Oct 18, 2004

The East-West Center (EWC) in Honolulu, Hawaii is seeking participants for its 36th Summer Seminar on Population, to be held May 31-June 30, 2005 at EWC.   

In 2005, the three Summer Seminar workshop topics are:

1. Evaluating the Impact of Reproductive Health Programs (in collaboration with the MEASURE/Evaluation Project)

2. Liveable Cities in Pacific Asia: Research Methods for Policy Analysis

3. Communicating with Policymakers about Population and Health (in collaboration with The INFO project)

Please share this announcement with any of your colleagues or staff who would be good candidates for these workshops.  Applicants from outside the Asia region are welcome to apply.  Down-loadable application forms and additional information are available on the EWC website.

Brief session descriptions, and cost and application information are provided below, followed by additional information on the East-West Center and desired characteristics of
applicants.  

Questions? Please contact June Kuramoto.  

Workshop Descriptions:

1. Evaluating the Impact of Reproductive Health Programs: 
This workshop, cosponsored with the MEASURE Evaluation Project, will provide intensive training in the concepts of program evaluation and in state-of-the-art tools and techniques for evaluating program impact. The goal is to provide researchers and other professionals responsible for the evaluation of reproductive health programs with appropriate conceptual frameworks, quantitative methods, and related skills. 

2. Liveable Cities in Pacific Asia: Research Methods for Policy Analysis:
This workshop will focus on environment and environmental services at the urban scale; poverty and the environment, with a focus on urban slums; "lifeworlds," or manifestations of culture in public/civic spaces, and urban design; factors bearing on personal wellbeing, including health, education, poverty, and income distribution; economic resilience (the maintenance of viable economies for the long term); and governance and urban management (with a focus on issues of democratization, accountability, transparency, and corruption).

3. Communicating with Policymakers about Population and Health: This workshop, cosponsored with the INFO Project, aims to increase the use of population and health research findings, professional knowledge, and experience to improve policies and programs. Sessions are designed to help participants identify the policy implications of population and
health information, to understand how information can influence the policy process, and to communicate information in simple and compelling formats.


Participant Costs:

Estimated participant costs for each four-week workshop are US$5,790 with dormitory accommodation or US$6,510 with apartment accommodation. These costs include all activities in Honolulu. They do not include air travel.  Prospective applicants are advised to seek funding from their home organizations or from national or international agencies. The East-West Center can only provide tuition waivers to a very few outstanding candidates.  MEASURE/Evaluation and INFO also have some very limited funds to support costs for participants in the workshops they are co-sponsoring.  Apart from these limited sources, applicants are expected to seek their own financial support. In submitting applications, evidence that support is available should be forwarded to the East-West Center as soon as possible. Confirmation of funding is essential before documents can be sent out for visa purposes.

Application Information:

Applicants should send the completed application form and other application documents no later than 31 December, 2004 to:

36th Summer Seminar on Population
East-West Center, Population and Health Studies
1601 East-West Road, Honolulu, Hawaii 96848-1601, U.S.A.
Telephone: 1-808-944-7410 (Peter Xenos)or: 1-808-944-7267 (June Kuramoto)
Fax: 1-808-944-7490
Email: sumsem@eastwestcenter.org 

Applications sent by fax or email should be followed by an original sent by air mail. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Acceptance letters will be sent out by early February.

Applicant Qualifications:
Workshop applicants should be university graduates who are proficient in English and have training and experience in a field relevant to the topic of their workshop. Preference will be given to applicants holding appointments with universities, government agencies, or private organizations involved in population and health research or programs and
to doctoral candidates whose dissertation research is directly related to the workshop topic.  Individuals will be selected on the basis of their potential contribution to the workshop and to future professional work. 

Assessment of each applicant's potential contribution will be based on the information provided in the application form plus the required workshop statement, other materials submitted as part of the application, and evidence of relevant experience and interest. In preparing application materials, applicants should take care to address
the selection criteria that are specified in the relevant workshop description.  


Additional information about EWC:
The U.S. Congress established the East-West Center in 1960 with a mandate to "promote better relations and understanding between the United States and the nations of Asia and the Pacific through cooperative study, training, and research." The Center is a public, nonprofit institution with an international Board of Governors. Funding comes from the U.S. government, with additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, corporations, and a number of Asian and Pacific governments.

The East-West Center conducts basic and applied research, offers professional education and training, and facilitates the exchange of information between policymakers and scholars on issues of mutual concern to countries in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world. In the area of population and health, an important goal is to improve
understanding of how social, economic, cultural, political, and environmental conditions interact with health and demographic trends.

Now in its 36th year, the Summer Seminar on Population is one of the longest-established professional-development activities conducted at the East-West Center.