Instituto Henry George ... Managua, Nicaragua

NOTICIAS, July 2007

36th CE Economics Course Graduates
37th CE Course Suspended Due to Extended Power Crisis
IHG CE "Maestria" Course Peters Out; Lessons Learned
IHG Plans PR Education Campaign for the Fall
Nicaragua Faces Growing Recessionary Pressures

36th CE Economics Course Graduates

The Instituto Henry George's 36th intensive "Comprender la Economía" political economy courses, which had an attendance of 81 students, graduated 55 students on June 8th. Once again, more than 90% of the graduating students signed the IHG demonstrative petition expressing their support for a national study of the LVT solution in Nicaragua. Six graduating students have participated in volunteer activities of the IHG. Click here for complete "Comprender La Economía" Course Statistics, 2000-2007.

CE XXXVI Course Graduates, June 8, 2007.
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37th CE Course Suspended Due to Extended Power Crisis

The XXXVII CE course started well on June 18th with the highest inicial attendance, 87 students, since December 2001 (CE course IX). This course also saw the introduction of new series of the eight take-home exam questions. The course advanced in its first two weeks without problems for the first six classes, despite increasing unpredictable rationing of electricity in the Capital. On the third week of the course, the government and the privately owned electricity company announced an extended electricity rationing program of indefinite duration which programmed cuts for the hours of the CE course. After two weeks of arriving to find that there was no variation on this plan, the course was suspended because it was not possible to reschedule the hours or days of the night course due to the schedules of students, transportation, etc. The IHG hopes to finish the course in August of early September.

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IHG CE "Maestria" Course Peters Out; Lesson Learned

The IHG "Maestría" (Teacher Training) course, which was initiated in March with 34 registered students as a free open attendance course, was suspended indefinitely and effectively cancelled due to lack of consistent participation of member students. Factors leading to the lessening of attendance included: the arrival of the heavy rainy season which makes transportation less sure and more inconvenient: increased extended black outs in whole sections of the capital, again creating insecurity and inconvenience for the evening Maestría meetings; a deepening economic recession which makes people generally less outgoing and more conservative with their money and time. Although these causes are defintely off-putting, still students arrived, though in numbers which began to diminishing significantly in May and then bottomed out in June. It was also obvious that the participants, though sincerely interested in the concepts of Henry George, maintained an attitude of passive participation which hindered their advancement in the course, which was really just review and practice of the CE course following the CE teachers guide. Stuents were required to read the chapters to be studied, but in practice, few did, which made the class less instructive and less participative for them. The conclusion which the IHG has reached is that to maintain attendance of a viable group of teacher trainess, the Maestría course must be restructured to include incentives for attendance and participation. These incentives will include a registration fee and monthly fee for participation, a definite course length, the ability to receive a Maestría certificate upon satisfying definite criteria, including attendance, participation, tests and exams, practical participation in CE courses and/or workshops. The IHG will offer the new CE Maestría course again this year after graduation of the next CE course(s).

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IHG Plans PR Education Campaign for the Fall

Due to certain political, economic, and social circumstances in Nicaragua, as well as the strategic position of the IHG project, the IHG has decided to mount an effort to make contact directly with the Nicaraguan media, NGO's, political, labor union, business and religious leaders, and the public in general, to present the georgist paradigm and economic reform proposal. This effort will be coordinated, led, and supported by IHG graduate student volunteers, with technical assistance and support of the IHG project. Activities will include TV and radio interviews, newspaper articles, interviews with NGO's and political leaders as mentioned, and the formal submission of the IHG tax reform plan to the Nicaraguan National Assembly. Foreshadowing this campaign, in mid-May, the IHG Director was interviewed on a national TV program, and in mid-June, one of the IHG's strongest articles on the georgist economic reform proposal was published in the Nicaraguan national daily newspaper, El Nuevo Diario.

The IHG Director appeared for an hour-long interview on TV Channel 37 in mid-May, aired twice.

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Nicaragua Faces Growing Recessionary Pressures

Text and photo pending.

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since July 2007