December 12, 2024 – Partners of the Americas (POA), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA/DOS), the U.S. Embassy in Colombia, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), announce a new 100,000 Strong in the Americas grant competition to expand innovative and inclusive exchanges between higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United States and Colombia.
100,000 Strong in the Americas (100K Strong) is a regional educational diplomacy initiative by the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs that encourages partnerships to ensure a greener, inclusive, prosperous, democratic, and climate-resilient hemisphere.
This new 100K Strong competition offers new opportunities for HEI teams from both countries to work together in designing and implementing new exchange models and training programs to provide students and teachers with skills in inclusive education, social justice, and climate action, among others.
“100K has been a powerful tool for changing the perspective of academic collaboration between the United States and Colombia; with more than 100 projects funded through 100K, Colombia is a leading country in the initiative, which has already achieved great regional impact through the participation of more than 150 Higher Education Institutions in 34 U.S. States and 20 Colombian Departments.” Francisco Palmieri, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy, Bogotá
“The transformative potential of collaboration between our institutions is immense. By bringing together educational traditions from both countries, we are laying the groundwork for an exchange of ideas and experiences that create solidarity, break down prejudices, change realities and generate hope.” Ms. Anupama Rajaraman, Mission Director, USAID in Colombia
“100K Strong in the Americas is a pioneering model, built on one of our founding pillars: partnerships. Because by working as partners and allies, academia, private sector, NGOs, and governments, we foster greater opportunities for training, exchange, sustainability, and leadership for new generations.” – John McPhail, President & CEO, Partners of the Americas
This 100K Strong grant competition will provide up to ten (10) grants of up to $50,000 each to support the implementation of exchanges in 2025-2026. Please refer to the Request for Proposals (RFP) for more details on proposal submission instructions and deadlines: www.100kstrongamericas.org/grants
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Overview on 100K Strong Initiative:
The regional educational initiative by the Department of State, 100K Strong, stimulates cross-sector collaboration among governments, industry, and academia to expand regional educational cooperation and increase access to innovative and inclusive opportunities for educational exchange and workforce training for students and teachers in the Americas. Since 2014, after 39 rounds of calls, 100K Strong has awarded 352 grants ($25,000 – $50,000 each) to 615 higher education institutions from 26 countries and 49 U.S. states, involving more than 10,000 students and teachers—and growing. The 100K Network, a virtual platform for regional educational cooperation, has attracted over 4,000 members, including 2,300 higher education institutions from the United States.
Learn more and Join: www.100KStrongAmericas.org // Follow: #100KStrongAmericas
Partners of the Americas’ mission is to connect people and organizations across and within borders to serve and change lives through lasting partnerships. These partnerships create opportunities, foster understanding, and solve real-life problems. Inspired by President Kennedy and founded in 1964, under the Alliance for Progress, Partners is a non-profit, non-partisan organization with international offices in Washington, D.C. Learn more at http://www.partners.net/