A signing ceremony at a SCIV meeting in Washington DC. From the left to right: Dr. H.K. Bahaa'El Din, Minister of Education, Dr. Sallama Shaker; Asst. Minister of State, Evironmental Affairs Agency; Brian Atwood, then Chief Admin, USAID; Ambassador Sally Shelton Colby, then Director, Global Bureau Program, USAID.

Making Exchanges Happen
SCIV not only launches activities but also facilitates the exchange of informa-tion and experience. During a SCIV meeting in Washington D.C. in early 1999, for example, the Director of Workforce Development for Goodwill Industries International traced the history of school-to-work initiatives in the United States, noting factors both favorable and unfavorable to their success. He also analyzed the current skill sets required by U.S. business in entry level workers, especially in the areas of mathematics, computers and problem solving, and stressed the need for school-to-work programs to address them. In another presentation, Children’s Television Workshop (CTW) provided SCIV members with details about its production of an Egyptian Sesame Street series to foster early childhood learning through mass media. Also, reporting on the need to reinvigorate vocational education, an Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education outlined the challenges and strategies used to get employers interested in workforce development and to get teachers out of the classroom and into the workplace.