UN CYBERSCHOOLBUS SELECTED AS FINALIST FOR ERICSSON INTERNET COMMUNITY AWARD (ERICA) FROM INTERNATIONAL FIELD OF 1,400
Press Release
PI/1138
UN CYBERSCHOOLBUS SELECTED AS FINALIST FOR ERICSSON INTERNET COMMUNITY AWARD (ERICA) FROM INTERNATIONAL FIELD OF 1,400
19990512 The United Nations Department of Public Information is pleased to announce that the United Nations CyberSchoolBus (www.un.org/cyberschoolbus), the online component of the Department's Global Teaching and Learning Project, has been selected as a finalist for the Ericsson Internet Community Award (ERICA) programme. Selected from among pool of 1,400 organizations, the finalists were announced today, as part of the final stage of competition for the $250,000 grant.The ERICA is the first international awards programme designed to help non-profit organizations realize the power of the Internet. Sponsored by the ERICA Non-Profit Advisory Council, part of Ericsson, Inc., the voice and data communications company, the programme is seeking new and creative ideas for technology applications from non-profit organizations that take advantage of the community-building power of the Internet.
The United Nations CyberSchoolBus was created in 1996 as the online education component of the Global Teaching and Learning Project, whose mission is to promote education about international issues. The Global Teaching and Learning Project produces high quality teaching materials and activities designed for educational use, at the primary, intermediate and secondary school levels. The vision of this Project is to provide exceptional educational resources, both online and in print, to students growing up in a world undergoing increased globalization.
The United Nations CyberSchoolBus captures the growing potential of the Internet as an educational tool and provides an effective medium for the dissemination of information and resources about international affairs, as well as bringing together diverse communities of students and educators from around the world. Over 80,000 schools from over 100 countries regularly use the United Nations CyberSchoolBus. Within the CyberSchoolBus site, there are a number of activities and projects that teach students about global issues in an interactive, engaging and fun way.
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The ERICA finalists and the organizations they represent are:
Circuit Foundation -- Sleepy Hollow, New York, United States Chicago Panel on School Policy -- Chicago, Illinois, United States The CyberSchoolBus of the United Nations South Florida Regional Planning Council -- Hollywood, Florida, United States The Link Counselling Center -- Atlanta, Georgia, United States Foundation of Occupational Development -- Madras, India National Library for the Blind -- Stockport, United Kingdom City of Hope National Medical Center -- Duarte, California, United States SIMA-INAINE Instituto Autonomo de Investigaciones Ecológicas -- Mexico, D.F. Medical Training Worldwide -- Novato, California, United States New York Cares, Inc. -- New York, United States SmartGrrls -- Austin, Texas, United States Bike Action September -- Sydney, Australia Kids HealthLINK -- San Francisco, California, United States Bar-Ilan University Programme in Applied Gerontology -- Ramat Gan, Israel Pennsylvania Resources Council -- Newton Square, Pennsylvania, United States Secretariat of the Pacific Community -- Noumea, New Caledonia SOS-Barnbyar -- Stockholm, Sweden Motivation Charitable Trust -- Bristol, United Kingdom Rural Coalition/Coalicíon Rural -- Washington, D.C., United States
The ERICA judges will make their choices at the ERICA awards ceremony in New York City on 3 June.
Contact: Tina Choi (choit@un.org); United Nations Global Teaching and Learning Project, One UN Plaza, Room DC1-552, New York, NY 10017; telephone: (212) 963-1400; fax: (212) 963-1381.
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