Roles and responsibilities
Head of the West Africa Division: Person in charge of education for the entire SDC. This person is also responsible for developing the SDC's Education Network.
Education Focal Point: This person’s role in the Network is to promote the exchange of experiences and individual and collaborative learning, easier access to information on what the SDC and its close partners are doing (particularly through better capitalisation of experiences and greater analysis and visibility of achievements), and better interaction between the SDC’s activities at the multilateral and bilateral levels.
Another part of this person's work (50%) is devoted to representing the SDC (in national and international entities, official positions on the theme of education, etc.) and to managing certain other issues such as Swiss contributions to Unesco, international initiatives and forums of international political dialogue.
Core members: They devote some of their time to working on the Network (in agreement with their immediate superior); they provide an intellectual contribution, supplying ideas on how to develop and operate the Network; they share their own education-related experiences along with information of general interest; they act as a link with people who deal with the theme of education in their own organisational unit (at headquarters or in the field); and they facilitate operational support for colleagues working on education issues, if necessary; and, if agreed with their immediate superior, they take on some of the tasks given to the Focal Point (e.g. representing the SDC in public).
Ordinary members: Their participation in the Network is guided by their level of interest and their responsibilities. The most active members take part in developing the Network, in the working groups, in disseminating information, in sharing their own experiences, etc. Other members are less active ("consumers"). Still, anyone working in education or a closely related field (e.g. vocational training or rural development) should assume responsibility for making sure that information on his or her activities is easily accessible.
Members who work at the headquarters attend a semi-annual meeting with core members in order to ensure the proper exchange of information and to identify issues of joint concern and potential areas of cooperation. They can also associate the Education Network with their own activities, if appropriate.
Members of the working groups or "communities of practice": They are automatically part of the Global Network. They join the working groups if they wish, and are responsible for sharing their experiences and acquired skills and for considering how they can use other people's experiences to enhance their own work. All members of a community of practice within a section or COOF are also members of the Global Network.
Finally, close partners of the SDC (such as NGOs) can join the working group corresponding to their field of activity.
