About GDLN in the Americas

How we operate

Since the Global Network began, the Region’s member Centers have been key partners in decision-making about how we operate, procedures and, especially, the strategy to be following in achieving our mission. There are several ways that the “GDLN Family” collaborates:

• The Center personnel, along with the Regional Team in Washington, meet regularly by video conference, in the Coordination Meetings. These meetings, chaired by each country in turn, are a forum for advancing in Network development. During these meetings, new members are also introduced, and new contents to be offered are promoted. If your organization is collaborating to develop contents with the Regional Team, we invite you to coordinate your participation in a Coordination Meeting with us.
• Our coordination works both by emails sent through the membership list and by direct on-line chats.
• To develop our annual strategic plan, every year the representatives of the centers and the Regional team take part in an Annual Americas Workshop. During this workshop, the GDLN Americas Community reviews the work of the preceding year, analyzes challenges and opportunities to grow, defines priorities and future actions jointly, for the short, medium and long term.
• Global Network Committees: Among the most significant outcomes of the Workshops is the formation of a series of working groups, comprising the Center directors and coordinators, to follow up on those elements deemed top priorities for the Network’s growth and quality.
  

Structure and Organization

National Networks

One of the outstanding features of GDLN Americas is the extensive scope and impact that programs can achieve through national coverage. In the first phase of developing a GDLN Center in a country, a Distance Learning Center is established in a main city in partnership with a local institution. One key aspect considered in identifying the local institution is its capacity to provide the infrastructure and the technological platforms to increase the potential for national growth, under that institution’s leadership.

National GDLN networks in the Americas are managed by the local institution sponsoring the DLC. They are defined by their infrastructure and the partnerships that make it possible for the Network’s distance learning activities to be received interactively by the country’s main DLC and to be disseminated to other cities throughout the country. The purpose of national networks is to meet GDLN’s mission of impacting development, sharing knowledge and learning programs with the development community.

National networks in the Americas have been instrumental in policy-making and meeting needs on a national level. GDLN Ecuador highlights the work of national networks by providing coverage to 22 cities, including the Galapagos Islands! The role of national networks in policy-making is outstanding in the case of GDLN Brazil, where strategic alliances with national organizations are enabling Brazil’s mayors to have a dialogue forum on development policies. National networks also enable immediate responses to national needs, such as GDLN in the Dominican Republic, which focuses the impact of its national network to respond to urgent health-sector issues affecting the Dominican people. GDLN LAC's natural partnership with universities has led to the emergence of national networks based on partnerships among national universities who come together under GDLN to address development topics in their countries. Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela have implemented this model and Bolivia and Peru are currently developing similar approaches in their respective countries. In addition, Internet 2 coverage in the Americas is expected to be finalized by 2005 which will allow for real expansion, improved quality, and reduced costs.

To learn more about national GDLN networks in the Americas region, please contact the DLC in the country that you are interested in.
 

Workshops in GDLN Americas

The Annual GDLN Workshop for the Americas is used to provide a forum for the Americas affiliates to come together to (i) examine progress made during the preceding 12 months, (ii) discuss and resolve major policy questions related to the functioning of the Network in the Region and, (iii) agree on a Work Program and related roles and responsibilities for the next year, including any necessary working or technical groups.  The workshop was held in Quito in 2001, in Panama in June 2002, in Madrid in June 2003, in Chapala-Mexico in July 2004, and Lima - Peru in July 2005, and in San Jose - Costa Rica in July 2006.

As well as bringing the staff of the GDLN centers together to work on policy-related issues, the workshop provides an opportunity for the members of this learning community to re-establish social ties to their colleagues and for the host country to showcase its activities, facilities and partners.  As such, the formal working sessions are typically supplemented by social events, including an opening reception and a dinner/cultural evening.  Beginning in Panama, a “Partners Fair” has also been added, where domestic institutions can come, meet the Centers and discuss needs and establish potential working relationships.

Ecuador   -   Panama   -   Spain   -    Mexico   -    Peru    -    Costa Rica   -   Brasil