Education

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EEUU: Money for tutoring, a deal to ease transfers, new textbooks: What’s new in education

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EEUU/November 11, 2017/By: Joy Resmovits/Source: http://www.latimes.com

In and around Los Angeles:

  • Los Angeles will receive an $11.2-million grant from the U.S. Department of Education for tutoring and summer school.
  • The L.A. Community College District signed an agreement with Loyola Marymount University to encourage more transfers and curricular continuity.

In California:

  • The state’s public colleges are trying to fix the transfer process.
  • Hundreds of people spoke out before the Board of Education voted to approve new textbooks to satisfy the state’s history social science guidelines.

Nationwide:

  • Private colleges are expected to outpace public universities in tuition revenue growth for the first time in a decade.
  • After some pushback, schools in Spokane, Wash., will not use Planned Parenthood’s sex education curriculum.

Source:

http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-essential-education-updates-southern-l-a-s-tutoring-grant-easing-1510327577-htmlstory.html

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Northern Ireland: EU Peace funding for shared education

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Northern Ireland/November 11, 2017/Source: http://www.bbc.com

Shared education projects on both sides of the Irish border are to receive over 35m euro of European Union (EU) funding.

The money is being provided by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) through the EU Peace IV programme.

The 35.3m euro funding aims to enable 350 schools to take part in shared education on a cross-border basis.

Over 2,000 teachers will also be trained to facilitate shared education for pupils.

Shared education is not the same as integrated education.

In integrated education, schools enrol approximately equal numbers of Catholic and Protestant children as well as children from other religious and cultural backgrounds.

About 7% of children in Northern Ireland are educated at 65 integrated schools.

Shared education projects can range from large-scale campuses like Strule in Omagh, where six schools will eventually be sited, to pupils in separate schools engaging in joint classes or activities.

It is activity of this kind that the SEUPB funding will promote.

The future management of the Irish border is one of three main priorities in UK-EU Brexit talksImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionShared education projects on both sides of the border will benefit from the funding

The permanent secretary of the Department of Education Derek Baker said that the funding would be targeted at schools that had not previously engaged in shared education.

«This significant investment will enable schools that have not previously engaged in shared education to do so, allowing many more children and young people to learn together on a cross-community and cross-border basis,» he said.

The Republic of Ireland’s Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton TD said the funding would give pupils the chance to learn from communities other than their own.

«The experience gained during participation in ‘shared education’ will ensure our students have a better understanding of communities on both sides of the border,» he said.

SEUPB is a north-south body that oversees the management of EU Peace IV and Interreg funding.

Since 1995 the border counties of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have benefited from millions of pounds of EU funding through the funding.

The Peace IV funding stream is due to run until 2020.

Source:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-41932918

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Estados Unidos: NC superintendent slams ‘disturbing’ spending at state education agency

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Carolina del Norte / 08 de noviembre de 2017 / Por: Kelly Hinchcliffe / Fuente: http://www.wral.com/

State Superintendent Mark Johnson listened last week as State Board of Education members bemoaned the millions of dollars in recent budget cuts to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The cuts have harmed staff and students, one board member explained, and he urged Johnson to join them in reaching out to state lawmakers to say «enough is enough.»

But Johnson declined. Instead, he said in his 11 months as superintendent he has found excessive spending at the state education agency and said he hopes an upcoming $1 million audit he has commissioned will root out any other potential waste at the agency.

«In my time as state superintendent, I have found a lot of things that I’ve found disturbing about this department,» Johnson said. «I will not go into the long list of them, but one little item that I can point out is our SurveyMonkey accounts.»

Johnson explained that the agency uses the online tool to send out surveys to principals, teachers and others to get feedback on important topics. Instead of the agency sharing one account, Johnson said he discovered it was paying for nine accounts. SurveyMonkey plans cost anywhere from $0 for a basic account to nearly $1,200 a year for a premier plan. DPI’s accounts varied in level.

«The really great professional staff (at DPI) pointed that out to me, and that’s something we’re taking care of,» Johnson said.

The communications department’s account alone was $800 to $900 a year, according to newly hired communications director Drew Elliot. He said the agency has stopped anyone from renewing an annually billed account and has begun consolidating them. In addition to the nine SurveyMonkey accounts, the North Carolina Virtual Public School has its own contract with Qualtrics for surveys, Elliot said.

