| MatribhumiNepal |
Posted
on 04-Jul-02 12:19 PM
Friends, while journalist of MatribhumiNepal (MN) is busy in bringing “Episode II of Interview with Future Prime Minister (FPM) of Nepal”, MN group wants to introduce to you a noble volunteer program strongly recommended by our FPM. TOKTEN plays a big role in our FPM’s ‘economic growth’ plan for Nepal. So, we thought we would bring this information to you as a prelude to the longer interview.
Before we forget please make a note that if you go to Nepal as a TOKTEN consultant your travel to and from your country of residence is paid and you are given around $128.00 per day (for Kathmandu, other cities are slightly less) towards your expenditure (may have increased now). You can go to Nepal for a period of 2 to 12 weeks, in your lifetime. Also, important to note there is no set budget so as many of us should go. Also this budget comes from UN directly and is not part of set UN budget to Nepal. That means you are not draining any other development programs in Nepal.
We recommend that when you go to Nepal make a good use of your time and work hard to make an impact on the project you are assigned. And when you come back please spread the news and make an effort to inspire others to participate. Some of the members of MN group have served as TOKTEN consultant in the past and they say it has been lifetime experience and a great source of satisfaction.
So, let us present TOKTEN formally: (Disclaimer – all these information are gathered directly from the websites listed at the end)
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As you know some of the world's best skilled professionals are born in developing countries. Frequently, people like us choose to settle abroad permanently, so our countries of origin can derive no benefit from our expertise, a typical “brain drain”.
So what is TOKTEN really and where it fits?
TOKTEN stands for Transfer of Knowledge Through Expatriate Nationals, which is a brainchild of UNDP. The TOKTEN program was initiated in 1977 to compensate for the ill effects of the "brain drain" syndrome we talked earlier. Throughout its existence, TOKTEN has proven to be a cost-effective and innovative modality to transfer knowledge to over 30 developing countries in a wide spectrum of fields. The global TOKTEN program is under the overall management of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) based in Bonn, Germany.
Within its framework, qualified expatriate professionals like many of us who contribute in this forum so much can return to our beloved country for short periods of time (2 to 12 weeks) to share the skills we have gained during our residence in developed countries. As a TOKTEN consultant we can perform tasks that might otherwise be performed by international consultants. TOKTEN consultants volunteer their services, often motivated by a desire to play a role in the development process of our motherland.
Imagine, China has already enjoyed the services of more than 2000 of its nationals.
Even Nepal has enjoyed the services of at least 40 nationals after it was launched in February 1991.
To be considered under the program, a Nepali expatriate professional:
A) Should have completed at least a Master's degree with an internationally recognized university or educational institution.
B) S/he should have had at least eight years of full time work experience of which at least five years were at a senior technical level. UNDP maintains a roster of such outstanding Nepali expatriate professionals. Besides having wider international experience, Nepali expatriate professionals are considered to have the added advantage of speaking the local language and sharing the same cultural values with personnel in the understanding and ease in the work environment.
Programs served by Nepalese TOKTEN consultants were in various fields: Environmental Planning, Urban Policy and Planning, Biotechnology, Plastic Re-constructive Surgery, Psychiatry, Anaestheology, Animal Science and Genetics, Health Services Delivery Planning, Financial Management, and Computer Science.
WHO ARE ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS IN NEPAL?
i) Government Institutions
ii) Private Sector Enterprise and Associations
iii) Public Sector Enterprises
iv) Local NGO's
v) Academic, Training and Research Institutions
vi) UNDP-assisted program
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If you want to learn more about this program visit UN site:
http://www.unvolunteers.org/volunteers/options/abroad/tokten.htm
More information from Nepalese site:
http://www.undp.org.np/programme/tokten/
Also, there are wealth of information from other country’s TOKTEN website also.
Lebanon http://www.undp.org.lb/tokten/
Palestine:Through the TOKTEN Palestinian Programme, UNDP/PAPP
http://www.papp.undp.org/governance/projects/
Pakistan: http://www.rpi.edu/dept/union/paksa/www/html/pakistan/TOKTEN.html
Vietnam: http://www.tokten-vn.org.vn/
Good luck,
Jai Nepal
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| Logical Sense |
Posted
on 11-Jul-02 08:05 PM
TOKTEN seems for the very experienced expatriates?
Not really. It depends on the requirements by the qualified organizations of the home country.
So, please don’t get discouraged by reading a list of rigorous requirements to serve as a TOKTEN consultant, but take a practical approach.
This is my wisdom for prospective TOKTEN consultants:
BEFORE,
a) Stay in touch with the organizations in Nepal of your expertise and start contributing right away by actively participating in the area you want to volunteer on.
b) Ask your organization of choice to do the leg works for you with the UN office in Kathmandu.
c) Be patient, things move very slow even in UN. It took exactly two years of planning before I could do my first trip.
d) You can humbly request to spread your stay in chunks if you cannot volunteer for 12 weeks in a stretch (most of us can afford 4 weeks at a stretch)
DURING,
a) Be humble, and obey the law of the land. You will be surprised to find lots of equally qualified intelligent people who are eager to help you and learn from you.
b) Do justice and finish your project you are assigned to.
AFTER,
a) Keep in touch with the organization for next trip
b) Share with us your experience
c) Spread the news and encourage others to participate
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