June 21, 2024 – Partners of the Americas, in collaboration with the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S. Department of State (WHA/DOS), the U.S. Embassy-Bogota, Grupo Energía Bogotá (GEB), Fundación Santo Domingo (FSD), and USDA: Cacao and Complementary Crops for Development (C4D) announce sixteen new 100K Strong in the Americas grant winning teams between a diversity of higher education institutions in the United States and in Colombia.
This 100K Strong in the Americas Climate/Inclusive Education (100K Strong CLIMA/IE) competition, generously supported by GEB, FSD, USDA, and the Department of State, will expand innovative higher education partnerships to increase access to inclusive, climate-focused student exchange and training programs in both countries. The 100K Strong CLIMA/IE Initiative builds on the Department of State’s collaboration with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), and other institutions as well as ensure a greener, more inclusive, democratic, and prosperous Hemisphere.
These sixteen 100K Strong CLIMA/IE grant winning teams will each receive funding between $27,000-$50,000 USD to implement climate-action focused exchange and training programs to provide hundreds of students with technical, linguistic, and intercultural skills imperative for workforce development. The following list has an overview of the 16 new 100K Strong CLIMA/IE grant-winning exchange programs between Colombia and the United States.
Colombia is currently the lead country in the signature regional education initiative to partner with U.S. higher education institutions with over 104 strong-funded partnerships between 73 HEIs in 34 U.S. states and 67 HEIs in 21 Colombian departments engaging over 2,200 students/faculty.
“Our partners are essential for strengthening academic and scientific cooperation between the United States and Colombia and promoting greater opportunities for territories and people who have traditionally not had access to international exchange…we have worked together to keep Colombia as the leading country of the initiative. With the announcement of today’s 16 winning projects, we surpass 100 projects through the regional initiative 100K Strong in the Americas!” said Chargé d’Affaires at the United States Embassy in Bogota
“At Grupo Energía Bogotá, we understand that energy transition, more than technology, requires prepared and capable individuals to tackle the challenges and opportunities it brings in Colombia. That is why we have joined the 100KCLIMA initiative, an alliance to expand bilateral education between Colombia and the United States and continue contributing to the country having the professionals who will lead the energy and territorial transformation,” said Juan Ricardo Ortega, president of Grupo Energía Bogotá.
“We are convinced that education is key to the social transformation of the country. This is why we celebrate this alliance that allows us to join efforts to mobilize knowledge management and facilitate research and educational initiatives focused on innovative solutions to the challenges Colombia faces. In this way, we will continue to promote the well-being of families and the sustainability of the country,” stated Jose Francisco Aguirre, executive director of the Santo Domingo Foundation.
“The 100K Strong program is a very important platform to stimulate the growth of diversified cacao farming systems, through the promotion of youth academic research opportunities and exchange visits to spurn innovation and knowledge-sharing on cacao and complementary crop sectors across the Americas” stated Pablo Ramírez, Chief of Party of the USDA Food for Progress -Colombian Cacao and Complementary Crop (C4D) project.
“Together, with academic, private sector, NGOs, and the governments of Colombia and the United States, we increase commitments to provide more training opportunities and exchanges for leadership of new generations of the 100K Strong in the Americas program. Working together as partners, we will create a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable future for our societies”, stated Carmen Peña, Senior Vice-President, Partners of the Americas.
Learn more and Join: www.100kstrongamericas.org
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Overview new 100K Strong Climate/Inclusive Education Exchange Programs between the United States and Colombia
Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios (Colombia)
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (U.S.)
Transfer of Knowledge and Skills to Students and Teachers to Promote Business Transition and Associativity in Sustainable Production in Colombia and the U.S.
“The Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley will develop an innovative cultural, knowledge and technology exchange program to support businesses and associations in generating environmentally sustainable processes to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. By connecting problem solvers (entrepreneurs and association leaders) and problem solvers (students), this exchange program offers students from multiple disciplines the possibility of solving important problems such as climate change and its effect on businesses and associations through research.”
Universidad EAFIT (Colombia)
Fayetteville State University (U.S.)
Service-Learning to Cultivate Sustainability: A US-Colombia University Exchange Program
“This project aims to advance global sustainability by bridging the gap between academic knowledge and practical skills through Service-Learning initiatives. Collaborating institutions, Fayetteville State University and Universidad EAFIT, with support from NGOs Low Carbon City and Sustainable Sandhills, engage students in short-term action-oriented solutions to community challenges. The interdisciplinary project involves faculty exchange, thematic preparation, and two Service-Learning initiatives in Colombia and the USA, addressing Sustainable Energy, Waste Management, and Urban Biodiversity.”
Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje SENA – Centro para la Formación Cafetera Manizales (Colombia)
East Carolina University (U.S.)
Fostering knowledge and international exchange experiences related to water resources and renewable energy applied to adaptation and mitigation in climate change with sustainability strategies
“This proposal seeks to carry out an exchange of students and professors to expand their knowledge, strengthen their academic experiences, and identify new options for personal and professional growth in climate change including virtual meetings, face-to-face meetings, seminars, conversational clubs, among others; The program will help students to broaden their knowledge to international horizons, while teachers will have the opportunity to train foreign students, which will enhance educational networks between countries, always seeking sustainability over time.”
Universidad del Norte (Colombia)
The Pennsylvania State University (U.S.)
Pennsylvania-Colombia Green Horizon Initiative: US-Colombia Sustainable Energy Education Partnership
The goal of this program is to build a sustainable education and research partnership between The Pennsylvania State University and Universidad Del Norte in the thematic area of renewable energy engineering. A new model of inclusive student/faculty exchange will merge existing renewable courses at the two institutes and promote international student teaming to solve a climate and energy related problem. A complementary climate action project will be conducted to identify viable options for renewable energy sources in climate-change affected communities of the Bocas de Ceniza Sector – Cienaga de Mallorquín in Barranquilla, Colombia.
Universidad Autónoma de Occidente (Colombia)
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) (U.S.)
Communicating Just Rural Transitions in the Americas
“In this project, faculty and students from both institutions will collaborate in the project “Enabling a democratic energy transition in Colombia through collaborations between community and academia” in partnership with women cacao growers’ associations from Jamundí, Colombia. Additionally, a student and faculty exchange will allow for the development of a teaching and research agenda between both institutions based on common interests and problems around just energy transitions that will enable the access of funds needed for continuing the exchange and collaboration involving students and faculty from both institutions.”
Universidad Católica de Colombia (Colombia)
University of Texas at Arlington (U.S.)
Improving Media Literacy to Combat Climate Change: Utilizing Data to Counter Misinformation
“This proposal aims to address the critical issue of climate change misinformation by leveraging data-driven multimedia content and cross-cultural collaboration, through a partnership between the Sociolegal Research Center at UCC, the Department of Communication at UTA, the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies of Colombia, and the Weather Channel en Español. The meteorological content will enable students to demonstrate these phenomena while simultaneously providing an opportunity for the enhancement of their research and multicultural communication capabilities.”
Universidad de La Sabana (Colombia)
Universidad Militar Nueva Granada (Colombia)
University of Texas at San Antonio (U.S.)
Building Solutions: An Experiential Learning Exchange on Water and Climate Change in Local Communities
“This project will establish a partnership between the Universidad de La Sabana, the Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, and the University of Texas at San Antonio with the goal of training a group of future professionals capable of addressing complex environmental problems under the pressures of climate change in global contexts. The project establishes an exchange program focused on developing skills to identify and diagnose natural resource problems associated with water conservation and community practices through i) face-to-face conversations with farmers and ii) comparison of the Colombian and US contexts, which is a novel intercultural practice.”
Universidad de La Salle (Colombia)
Universidad Internacional del Trópico Americano (Colombia)
University of California, Davis (U.S.)
Diversifying the Cacao Landscape: Knowledge and Technology Transfer for Climate Action and Agroecology to Contribute to the Food System in Colombia – 2024
“Universidad de La Salle, University of California Davis, and Universidad Internacional del Trópico Americano aim to develop community initiatives to address the challenges of climate change and food insecurity of small-scale cocoa farmers in Colombia, through agroecological redesign, student mobility, and local climate action. The program engages students and faculty members to consolidate knowledge and hone interdisciplinary and intercultural skills essential to overcome research barriers.”
Universidad de Manizales (Colombia)
University of Wisconsin-Madison (U.S.)
Agro waste processing for comercial purposes through collaborative design of by-products
“Universidad de Manizales and the University of Wisconsin-Madison structured a collaborative education exchange program focusing on virtual and in-person activities for students. Students participating in the exchange program will work on the development of commercial products and the development of marketing and commercial strategies to be applied according to the goals and possibilities the students see in the U.S. and Colombia.”
Universidad de Manizales (Colombia)
California State University, Northridge (U.S.)
Geospatial infraestructure (GIS and web-base) for sustainable management of cocoa plantations and associated crops under climate change
“This project will create a new operating model for collaborative work, through Research Blended Programmes (RBPs) in the form of online/in person meetings, guest presentations, workshops and field visits. Faculty will mentor students in applied research and create a pipeline for students to build global interaction skills and competences to develop innovative solutions to agricultural challenges, contributing to the creation of sustainable agricultural systems in cocoa.”
