Round Table of the joint project of the UNESCO Cluster Office, Almaty, and the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE), Moscow  
«Strengthening the Development of Distance Training Networks in Central Asia»

Preliminary Program of the Round Table

The Republican Institute for Improvement of Qualification of the Leading and Research Pedagogical Staff of Education System (RIPKSO), Almaty, Kazakhstan

March 29, 2003

Main Goals:  

• Presentation of the results of UNESCO Cluster Office, Almaty, and UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE), Moscow joint project «Strengthening the Development of Distance Training Networks in Central Asia»;
• Discussing the results, developing recommendations; 
• Discussing opportunities and ways for developing the project in future, establishing new contacts on DLNet project with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, also with Europe, Asia Countries and the US;
• Looking for possible sources of financing, in particular, opportunities for developing joint project, directed to research in technologies for Distant Education, together with The University of Georgia, US, for application to  the Starr Collaborative Research Program, IREX, DC funding that is aimed in financing of joint projects between the US institutions, and NIS institutions in information technologies and Internet;
• Making changes in joint agreement between partners in the project considering Alumni Research Association (ARA) as a new partner;
• Considering an opportunity for representatives form Tajikistan and Uzbekistan joining the project as partners in future;
• Making project proposals for years 2004-2005;
• Developing recommendations;
• Exchanging opinions on prospects for non-budget financing of the net activity in respect of ARA’s proposals on application to the Starr Collaborative Research Program of IREX/DC