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Education Support Program

The Education Support Program (ESP) and its network partners support education change in countries in transition, combining best practice and policy to strengthen open society ideals and values. These include accountability in governance and management, equal accesses for minorities and youth considered to be at risk, sustainable approaches for improving quality in education, and the involvement of civil society. ESP emphasizes program implementation and policy development in these target areas. Standard education reform priorities that focus primarily on systems for improving quality are balanced, in ESP's approach, with learning outcomes that are a high priority for open society. Central among these are critical thinking, civil and social responsibility, multiculturalism and positive attitudes to diversity, and an awareness of “self and the other.”

Working within country contexts, ESP connects with local organizations and visionaries, aiming for an integration of local expertise with international experience to achieve appropriate strategies for education development. An important dimension of ESP's work involves furthering good practice and developing the policy and strategies to facilitate its application system-wide.

ESP is the organizational hub for a dynamic and growing network of Soros foundations, education spin-off organizations, cross-national NGOs, regional education cooperation networks, OSI-related professional networks, and independent professionals. Members of this network are committed to developing effective strategies for collaboration and capacity sharing to democratize education, formulate effective policies, promote applied and policy oriented research, and implement projects that emphasizes child-centered teaching and management in education.

ESP Areas of Activities and Programs

  • Direct support and referrals to network partners via visits, seminars, country meetings and resource sharing, and, when appropriate, consulting specialists.
  • Regional and professional networks as a cost-effective way to build and sustain capacity, share experience and ideas, and mobilize donors. Current networks include: South East Europe Education Cooperation Network, the Central Asian Education Cooperation Network, and the emerging Education Policy Centers Network and the International Research and Evaluation Network (IRENE).
  • The Roma Education Initiative (REI), a grant-giving program, offers strategic direction to country-level implementing partners in how to work most effectively towards promoting equal access to quality education for Roma children. To achieve this, REI provides technical support to all projects in areas including project design and implementation, external evaluation design, anti-bias education, policy, adult literacy, and community relations, among other topic areas. It works cooperatively with other OSI programs to advocate for quality learning opportunities in integrated settings.
  • Open Society Education Resources Online. This effort aims to reach a wide range of policymakers, educators, and service providers in education. Resources include position papers, resource links, specialist contacts, case studies, distance training courses, modules for degree programs, and other materials.
  • Resourcing Education: Fund for Innovations and Networking (RE:FINE) was established to support projects that further open society goals in education in four priority areas: accountability, equity, anti-corruption, and learning outcomes that support open society goals. These include grants for networking opportunities to promote open society goals in education in countries of the South Eastern Europe, Central Eastern Europe, Mongolia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and other countries where OSI is developing new partnerships. The fund may also provide assistance to safeguard education gains made by OSI in contexts where these are placed at risk.

Announcements

Resourcing Education: Fund for Innovations and Networking (RE:FINE) announces its 2005 Call for Proposals. The deadline for proposals submission is April 10, 2005. To see the list of proposals funded in 2004 and to access the 2005 Call for Proposals, visit the "Announcements" or "News" sections at www.osi-edu.net/esp.

Contact Information

ESP has two offices: one is in Hungary at OSI-Budapest, and the other is in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where the program is known as Open Society Education Programs - Southeast Europe (OSEP-SEE).

Budapest Office

Ljubljana Office

Director: Jana Huttova
Open Society Institute
Október 6. u. 12
H-1051 Budapest
Hungary
Tel : 36-1-327-3100
Fax: 36-1-327-3101
Email: espassistance@osi.hu
Internet: http://www.osi-edu.net/esp

Director: Terrice Bassler
OSEP SEE/ Zavod IRC
Šmartinska cesta 106
Sl-1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
Tel: 386-1-548-3770
Fax: 386-1-548-3773
Email: osep-see@zavod-irc.si
Internet: http://www.osepsee.net

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