V. INSTITUTIONS ESTABLISHED BY THE OSFL
Lithuanian Journalism Centre
Junior Achievement Lithuania
Soros International House
The Centre helps the journalists of Lithuania to improve their professional qualifications, advises media workers, arranges seminars, conferences, and courses for secondery school students planning to study journalism, it also publishes professional literature, and affords particular attention to the regional press.
During the year 1997, the Centre organized 6 conferences (4 out of them international), 8 seminars, and 3 long-term courses for future students of journalism, specialists of various professions with university degree, and journalists of the Lithuania's various ethnic communities.
Polish listeners of the radio station Znad Wilii were offered 100 broadcasts on Lithuanian history and culture and 100 lessons of Lithuania which were recorded and distributed in the form of audiocassettes. The Centre published the Encyclopaedia of Journalism, Introduction intoTelevision by Ž. Pečiulis, and Linguists Advice to Journalists by L. Laužikas and N. Linkevičienė.
The Lithuanian Centre established contacts abroad and sent 84 persons on study leaves, informed international organizations on the media situation and freedom of press in the country. On the request of European Council, UNESCO and North Centre for Journalism seminars and conferences were organized not only for Lithuanian, but also for Latvian, Estonian and Byelorussian journalists.The Centre co-operated with journalist organizations, implemented joint projects with governmental institutions: the Parliament, the Government and Ministries.
Support by the OSFL $ 80,000
The project implements in schools a curriculum of applied economics, according to which senior form students get acquainted with the main concepts of market economy, learn to model the market by computer, create educational stock companies, and get to know business people.
Teachers are trained to work with this curriculum, teaching aids are published. During the year a new set of textbooks for the curriculum was prepared and published with the general circulation of 11 000 copies. Over 4 000 pupils were studying according to this curriculum in the academic year 1997/98.
The students participated in various events: a summer camp, economics olympiad, Lithuanian and East European championships of computer market modelling over the Internet. The Lithuanian Junior Achievement organized the first fair of student companies; the junior businessmen demonstrated in it theirproducts, presented their firms, whereas an assessment committee consisting of businessmen chose the best student companies.
Support by the OSFL $ 41,250
Soros International House is a foreign languages teaching centre and a member of the world-wide International House Organization. SIH centres operate in Vilnius and in Kaunas. Here children and adults study English in general, the banking staff and civil servants attend courses of business and special English. Those who wish are able to prepare for the international Cambridge examinations (FCE, CAE, CEIBT). Oportunities are provided to study the language abroad, in other International House centres operating already in 30 countries of the world.
English language summer schools for schildren are organized annually together with foreign partners. In 1997 such a school took place for the first time in Lithuania, in Druskininkai.
The centre also assists the perfection of the professional qualifications of English teachers. Seminars for teachers of English working in educational institutions arearranged each month. The teachers are informed about the most recent methods of teaching English and fresh literature on the subject; they can share experience too. 17 such seminars were held over the year. Summer schools for the language and teaching methods take place every year, intended for non-specialist teachers of English studying at Teachers Retraining Centres. In the summer of 1997, a CTEFLA (Certificate of Teaching English as Foreign Language) course was offered for teachers with the aim of introducing to modern methods of teaching practical English.
In 1997, the centre began to to administrate the SPELT programme of the Soros foundations network (Soros Professional English Language Teaching Programme), and 5 teachers of English from the USA work in schools of Lithuania.
The OSFL support for the activities of the Teachers centre, implementation of the SPELT programme and the summer school for non-specialist teachers of English $ 35,500
A.Jakšto Str. 9, 2600 Vilnius, Lithuania, fondas@headof.osf.lt, tel. 22 16 87, fax 22
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