight on to Belo
Horizonte.
As always when traveling in a country where one is not fluent in
the
local language, language can cause some problems and some
mis-understandings.
2c. Please describe how the host Partners chapter was involved with your visit? And what kinds
of follow-up activities are likely?
Members of the Minas chapter provided all the housing, most of the food and all transportation. They personally set up all the contacts, interactions and visitations for my project, adjusting my schedule as changes in others plans occurred.
There will be follow-up on the proposed digital inclusion projects with Hirama Eswcola Municipal and proposed exchanges of student works.
2d. What are the expected or anticipated long-term benefits of your visit to the hosting chapter?
(Specific examples are most useful)
The
website will provide access, information and communication to members
of both
chapters (and any sub-chapters) and information to any one interested
in
joining POA, and either of our chapters.
The
friendships established and the shared experiences are not measurable,
but will
certainly benefit us all in terms of understanding our cultures. The
interaction and emotional content of the experience is what will last
the
longest and of the most benefit with me. I would hope that this is true
for the
members of the host chapter as well.
3. Follow-up
3a. How do you plan to share this experience with your own Partners chapter and your community?
The experience was shared verbally and by
slideshow with members of our chapter at our December meeting as well
as
several educators from Brazil that were here on a Fulbright Sponsored
project
that attended the meeting.
I
have shared the experience with staff members of my school and the
proposed
digital inclusion projects will include others in my community.
3b. What follow-up activities do you recommend to continue building on the items carried out
during your visit?
Follow through by me on the proposed projects.
4. Please provide any other general comments/suggestions regarding your trip.
5. Are
you a member of Partners of the Americas? Yes
x
No
If you are not a member of Partners of the Americas, do you now plan to join the chapter
that sponsored your trip?
6. Please report the number of hours of volunteer time you spent on the visit, including
preparation and follow-up activities. Please log your time online by clicking on “Partners
Counts” on the Partners Website (www.partners.net), or use the attached form.
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Send to:
Partners
of the Americas
Att: Membership Services
1424
K Street, N.W., Suite 700
Washington,
D.C. 20005
(202)628-3300, Fax:
(202)628-3306
NOTE: We cannot
process claims for reimbursement
of appropriate travel related expenses, as well as visa entry or exit
tax,
unless we receive a satisfactory trip report.
2/2005