WRAL News asked the superintendent to provide other examples of spending that he has found disturbing since he took office in January. Lindsey Wakely, the superintendent’s senior policy advisor and chief legal counsel, said they did not have a pre-existing document tracking or detailing any examples, but she agreed to put together a list.

«Below are some examples of DPI’s past spending practices and costs, while facing budget cuts, that the Superintendent and his staff have identified and are seeking to address moving forward,» Wakely wrote.

In addition to the nine SurveyMonkey accounts, the superintendent’s office identified the following items:

  • Extensive conference-related costs, such as:
    • Paying excess rates for conference speakers
    • Large sums for meals and room rentals
    • $25,000 to sponsor World View Symposium held by UNC
  • $2,500 to sponsor one episode of a single-market television program.
  • Overhead charges paid to hire personnel through intergovernmental contracts rather than directly hiring personnel, which would cost DPI less.
  • Reversion of over $15 million in Excellent Public Schools Act funds that could have been used to support early childhood literacy.

In an emailed statement, Johnson said «the General Assembly is frustrated with inefficiencies at DPI under the State Board’s leadership, and I understand that. To avoid future cuts, we must work on building trust that we are spending our available dollars wisely – keeping our educators and students as the top priority.»

The board and other education leaders «must be held accountable for the taxpayer dollars entrusted to them,» he wrote. Johnson said the agency did not give educators access to almost $8 million in funds provided in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 for early childhood literacy efforts.

«That’s a total of over $15 million that went unused to support the education of our youngest students,» Johnson wrote. «When I was made aware that the same thing was about to happen earlier this year, I worked with the General Assembly to salvage $5 million to procure digital devices for literacy support under NC Read to Achieve. Moving forward, I am working with DPI literacy and early learning staff to ensure that funding provided by the General Assembly for Read to Achieve is fully utilized to support the critical goal of our children becoming lifelong readers.»

In an interview with WRAL News after last week’s meeting, State Board of Education Chairman Bill Cobey praised the superintendent’s efforts to find wasteful spending at the agency.

«Well, I’m glad to hear that,» Cobey said, adding that he was not aware of what other waste the superintendent had found.

After WRAL News provided Cobey with the superintendent’s list of spending issues, the chairman emailed a statement, saying he «applaud(s) the efficient use of appropriated funds and the elimination of any wasteful spending.»

«As the administrative head of DPI, it is important that the Superintendent and his staff continuously focus on the best utilization of all appropriated funds for the benefit of the public school children of NC,» Cobey wrote.

Lawmakers cut the education agency’s operating funds by 6.2 percent – $3.2 million – this year and 13.9 percent – $7.3 million – next year. State board members have urged the superintendent to speak out against the cuts in recent months, but he has repeatedly refused, saying he prefers to talk with lawmakers privately and does not think it’s productive «to try to negotiate through the media.»

Last month, state board member Greg Alcorn asked the superintendent to address «the elephant in the room» – the budget cuts – during his monthly superintendent’s message so the board could have clarity about where he stands. He declined, saying he wants his monthly report to focus on good things happening in schools.

Last week, state board member Eric Davis tried a different approach and told the superintendent of a recent conversation he had with an unnamed education leader in the General Assembly.

«I brought up these cuts and said, ‘Is there anything we can do to avoid this?’ And this education leader said if the state board and the state superintendent came together to the General Assembly and said, ‘Enough is enough. We can’t serve our students and absorb another cut,’ that would have great weight in the General Assembly,» Davis said. «So I would suggest we take this education leader up on his advice.»

«I would love to talk to that education leader as well,» Johnson responded. «There are many, many different education leaders in the General Assembly that have vastly different opinions. I know that because I’ve been working very closely with all of them. And so, yes, that is a conversation we can have. I’d like to talk to who you talked to.»

Davis tried again.

«Sure. I think this particular advice was keen on that we are together in that request, that we are unified in advocating for the department, that the department can’t absorb any more cuts. It’s important for us to publicly say that,» Davis said.

«I look forward to discussing that with the education leader you discussed it with,» Johnson responded.

«So are we in agreement on avoiding future cuts?» Davis asked.

The superintendent stared straight ahead, not acknowledging Davis’ question, as others in the room laughed nervously at the awkward silence.

A few minutes later, Davis circled back to the discussion, this time urging all of his colleagues to work together to fight budget cuts.

