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June 2020

ADDA grads with drones
Students at the African Drone and Data Academy in Lilongwe, Malawi, showcase their drones. Photo by Shittu Dhikrullah.

ADDA graduates first class on the cusp of global pandemic

Twenty-five African youth from nine countries made history on March 18, 2020. They became the first graduates of the African Drone and Data Academy (ADDA), thanks to a joint educational effort between Virginia Tech and UNICEF that provides students with drone, data, and entrepreneurship skills.

From the Executive Director

We are pleased to share this new edition of CIRED Connect. In this edition, we focus on how COVID-19 is impacting CIRED’s projects and activities around the world and how we are responding.

4-H Clubs in Senegal make facemasks and sanitizers, help local communities during pandemic

When Senegal’s government put social distance measures in place, many professionals began working from home, start-up businesses halted their operations, and families lost income as a result of the spreading pandemic.

IPM Innovation Lab and iDE maintain, increase plant protection services during global pandemic

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, traveling or gathering in large groups has been prohibited, delaying many of the USAID IPM Innovation Lab’s planned farmer trainings, field work, and laboratory experiments.

 

Peace Corps recruitment continues online despite COVID-19 challenges

When in-person activities were cancelled at Virginia Tech, Peace Corps Recruiter Anne Patterson realized that she needed to reinvent the way she does her job.

 

Nearly 150 teachers graduate from training program in Guatemala, workshops and tours postponed

COVID-19 has impacted several activities planned in support of the Escuela Nacional Central de Agricultura (ENCA) project in Guatemala funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

 

CIRED welcomes new financial and program coordinator

The CIRED team is pleased to welcome Terri Lashley as a new financial and program coordinator.

IPM Innovation Lab welcomes new research associate

The IPM Innovation Lab welcomes its newest team member, Anamika Sharma, a research associate.

 

A periodic newsletter of the Center for International Research, Education, and Development