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 |
Director: Terrice Bassler |