«Before we can confront what we need to do in terms of equity for our students, we have to know who we have on the team that can deliver whatever our message is. We’ll never make progress on equity with a constantly diminishing staff worried about their own jobs, unable to deliver the kinds of (services) needed,» he said. «I hope my colleagues will join me in saying enough is enough, we cannot absorb any more cuts.»

Johnson quickly responded, telling Davis and the rest of the board about the «disturbing» spending he had discovered at the agency and said he will be relying on the upcoming $1 million outside audit to find any other potential waste.

«The operational audit might say no more cuts. It might say here are places where we can be more efficient and drive the work better and combine departments and be better, and that might also mean no cuts,» Johnson said. «But I am very much looking forward to the operational review and having that information to guide these conversations and to tell us what is working and what is not.»

Johnson said he hopes the audit will be ready in April. In the meantime, board member Becky Taylor said she wants everyone to be on the same page.

«I think the audit’s going to be great, because it’s going to provide efficiencies, which all agencies need,» she said. «But I think we need to send the message that we are unified in supporting our DPI staff in delivering the services they need to deliver and really stop the bleeding.»

Fuente noticia: http://www.wral.com/nc-superintendent-slams-disturbing-spending-at-state-education-agency/17089497/

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Kenia: Inside Kenya’s most guarded KCPE exam

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Kenia / 08 de noviembre de 2017 / Por: OUMA WANZALA / Fuente: http://www.nation.co.ke/

A high-level meeting on the eve of last week’s Standard Eight examinations was behind the smooth delivery of the tests in election hotspots in parts of the country, the Sunday Nation has established.

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i convened a meeting of top security and education chiefs last Monday to work out strategies to ensure the examinations were not disrupted.

The meeting followed growing fears that – given the violent scenes witnessed in Kibera, Kawangware, Mathare and parts of Nyanza – the examination administration would be disrupted.

TEAMS

At the meeting chaired by Dr Matiang’i, officials formed community examination committees to inspire proper involvement and ownership of the exercise.

At least 25 people, representing community stakeholders in each of the communities, were appointed to be members to the examination teams.

The committees’ tasks included throwing a ring around the schools to ensure all examination materials reached schools.

Groups represented at the committees included; chiefs and their assistants, village elders, parents and opinion leaders within the communities.

For the three days the examination was held, the groups conducted civic education and peace building around the examination centres, a move largely believed to have softened the areas, many of which had heightened tensions as a result of elections.

Kibera had experienced disturbances that led to destruction of a school over the fresh presidential election which was held on October 26. It was a similar case in Mathare where tension was high.

VIOLENCE

In Kawangware, the violence caused the death of six people after rival groups allied to Jubilee and Nasa clashed and the hostility was evident when, on Monday afternoon during rehearsals at Gatina Primary School, Dr Matiang’i’s convoy was attacked by rowdy youths.

The rowdy youths also held hostage several education officials and journalists who were later rescued by the police.

A total of 1,003,556 candidates sat the examination in 28,566 centres.

They started with English Language and Composition on the first day, Science, Kiswahili Lugha and Kiswahili Insha on the second day and concluded with Social Studies and CRE on Thursday.

At the national level, President Uhuru Kenyatta mobilised his entire Cabinet to spread out to various parts of the country to join the relevant ministries to administer the examinations.

President Kenyatta, who had promised that his government would spend a few days to focus on the national examinations, made a surprise visit to Westlands Primary School to personally monitor the opening of the examination papers.

RESUME DUTY

On their part, Cabinet Secretaries Dr Matiang’i (Education), Mr Willy Bett (Agriculture), Mr Charles Keter (Energy), Ms Phylis Kandie (Labour), Ms Sicily Kariuki (Public Service), Dr Cleopa Maillu (Health), Mr Dan Kazungu (Mining) and Mr Joe Mucheru (ICT) were all dispatched to various counties to monitor the exercise.

At the Ministry of Education, Dr Matiang’i advised all his top and middle-level officers who were on leave to resume duty to help in the monitoring.

The ministry has formed a multi-sectoral examination monitoring group comprising officials from the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec), Teachers Service Commission, Kenya Institute of Special Education and Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development among others who are deployed throughout the country during the examinations process.

The team is headed by Knec chairman George Magoha, who is also in charge of releasing official communication to the public.

