Georgian Court’s partnership with Universidad Viña del Mar, “UniDos: Climate Education Initiative,” is one of six climate action exchange programs to receive a 100k Strong in the Americas award this month.
The grant competition recognizes partnerships between higher education institutions in the United States and in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Each grant-winning team, including Georgian Court, will receive $50,000 to expand climate-focused student exchange programs.
The award will support “UniDos: Climate Education Initiative,” a collaboration between Georgian Court University and Universidad Viña del Mar (UVM), which promotes climate education locally and globally. The program will begin this spring with a virtual exchange course focused on the public health effects of sea and beach pollution, air pollution, and wildfires – problems shared between the two communities. Approximately 20 GCU and UVM students will collaborate to design workshops on these topics.
This summer, following the virtual course, five students each from UVM and GCU will share what they learned with 100 youths (50 in Valparaíso, Chile and 50 in New Jersey) during a four-day Children’s Climate Camp, in which UVM and GCU students will serve as camp counselors and workshop presenters. The program will allow students with fewer global opportunities to travel internationally and set a precedent for future exchanges between the two institutions.
“I’m excited to begin this grant project with Universidad Viña del Mar in 2024 that will provide students an opportunity to participate in a fully mutual and reciprocal exchange program,” said Laura Dunn Grodewald, Director of Global Education Programs at Georgian Court. “GCU students can join this initiative by signing up for the GS300 Climate Action and Chile Exchange Program this spring.”
Grodewald attended the in-person announcement of the awards on December 12th, which took place at the U.S. Ambassador of Chile’s residence in Santiago.
“It was a pleasure working with Laura and our partners at UVM to bring the first reciprocal exchange program to GCU. I’m excited to support the team as the project unfolds in 2024,” said Stephanie Dorman, Director of Grants and Government Relations at GCU, who played a major role in the grant writing process.
“This program will be a transformative learning experience for our students as they develop their intercultural competencies and build friendships with their peers in Chile,” Grodewald added. “Students will learn how to take action and teach local youth about important issues related to the environment and the global interconnectedness of environmental issues.”
The core funding support for “UniDos: Climate Education Initiative” is through the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund and its partner, CAF: Development Bank of Latin America & the Caribbean, along with the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at U.S. Department of State and U.S. Mission-Chile, as part of the dynamic public-private sector collaboration between WHA/DOS and Partners of the Americas, working with companies, foundations, regional government entities, and academic networks in the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere to create innovative, sustainable partnerships that provide access to new models of academic exchange and training programs in the Americas. Learn more and join the Innovation Network at https://www.100kstrongamericas.org/.
You can read the award announcement in Spanish from the U.S. Embassy in Chile here: https://link.georgian.edu/3tnavoX
Learn more about Global Education Programs at Georgian Court here:
