Climate change threatens end of trail for Niger's nomadic herders

Ahead of the annual migration of nomadic Gujjars and Bakerwal families this month, authorities in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir today said over two dozen schools would move with them to ensure proper educational facilities to students.

A total of 25 schools having an enrolment of 801 students - 410 boys and 391 girls - will move with the migratory population.

"These schools have been provided 45 teachers for running the schools in higher reaches during the annual migration to higher reaches in Kashmir, an official spokesman said.

He said district development commissioner, Rajouri, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary finalised the plan at a meeting of senior officers from various departments and heads of migratory schools along with staff.

The annual migration of nomadic Gujjars and Bakerwal families is beginning later this month.

The spokesman said another 41 schools for tribal population would remain stationary which will cater to 1,451 students including 802 boy students and 651 girl students where 95 teachers have been posted.

Mr Choudhary directed that books and uniform be provided to the students before migration.&nbsp

It was decided in the meeting that apart from educational aids, the department will also provide sports equipment and first aid kits for each migratory school.&nbsp

A comprehensive plan for self-defence training was also discussed and finalised. The students are also being provided scholarship by the Tribal Affairs Department, the spokesman said.

He said the Chief Education Officer was directed to regularly monitor attendance in migratory schools during the period and the heads of schools were instructed to hold mandatory parent-teacher meetings twice a month during the period of migration.&nbsp

A special squad would check the attendance. Record and pictures of such meetings and classes will have to be shared online, the spokesman said.

He said Mr Choudhary directed that all girl students would be provided with special education kits this year and scholarship to meritorious students. He asked the departments to lay special focus on skill development and to organise courses for these students which would be monitored by his office.

The schools migrating to Drass, Kargil, Ganderbal, Anantnag, Gurez, Budgam, Kangan, Dachigham and Sukhnai would be provided with gadgets, stationery, tents, ration and other requirements, the spokesman said.&nbsp

He said other issues related to ration, training, examination, awards to best performers and ICDS support were also discussed in the meeting.

A total of 25 schools having an enrolment of 801 students - 410 boys and 391 girls - will move with the migratory population.

Ahead of the annual migration of nomadic Gujjars and Bakerwal families this month, authorities in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir today said over two dozen schools would move with them to ensure proper educational facilities to students. A total of 25 schools having an enrolment of 801 students - 410 boys and 391 girls - will move with the migratory population. "These schools have been provided 45 teachers for running the schools in higher reaches during the annual migration to higher reaches in Kashmir, an official spokesman said. He said district development commissioner, Rajouri, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary finalised the plan at a meeting of senior officers from various departments and heads of migratory schools along with staff. The annual migration of nomadic Gujjars and Bakerwal families is beginning later this month. The spokesman said another 41 schools for tribal population would remain stationary which will cater to 1,451 students including 802 boy students and 651 girl students where 95 teachers have been posted. Mr Choudhary directed that books and uniform be provided to the students before migration. It was decided in the meeting that apart from educational aids, the department will also provide sports equipment and first aid kits for each migratory school. A comprehensive plan for self-defence training was also discussed and finalised. The students are also being provided scholarship by the Tribal Affairs Department, the spokesman said. He said the Chief Education Officer was directed to regularly monitor attendance in migratory schools during the period and the heads of schools were instructed to hold mandatory parent-teacher meetings twice a month during the period of migration. A special squad would check the attendance. Record and pictures of such meetings and classes will have to be shared online, the spokesman said. He said Mr Choudhary directed that all girl students would be provided with special education kits this year and scholarship to meritorious students. He asked the departments to lay special focus on skill development and to organise courses for these students which would be monitored by his office. The schools migrating to Drass, Kargil, Ganderbal, Anantnag, Gurez, Budgam, Kangan, Dachigham and Sukhnai would be provided with gadgets, stationery, tents, ration and other requirements, the spokesman said. He said other issues related to ration, training, examination, awards to best performers and ICDS support were also discussed in the meeting.

25 mobile schools to migrate with nomads in Jammu and Kashmir

Upwardly-mobile, tech-savvy young professionals from across the globe are swapping their briefcases and brogues for backpacks and sneakers, setting themselves up as digital nomads who can operate from wherever their laptops can go. 
 
Jobbatical and Teleport, two recent tech start-ups, promise to take the guesswork out of digital job hunting on a global scale. 
 
Both hail from tiny tech titan Estonia and are part of a crop of cutting-edge online sites catering to digital nomads, typically young males who work remotely and move around regions like Southeast Asia every few months. 
 
Their creators insist the start-ups have the potential to shake things up on the global job market, similar to how Estonians previously transformed global communications with Skype and digital international money transfers via Transferwise. 
 
Tallinn-based entrepreneur Karoli Hindriks said she launched Jobbatical two years ago to fill the growing gaps she noticed in global recruiting. 
 
With employment offers from Greece, to Thailand and Costa Rica among others, it takes just a few clicks of the mouse for product or account managers, programmers and other tech professionals to land a dream job, whether programming in Malaysia&#39;s tropical paradise of Penang or managing an adventure travel operation in Bali. 
 
Jobbatical targets &quot;adventurous tech, business, and creative professionals with over five years of working experience,&quot; Hindriks said at the Latitude59 technology conference in Estonia&#39;s capital Tallinn. 
 
She points to &quot;a generational mindset shift&quot; as key to her client base of 70,000 unique users each month across 150 countries. 
 
&quot;The millennial&#39;s view of success isn&#39;t necessarily a house, a well-paying job and a picket fence,&quot; she said. 
 
&quot;There&#39;s a huge shift towards defining success as working in terms of things that one truly believes in, and appreciating experiences over material possessions.&quot; 
 
New technologies, less expensive international travel and easier communications mean that moving around to work is &quot;becoming smoother and cheaper than ever&quot;, she added. 
 
Most Jobbatical offers involve positions that, like sabbaticals, last around 12 months, creating a revolving client base. 
 
The company takes a &quot;success&quot; fee of five per cent of the annual salary upon hiring. 
 
Surf more than just the internet 
 
Vicente Gracia, a much-travelled 28-year-old business strategist from Chile, has been surfing more than just the internet since he began using Jobbatical. 
 
Dissatisfied with the terms he was being offered by South American companies, Gracia used it to find a job based in Bali. 
 
&quot;New generations are looking for more than just a paycheck,&quot; Gracia said via Skype. 
 
A keen surfer, he now enjoys riding the waves on a Bali beach every morning during a break in his commute to work. 
 
&quot;For me, being able to prioritise my career and a healthy lifestyle is crucial.&quot; 
 
Insisting that Jobbatical is unique, Hindriks shuns comparisons to online job sites like Monster, insisting that &quot;it&#39;s like comparing Craigslist to Airbnb&quot;. 
 
Describing Jobbatical as a &quot;matchmaker for companies&quot;, Hindriks insists that short-term &quot;jobbaticals&quot; encourage professionals to choose countries off the beaten path - like her own Estonia - that they may not have considered were the positions permanent. 
 
&quot;If you look at the reality, there are no permanent jobs any more, so in that sense we&#39;re bringing honesty to the conversation,&quot; she said. 
 
Peace of mind 
 
Teleport meanwhile takes stock of the personal preferences and expectations of digital job-seekers and then suggests ideal places for them to live and work. 
 
Teleport &quot;scouts&quot;, or local experts, are just a click away to iron out any wrinkles. For a modest fee, they can help with everything from visas to finding the right apartment or the nearest vegan restaurant. 
 
A veteran tech entrepreneur who headed up Skype&#39;s Estonia operations from 2005-12, Teleport CEO Sten Tamkivi insisted his startup goes further than competitors like NomadList, which essentially works like a traditional travel guide. 
 
Tamkivi said that aside from calculating ideal locations based on personal preferences and its &quot;scouts&quot;, its &quot;flock&quot; service also locates the nearest co-working spaces. 
 
Anthony Lapenna, a Frenchman working in New Zealand, is one happy Teleport user. 
 
The service meant he could keep his job, but change hemispheres, shifting from Paris to Auckland, New Zealand, where he continues his role as a software engineer. 
 
&quot;I wanted to go to an English-speaking country in order to improve my English, plus I was kind of sick of the big city of Paris,&quot; he said via email. 
 
&quot;New Zealand is located at the world&#39;s end, which is pretty exciting. I also had a curiosity about the landscape, because I&#39;m fond of hiking.&quot; 
 
&quot;I&#39;ll probably move again, but not before I&#39;ve explored as much of New Zealand as I can.&quot; 
 
And Lapenna is not alone. As Google predicts the world&#39;s online population will double to five billion by 2020, digital nomads are likely to be a growing tribe. 
 
(AFP)

Tech start-ups from Estonia are catering to a growing number of young, laptop-carrying professionals who travel and work remotely

Upwardly-mobile, tech-savvy young professionals from across the globe are swapping their briefcases and brogues for backpacks and sneakers, setting themselves up as digital nomads who can operate from wherever their laptops can go. Jobbatical and Teleport, two recent tech start-ups, promise to take the guesswork out of digital job hunting on a global scale. Both hail from tiny tech titan Estonia and are part of a crop of cutting-edge online sites catering to digital nomads, typically young males who work remotely and move around regions like Southeast Asia every few months. Their creators insist the start-ups have the potential to shake things up on the global job market, similar to how Estonians previously transformed global communications with Skype and digital international money transfers via Transferwise. Tallinn-based entrepreneur Karoli Hindriks said she launched Jobbatical two years ago to fill the growing gaps she noticed in global recruiting. With employment offers from Greece, to Thailand and Costa Rica among others, it takes just a few clicks of the mouse for product or account managers, programmers and other tech professionals to land a dream job, whether programming in Malaysia's tropical paradise of Penang or managing an adventure travel operation in Bali. Jobbatical targets "adventurous tech, business, and creative professionals with over five years of working experience," Hindriks said at the Latitude59 technology conference in Estonia's capital Tallinn. She points to "a generational mindset shift" as key to her client base of 70,000 unique users each month across 150 countries. "The millennial's view of success isn't necessarily a house, a well-paying job and a picket fence," she said. "There's a huge shift towards defining success as working in terms of things that one truly believes in, and appreciating experiences over material possessions." New technologies, less expensive international travel and easier communications mean that moving around to work is "becoming smoother and cheaper than ever", she added. Most Jobbatical offers involve positions that, like sabbaticals, last around 12 months, creating a revolving client base. The company takes a "success" fee of five per cent of the annual salary upon hiring. Surf more than just the internet Vicente Gracia, a much-travelled 28-year-old business strategist from Chile, has been surfing more than just the internet since he began using Jobbatical. Dissatisfied with the terms he was being offered by South American companies, Gracia used it to find a job based in Bali. "New generations are looking for more than just a paycheck," Gracia said via Skype. A keen surfer, he now enjoys riding the waves on a Bali beach every morning during a break in his commute to work. "For me, being able to prioritise my career and a healthy lifestyle is crucial." Insisting that Jobbatical is unique, Hindriks shuns comparisons to online job sites like Monster, insisting that "it's like comparing Craigslist to Airbnb". Describing Jobbatical as a "matchmaker for companies", Hindriks insists that short-term "jobbaticals" encourage professionals to choose countries off the beaten path - like her own Estonia - that they may not have considered were the positions permanent. "If you look at the reality, there are no permanent jobs any more, so in that sense we're bringing honesty to the conversation," she said. Peace of mind Teleport meanwhile takes stock of the personal preferences and expectations of digital job-seekers and then suggests ideal places for them to live and work. Teleport "scouts", or local experts, are just a click away to iron out any wrinkles. For a modest fee, they can help with everything from visas to finding the right apartment or the nearest vegan restaurant. A veteran tech entrepreneur who headed up Skype's Estonia operations from 2005-12, Teleport CEO Sten Tamkivi insisted his startup goes further than competitors like NomadList, which essentially works like a traditional travel guide. Tamkivi said that aside from calculating ideal locations based on personal preferences and its "scouts", its "flock" service also locates the nearest co-working spaces. Anthony Lapenna, a Frenchman working in New Zealand, is one happy Teleport user. The service meant he could keep his job, but change hemispheres, shifting from Paris to Auckland, New Zealand, where he continues his role as a software engineer. "I wanted to go to an English-speaking country in order to improve my English, plus I was kind of sick of the big city of Paris," he said via email. "New Zealand is located at the world's end, which is pretty exciting. I also had a curiosity about the landscape, because I'm fond of hiking." "I'll probably move again, but not before I've explored as much of New Zealand as I can." And Lapenna is not alone. As Google predicts the world's online population will double to five billion by 2020, digital nomads are likely to be a growing tribe. (AFP)

Backpacking digital nomads land dream jobs on the go

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