All the top bosses, including TSC chief executive Nancy Macharia, KICD director Julius Jwan and Knec’s Mercy Karogo moved to various counties for the exercise.

All of the officials provided feedback on the examinations from time to time.
MONITORING

Some of the activities of the examination monitoring teams would be reported directly to a command and control centre at the Knec offices from where necessary action would be taken.

Such monitoring was the reason an attempted case of impersonation in Baringo County was immediately detected and action taken.

“We are happy that the suspect was arrested immediately,” Prof Magoha said in response to the attempted impersonation case. He said: “It is proof that our systems are working very well to detect any anomalies.”

There were also cases of examinations starting late in Tana River, Wajir and Mandera due to heavy rains and, where necessary, the examination materials were airlifted.

Prof Magoha maintained that the KCPE and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations, to start tomorrow, will be credible and no paper would be leaked.

SYSTEMS

He said all the multi-sectoral agencies had helped to step up the systems of monitoring the examinations.

“It is clear, from the way we have planned this year, that we have benefited more from the fact that the Education and Interior dockets were under one command, making it easier to co-ordinate,” Prof Magoha said.

At least four high-level meetings were held between education and security agencies ahead of the exams, the first ever to be held in an atmosphere of political tension caused by a disputed presidential election.

Dr Matiang’i said the KCSE examinations that will start countrywide tomorrow will be administered with the same zeal.

“We are determined to execute the exam processes with great precision with a focus to deliver credible results,” he said.

Fuente noticia: http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Kenya-most-guarded-KCSE-exam/1056-4173624-q1obnnz/index.html

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STEMming The Flow: What British Parents Value In Education

Pluma Invitada

By: Christopher Cederskog

Managing Director Europe for Wonder Workshop, creator of award-winning Dash & Dot robots

There are so many useless acronyms in the world that anyone would be forgiven for not knowing the meaning of most of them, but there is one important acronym that has been gaining momentum in global education in recent years: STEM. Despite the fact that the principle is now root and branch of the British educational system, 60% of parents don’t actually know what STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) stands for or means.

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are now essentially what the ‘three Rs’ used to be. Reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic are as important now as they ever were, but while they used to be the pinnacle of achievement, they’re now the bare minimum; what employers, and wider society, are now looking for is STEM subjects. But, while more than two thirds (68%) of parents think that proficiency in tech is as necessary a life skill as budgeting or learning to cook, few of them seem to know what this means.

Traditionally, STEM have been viewed as masculine subjects. With the rare exception, girls ‘didn’t do’ science or engineering, technology, or even maths, despite the fact that in my school – and presumably very many others – some of the top performing students in these classes were girls. In primary school and high school, it was OK to shine, but once you got to tertiary education the engagement dropped off. Consequently, by 2014, only 12.8% of the STEM related workforce in the UK were female. And that figure hasn’t really increased in the last three years. Why? Not because of lack of inherent ability in females, but because of skewed perceptions: if society doesn’t deem these sectors as viable for women to work in, how incredibly difficult must it be for an individual to succeed, even in these times of perceived gender equality? And if your immediate role model doesn’t know enough about STEM to encourage, then it becomes more difficult still. As they say ‘You can’t be what you can’t see.’

 In recent research conducted by Wonder Workshop, it was revealed that despite so many parents paying lip-service to the importance of a technical education, when asked to value learning to code versus learning a new language, a massive 63.7% of parents of both boys and girls opted in favour of the language. The ironic thing being that coding is actually a language in and of itself, and one that is used globally, in practically every sector.

Of course, coding isn’t the only part of STEM, or even of a technical education – it’s just one of my personal areas of interest, which is why that figure caught my eye. But when you broaden the questions to take in technology as a whole, the main concern seems to be focussed on the amount of screen time a child should, or should not have, rather than what they’re doing with that time. Broaden the questions again, and ask about home engagement with all STEM-related toys, and only just over half (57.6%) of parents believed that STEM toys should be used outside of the classroom, while 42% said that their kids have STEM toys but they (the parents) sometimes don’t understand how to use them.

There are so many different decisions to be made when bringing up a child and so many priorities to balance, but if the UK is to succeed in holding its place among the world leaders, to forge a place among the technical elite, then children need to be given the opportunity to learn – and value – the skills that are being viewed as internationally important.