Universidad EIA (Colombia)
University of California, Los Angeles (U.S.)
Fostering Renewable Energy Communities: A Student-led, Project-based Collaborative Program between EIA University and UCLA
“This proposal seeks to strengthen cooperation in research and education between Colombia and the United States, especially in the context of the growing interest in community energy schemes in both countries. The UCLA and EIA teams, through this cooperative project, will work together to share experiences and learn from the unique circumstances that promote or hinder community energy projects in each country.”
Universidad Icesi (Colombia) + Purdue University (U.S.)
Universidad EAFIT (Colombia) + Universidad de Ibagué (Colombia)
Value chain development of bioinputs and their techno-economic analysis (TEA) on harvesting and cultivation to support circularity in Colombian cocoa small farmers (COCOA-TEA)
“This program will serve as an opportunity to promote multilateral exchange of students/faculty between the U.S. Colombia, to support a Climate Action Project (CAP) focused on avoiding the environmental impact of agrochemicals while implementing sustainable techniques to improve cacao farming yields, and to contribute to Cacao crop disease treatment while training small farmers to support an improvement on their living income.”
Universidad Icesi (Colombia)
University of Florida (U.S.)
Studying Eco-friendly Efficacy in Diverse Stages (SEEDS) of Chili Pepper Value Chain
“This project articulates the innovation of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support the development of agricultural chains that are resilient and sustainable to climate change, in this case, the increasingly relevant chili pepper value chain. In addition, it aims to enrich underrepresented students in a comprehensive way: in linguistic and intercultural soft skills as well as in hard skills such as Applied AI.”
Universidad Nacional de Colombia – Sede Bogotá (Colombia)
University of California, Davis (U.S.)
Cacao On Capable Options for Common Agriculture Problems (COCOA)
“Cacao On Capable Options for Common Agriculture problems (COCOA) is a program made up of the National University of Colombia (UNAL) and the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), focused on finding solutions to problems linked to the cocoa value chain and the adoption of novel agricultural technologies. With a particular focus on cocoa as an emblematic crop, the program integrates virtual and in-person mobilities, allowing students and professionals to explore the challenges of sustainable agriculture focusing on crucial topics such as food security, climate change, and sustainable agricultural practices.”
Universidad Santo Tomás Villavicencio (Colombia)
University of Texas at El Paso (U.S.)
Forestry – Water and Climate Change Study Abroad in the Orinoquia Piedmont for the mitigation of Climate Change (O-WACC)
“This program between USTA Villavicencio and UTEP will allow the sharing of knowledge in both ways through the exchange of students and scientific staff. US students will learn from one of the most biodiversity regions in South America and collaborate in conservation and restoration work and the Colombian participants will learn new techniques in the field of mitigation of climate change through artificial intelligence to evaluate the impact of the water sources and forestry cover.”
Universidad Industrial de Santander (Colombia)
Universidad de la Sabana (Colombia)
University of Delaware (U.S.)
US-Colombia Partnerships for Forest Health Sensing and Renewable Energy
“The proposed between the University of Delaware, Universidad Industrial de Santander, and the Universidad de La Sabana will focus on building a collaborative research and exchange program on renewable energy, climate, and forest-health monitoring. Students will conduct research and training in these areas and participate in the exchange to the partner country.”
Overview of the Regional 100,000 Strong in the Americas Education Initiative
The 100,000 Strong in the Americas (100K Strong) Initiative harnesses the power of education to expand opportunity, economic prosperity, and workforce development. The 100K Strong Initiative catalyzes inter-regional collaboration between the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassies, and Partners of the Americas, working with leaders in public, private, and academic sectors to expand innovative, sustainable education cooperation and increase access to inclusive educational exchange and training programs for students and faculty throughout the Americas.
As of December 2023, the 100,000 Strong Initiative has awarded 321 grants ($25,000-$50,000 each) to 585 higher education institutions (HEIs) in 6 countries and 49 U.S. states and engaging over 10,000 students and faculty – and counting. Currently, over 4,500 members have joined the 100K Network, including faculty and administrators from more than 2,300 U.S. universities and colleges.
Learn more and Join: www.100kstrongamericas.org
Follow: #100KStrongAmericas
The mission of Partners of the Americas is to connect people and organizations across and within borders to serve and change lives through lasting partnerships. These partnerships create opportunity, foster understanding, and solve real-life problems. Inspired by President Kennedy and founded in 1964, under the Alliance for Progress, Partners is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with international offices in Washington, D.C. Learn more at www.partners.net or via Twitter @partnersamerica.
Press Contact: marrazola@partners.net