The Icelandic National Parks Training Program
American-Scandinavian Foundation / Alcoa Professional Development Program
The Icelandic National Parks Training Program is designed to develop the capacity of Icelanders working on the development, management, and conservation of Iceland’s national parks—both park staff and employees of partner organizations. Given Alcoa-Iceland’s significant financial contribution to Iceland’s parks, the suggested capacity-building will help Icelanders gain the skills and peer network support required to create and implement conservation and development plans, and to manage organizations and initiatives. The program is being funded by Alcoa Foundation, through grants to the American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) and Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The US National Park Service Office of International Affairs and the Association of Partners for Public Lands are providing additional guidance and support.
Program
Admission to the program will be granted competitively, based on qualifications of the applicants and the significance/merit of the program to the applicant’s professional development. The selections of the professional development Fellows will be made by an ASF-designated selection committee, with final approval by the Board of the ASF. The program will provide a stipend for airfare between Iceland and the USA, ground transportation in the USA, housing and meals. All program/conference fees will be paid directly by the ASF. Fellows are expected to make their own travel arrangements between Iceland and the US.
Two training sessions will be offered, the first in Fall 2012 and the second in Spring 2013, with each lasting 15-20 days. All instruction will be in English. These sessions are not identical. Please review the summary information below, and please indicate on your application which session you prefer to attend. Seven people will be selected to attend each session; no one may attend both sessions.
Fall 2012
This session will begin in the USA on Wednesday, October 30, 2012, and conclude in the USA on Saturday, November 17, 2012. Travel dates to USA (Dulles Airport, Washington, DC) will be no later than Tuesday, October 30, and return to Iceland will be no earlier than the evening of November 17, (arrival in Iceland on November 18), bringing total trip length to 20 days. Program activities will take place in Washington, DC, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. Initial training sessions will focus on park management, working with partners, visitor center store operations, tourism promotion, and education of school children and tourists (including visitor safety and search and rescue issues). Field trips throughout the training program will allow both group and one-on-one interaction with park staff and partners in the USA; field trip destinations may include the Appalachian Trail, Shenandoah National Park, Harpers Ferry National Historic Site, Historic Williamsburg, and other locations in and around Washington, DC. This training session will conclude with attendance at the annual conference of the National Association for Interpretation in Hampton, Virginia; this conference focuses on education and interpretation programs, and each Icelander will choose which short courses and field trips to attend at the NAI conference. Overall, the Fall 2012 program will have more emphasis on tourism and education issues than the Spring 2013 workshop, and it will last 4 days longer.
Spring 2013
This session will begin in the USA on Monday, March 4, 2013, and conclude in the USA on Saturday, March 16, 2013. Travel dates to USA (Seattle, WA) will be no later than Sunday, March 3, and return to Iceland will be no earlier than the evening of Saturday, March 16, (arrival in Iceland March 17), bringing total trip length to 15 days. Program activities will take place in the states of Washington and Oregon. Initial training sessions will focus on park management and working with partners. Next the group will attend the annual conference of the Association of Partners for Public Lands in Portland, Oregon; this conference focuses on a wide variety of public land and public land partner issues, including partnerships, organizational development, fundraising, education and outreach, and visitor center stores and product development. Each Icelander will be able to select which short courses and field trips they want to attend. Field trips after the APPL conference and throughout the two-week Spring 2013 training program will allow both group and one-on-one interaction with park staff and partners in the USA; field trip destinations may include Olympic National Park, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Rainier National Park. Overall, this session is shorter in duration than the Fall 2012 session, and it will have more content related to parks working in partnership with non-governmental organizations.
Application
Please submit the below items via email to cfritscher@amscan.org by May 31, 2012. Decisions will be announced by July 1, 2012.
- Icelandic National Parks Training Application
- Curriculum Vitae
For more information regarding the American-Scandinavian Foundation / Alcoa Professional Development Program, please send your enquiry to cfritscher@amscan.org