From doctors and vets to programmers and research scientists, STEM subjects open up a vast array of careers. And even if kids don’t go onto a career that uses STEM directly, the disciplines teach them problem solving and logic, and you can’t get far in life without those.

There are so many useless acronyms in the world that anyone would be forgiven for not knowing the meaning of most of them, but perhaps it’s time for parents to get to the root of STEM.

Christopher Cederskog is Managing Director Europe of Wonder Workshop

Source:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/christopher-cederskog/stemming-the-flow-what-br_b_18455452.html

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India: Viewing Education Through a Lens Broadens Perspective

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India/November 07, 2017/By MILES LIPTON/Source: http://mainepublic.org

Traveling abroad always forces me to respect my access to education in a much more profound manner. Recently, I took a trip to Ladakh, India, a three-day journey from just about anywhere in the U.S., to volunteer at the Siddhartha School, a private institution that values a strong academic curriculum and a culture of giving and compassion in India.

The school, which encompasses children from early childhood through grade 10, was started by the Buddhist monk, Khen Rinpoche Lobsang Tsetan, in his hometown of Stok, Ladakh, to give area children “access to a rich, thoroughly modern education that is in harmony with their Himalayan heritage and their cultural traditions.”

Siddhartha School itself lays in a shallow valley 11,000 feet above sea level, nestled tight in a ring of massive snow-capped Himalayan mountains, high on the Tibetan plateau. The surrounding land is parched and dusty except for the oases of farmland and trees created by thorough irrigation.

There were no other schools accessible to the children of this mountainous region in 1995 when Khen Rinpoche founded the school. Rinpoche took it upon himself to establish the Siddhartha School, turning down an invitation in 2000 from the Dalai Lama to become the Abbot of Tashi Lhumpo Monastery to instead work with local children.

Only 20 students enrolled in the school’s inaugural year, but as time went on and the school grew, Khen Rinpoche started a sponsorship program to help those who were unable to pay for tuition, transportation, or both. Sponsors enable children to attend the school for approximately $360 per year. Some students attend the school and live in the hostel for $400 annually. There are now 400 students at the Siddhartha School and half of them are sponsored.

During my two week stay in Ladakh, I interviewed students who needed financial help. In addition, I interviewed students that already had sponsors so that they could thank them. For the students that had sponsors,  I noticed that, despite their shyness and the language barrier, they wanted to make it clear that nothing meant more to them than being supported. One of the children our family sponsors wrote in the school newspaper that the day he was sponsored was the happiest day of his life.

When I was filming and taking photos for the sponsorship program, I found that almost every student, when asked what he or she enjoyed doing most, said approximately the same four things. The students all loved school, their teachers, reading in the newly constructed and furnished library, and playing soccer. I was humbled by how fondly they all spoke of getting the opportunity to learn and attend school.

When I was taking photographs of the students, I was most challenged by getting them to become comfortable enough with my camera to ignore it. The students had certainly seen cameras before, however, they were definitely not accustomed to seeing a young white male with one. Regardless, they were always glad to smile.

One afternoon I headed down to the boys’ hostel with an American friend who was also volunteering at the school. He had been visiting the school for six years in a row and was very close to all the boys in the hostel. We decided to create a video about where the boys were from and how they came to the Siddhartha School. The video never really took shape, however the project provided me with the opportunity to make friends with all of the boys living in the hostel. They taught me some rudimentary phrases in Ladakhi that became incredibly useful throughout the following weeks. Once the proverbial ice had been broken, I found it much easier to take photos that more accurately represented them and their school.

For me, the relationships that I established while photographing these children were much more rewarding than the photos themselves. In my limited experience, the story from which the photograph emerges is always what sets the photo apart. To me, photography is a medium through which I can explain things that I couldn’t with words.

For a photograph to be meaningful, it must evoke a feeling or establish a connection; the observer should be able to identify the story behind what made the image possible. The photographer should be able to write a comprehensive back story about the picture. How photographs make the viewer feel is very important for capturing their attention and drawing them into the story behind the image.

This step is akin to the first sentence of a paper because it must convince the viewer that it’s worth reading. The story of the photo, and how the photographer tells it, is far more important than the photo itself, even if the story is very simple. To hold the interest of the viewer for longer than the amount of time it would take to see a photo and then scroll past it on social media is as much an art as photography itself.

