Opportunities for Internship at the Eportuguêse Network
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Opportunities for internship at the ePORTUGUÊSe network Open programme throughout the year 1. Background Portuguese is the 7th most spoken language in the world, the 3 rd most spoken language in the western hemisphere, and the most spoken language in the southern hemisphere according to the Ethnologue ( http://www.ethnologue.com ). However, it is not an UN official language. For the past several years, health professionals from the Portuguese-speaking developing countries have continually expressed their need for improved access to health information and knowledge in their own language. During the Global Forum for Health Research held in Mexico City in November 2004, WHO begun to discuss multilingualism and development of language networks to be consistent with the ICT expansion all over the world. In April 2005, the ePORTUGUÊSe programme was created to generate an alliance of institutions in the Portuguese-speaking WHO Member States (Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Principe and Timor-Leste) to disseminate information, exchange knowledge and contribute to the support Human Resources for health in these countries and in their own language. In January 2010, WHO Director General, Dr. Margaret Chan signed an agreement with the Executive Secretary of the Community of Portuguese speaking countries (CPLP) to use the ePORTUGUÊSe platform to promote and strengthen technical collaboration among these countries. The ePORTUGUÊSe programme is comprised of a coordinator at HQ and focal points in WHO Country Offices in Portuguese-speaking countries. Furthermore, it has liaison officers in all eight Ministries of health. The main objectives of the ePORTUGUÊSe are: • Development and further expansion of the National Virtual Health Library (VHL) created to facilitate online access to a wealth of health information; • Facilitate and promote eLearning opportunities for health professionals from the eight Portuguese speaking countries; • Produce and deliver a Portuguese language version of the Blue Trunk Library (BTL), to rural and distant areas to help health professionals to access information in their own language; • Maintain a Collaborative Space, BLOG, Facebook, Twitter and Discussion Group entirely in Portuguese; • Promote and disseminate access to HINARI platform in Portuguese. This is a free or low cost initiative that helps researchers in developing countries; • Promote visibility and support to local knowledge in the Portuguese speaking- countries through different means of communication; • Strengthen the South-South collaboration; • Facilitate integration among other WHO Departments that are working with the Portuguese-speaking countries; • Facilitate integration among countries. 2. Internship The program provides opportunities for interns to learn about the World Health Organization and the necessary skills required to work at a National and International level. Interns will learn about the scope and nature of decision-making and the necessary communication to manage such a network. It is open to undergraduate and graduate students from an accredited school, fluent in Portuguese and English. The internship is for a duration of a minimum of 6 weeks up to 6 months. The intern will experience an active role in the management of this network and will be part of a team under the supervision of the ePORTUGUÊSe Coordinator. The work required is: • Undertaking research in Portuguese in any particular subject area • Participating in on-going departmental projects, when necessary • Contributing to successful implementation of the ePORTUGUÊSe platform • Contributing to successful dissemination of the ePORTUGUÊSe platform through social media tools (facebook, twitter, Blog and Collaborative Space) • Reviewing literature and web in relevant health matter • Actively participate in the discussion group and maintenance of HIFA-pt • Assisting in any necessary translation from English into Portuguese and Portuguese into English It is expected that interns will work independently, have experience in the use of social media for the advancement of programmes, will produce results and will finish tasks. Interns will have the opportunity to attend several seminars, lectures and presentations provided by WHO. 3. Resources WHO does not provide financial support to individuals qualifying for the internship or scholar programmes except accident insurance. Regina Ungerer ePORTUGUÊSe Coordinator Knowledge Management and Sharing Department (KMS) Innovation Information Evidence and Research Cluster (IER) .