September 10, 2009

MEDIA CONTACT:
Nick Massella
202-994-3087; massella@gwu.edu

PISA CONTACTS:
Suzanne Kelly-Lyall
415-602-4846; sklyall@gwu.edu
Helen Gineris
202-994 2694; pisa@gwu.edu

GW'S PARTNERSHIPS FOR INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES IN ASIA (PISA) ANNOUNCES THE WINNER OF ITS MICRO-GRANT COMPETITION TO ADDRESS ELEMENTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN VIETNAM

WASHINGTON - GW Partnerships for International Strategies in Asia (PISA) Summer Institute on Global Climate Change has announced Dr. Doan Duc Lan, Dr. Nguyen Kim Loi, Ms. Tran Thi Hong and Ms. Nguyen Hong Anh as the recipients of a micro-grant to fund a project to help their community adapt to climate change. The winning team was part of a group of 12 Vietnamese policymakers, academics and researchers who competed in teams for the grant and was awarded $7,500, provided by the Ford Foundation.

Linda Yarr, director of GW's Partnerships for International Strategies in Asia, said that the grant competition allowed participants to put the knowledge and skills gained during the summer institute into practice. "We wanted to ensure participants left the institute with the tools they needed to start being effective right away," she said. "By offering a micro-grant, we encouraged the teams to pool their expertise and creativity and to use their skills for a real-world project."

A three-member panel judged the proposals on criteria that included feasibility, cost-effectiveness, replicability and contribution to advancing social justice. The winning team's project seeks to reduce deforestation and negative health consequences to women and girls by introducing the use of a more efficient cook stove in 50 households in Ban Nhop village. The project will serve as a pilot for similar work in other villages in Vietnam's mountainous Northwest region.

PISA, which is affiliated with GW's Sigur Center for Asian Studies, has a 25 year history of partnering with institutions in Asia to enhance capacity at the national and regional levels to address emerging concerns in the Asia-Pacific region. PISA works directly with university faculty, government ministries, policymakers, research institutions and nongovernmental organizations in the broad area of international affairs.

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