The following appeal for support seems worth your attention. As a symposium
organizer, I am personally providing support for one scholar from a country
in financial success and seeking help from a possible donor. If those
going to Amsterdam could contribute in whatever amount to Bert von Oers,
it would help to keep the meetings maximally international. Call it
"positive globalization."
mike
-----
>From: iscrat-announce@iscrat.org
Reply-To: info@iscrat.org
Status: RO
LETTER FROM THE TREASURER
Dear ISCRAT member,
As ISCRAT treasurer, I sometimes receive inquiries about the
possibilities for providing financial support to persons from
various countries (especially Russia and Cuba) to attend the
ISCRAT Congress next summer in Amsterdam. Moreover, some persons
cannot understand why there is not any money to support persons who
need support, especially now that people are paying an ISCRAT
membership fee.
Therefore, I would like to comment briefly about these matters, and
then conclude with an appeal to ISCRAT members for help with
this issue. (You are welcome to skip the comments, and simply
read the last section where the concrete appeal is made.)
First, ISCRAT never had any money. Prior to 1998 there was no
"membership" fee, no bank account, no money.
Second, the fee that you have paid since 1998 is a down payment
on your Congress fee. That is, this money will be applied as part of
your Congress fee when you register for the Congress in
Amsterdam next year.
Third, the local organizing committee for the next Congress in
Amsterdam started with a bank account of "0". They have had to
raise money from their university and other sources to be able to
do such things as produce, print, and mail the announcements that
you have received.
Fourth, the local organizing committee has been aware of and
interested in trying to support persons to attend the Congress.
They are offering a possibility of 50% reduction in the Congress fee
to persons who need support.
Fifth, the local organizing committee has been attempting to get
funds from the Dutch government for supporting Congress
attendance, as well as seeking other sources.
Sixth, the local organizing committee is composed of university
academics who, when they started organizing, did not have any
special experience or knowledge about getting funds for supporting
international Congress attendance.
Seventh, in my limited experience with international Congresses in
education and psychology, I have not seen any extensive programs
to provide financial support for persons to attend their Congresses.
In this respect, it seems admirable, given the lack of internal
ISCRAT resources, that the previous and coming ISCRAT Congresses
have actively tried to address this problem at all.
In sum, I hope the preceding comments make it clear that
(a) there are no full or part-time employees in ISCRAT to work
on these problems, (b) that all the persons involved are working
voluntarily on top of their normal professional responsibilities as
university teachers and researchers, and that (c) in short, we
can use all the help that we can get.
Therefore, it seemed like a good idea to explain about this situation
to the ISCRAT membership, and to appeal to your own knowledge and
creativity about possible funding sources. After discussing this
idea with the local organizing committee and the ISCRAT Executive
Committee, it was accepted to send the following appeal.
THE APPEAL
A. Please share your knowledge with the local organizing committee
about possible funding for persons who are likely to have difficulty
attending the ISCRAT Congress.
Two different strategies are being pursued. One strategy is to
approach large agencies (national research councils, international
organizations) that provide funding for scientific communication.
The other is to identify specific persons who need help and try
to find a specific solution for that person.
1. The "large funding agency" strategy.
It is one thing to say "World Bank" or "European Union". It is
another to be able to identify the specific office or person who
should be contacted. If you have specific knowledge and/or advice
about specific funding agencies, possibly with personal contacts, that
that are likely to support the expenses of persons from specific
countries, then please send this information to Bert van Oers.
Email: HJM.van.Oers@psy.vu.nl
2. The "single individual" strategy.
If you are able to provide support for one or more individuals
(e.g., by inviting that person to visit your institution after the
Congress, and thereby able to provide travel funds), or through your
own national agencies that support special cooperations (e.g.,
participation in a Congress symposium), then please send this
information to Bert van Oers. Email: HJM.van.Oers@psy.vu.nl
3. "Other" strategies?
Maybe you have additional ideas and/or contacts and friends who could
provide other kinds of solutions to these problems. For example, maybe
you know about programs that support doctoral students. Or you know
of some creative way to support one or more persons to attend the
Congress. Maybe you have a rich uncle, or know special, local funding
sources. Often there are special, nationally-based funds that are
designed to support cooperations between different countries. Maybe
you know about special arrangements between your country and the
Netherlands that can applied for from your country. It is clear that
the local organizing in the Netherlands cannot know about these
arrangements. Maybe you have knowledge about these sources and/or
are able to apply for them. Please send all concrete suggestions to
Bert van Oers. Email: HJM.van.Oers@psy.vu.nl
B. If you are able to help with actually making proposals or
contacting funding agencies, then please contact Bert van Oers.
Email: HJM.van.Oers@psy.vu.nl
To conclude, I hope it is clear that there are no guarantees that
these ongoing efforts will necessarily be successful. But it is
important to recognize that (a) a good-faith effort is being made,
(b) that it is a difficult problem to address in light of all the
other tasks that the local organizing committee must also handle,
and (c) that ISCRAT members should, if possible, also assume some
responsibility in contributing to addressing this problem.
Thank you for your consideration. I can say, on behalf of the local
organizing committee, that they look forward to receiving your ideas
and assistance.
Sincerely,
Seth Chaiklin, ISCRAT Treasurer
Email: seth@iscrat.org
________________________________________________________________________
Webpage: http://www.iscrat.org
Queries: info@iscrat.org
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