The most moving part of my trip was the connection I felt as I photographed the students, along with just getting to be so far from home. If schools could create programs that allowed students to travel abroad for shorter periods of time, more young people could experience the world as I have, learning from the stories they find along their journey.

Miles Lipton is a junior at Waynflete School.

Source:

http://mainepublic.org/post/viewing-education-through-lens-broadens-perspective#stream/0

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TUI Care Foundation and Plan International: Empowering Dominican youth through education

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Dominican Republic/November 07, 2017/By: Vicky Karantzavelou/Source: https://www.traveldailynews.com

TUI Academy in the Dominican Republic offers career path in tourism industry for young people. Safety network: Children empowered to protect themselves from (re)victimisation of commercial sexual exploitation.

TUI Care Foundation and Plan International team up to bring education and employment opportunities in tourism to young people in the Dominican Republic. Together, the two organisations launched the TUI Academy. Through this initiative 150 disadvantaged girls and boys will receive, throughout a period of three years, a one-year vocational training course preparing them for work in the field of tourism. Furthermore, a top-up educational programme will be offered which, beyond providing employment skills, will also include education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender related issues, work safety and financial literacy. This way TUI Academy will help young people to protect themselves from exploitation and make better informed decisions about their future life.

The training includes an internship at Blue Diamond resorts where, among other things, they will be coached by experienced practitioners in their personal progression and development. Upon successful completion of the training, students receive a certification from INFOTEP –the official Dominican institute for vocational training. To support their first steps in the tourism industry, TUI Academy graduates are given working contracts of at least 6 months in duration.

Through TUI Academy, 150 adolescents in 3 communities in Punta Cana will be socially and economically empowered. The first group of 50 students currently undertaking TUI Academy’s educational programme are between 17 and 24 years old and more than half of them are girls. The latter are particularly vulnerable to sex exploitation – currently the teenage pregnancy rate in Dominican Republic is at 21 per cent, doubling the world average – reason why this program aims to have enrolled approximately 70 per cent female participants by the end of it. Day-care services at are at the students disposal and a big focus is being put in those communities surrounding the hotels where they would do their internships. Both measures are key to support participants and hinder abandonment rates.

Jeremy Ellis, Member of the Board of Trustees of TUI Care Foundation, says: “TUI Care Foundation is proud of his long-lasting partnership with Plan International. Together, we can open up new perspectives for young women and men in the Dominican Republic and combat multifaceted and complex issues such as exploitation and unemployment. Prevention and education are key in order to create opportunities for the citizens of tomorrow, and our TUI Academies offer the right environment for this to take place. They contribute substantially to a sustainable development of destinations and by that to empower local communities.”   

Missing education and the lack of employment opportunities for young people drive many of them to the informal sector. Desperately looking for income opportunities some of them end up in the sex industry and find themselves in highly unsafe and dangerous situations. A comprehensive educational and vocational programme as offered at TUI Academy can be their chance for a way out of poverty, unemployment and further. The educational program is linked to the initiative “Down to Zero”, a broader programme financed by the Dutch Ministry of foreign affairs which focuses on combating the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in touristic destinations. The initiative follows a holistic approach targeting regulations and law enforcement to the strengthening of local NGOs. Its backbone is the training of “Agents of Change”: Child victims and children at risk are enabled to protect themselves from (re)victimisation of commercial sexual exploitation by identifying and reporting cases. They also are engaged in campaigning and decision making, while educating their peers in the community. This gives not only a voice to those unheard but a safety network in which they can rely and use to help each other while preventing new cases. The same approach was tested by Plan International and TUI Care Foundation in the north of Brazil from 2010 to 2014.

Monique van’t Hek, CEO of Plan International Netherlands, explained: “Plan International Netherlands has a long time, intensive and excellent relationship with the TUI Care Foundation, related to the combat of commercial sexual exploitation of children, and the social, economic and personal empowerment of adolescents and youth at risk of commercial sexual exploitation. The TUI Academy in the Dominican Republic is a perfect example of our partnership, by offering 150 adolescents a vocational training, combined with an internship and a 6 months job guarantee at one of TUI/s Blue Diamond Resorts: the resorts need good, qualified and motivated staff and the students will become socially and economically empowered, able to protect themselves from commercial sexual exploitation and have access to decent work.”

Source:

TUI Care Foundation and Plan International: Empowering Dominican youth through education

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