Programs & Special Initiatives
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and respond appropriately to situations of violence, and c) promoting leadership and empowerment of women as agents in their communities to articulate and coordinate the care of gender-based violence victims. In 2011 the program hosted awareness workshops, dialogue among key actors, and art and music competitions. It successfully managed to reach thousands of people— including women, municipal, judicial, and indigenous authorities, youth, and the public—who work together in networks to prevent gender-based violence. Partners and the local implementing organization, the CONSTRUIR Foundation, have worked with the support of four NGO partners in the departments of La Paz, Cochabamba, Oruro, and Tarija. Those organizations, and women empowered through the program, were able to form regional Violence Prevention Networks and are successfully advocating with municipal governments for increased funding and training for the organizations that serve domestic violence survivors.
American Fellows
Sponsored by: U.S. Department of State In 2011, the American Fellows Program sponsored 31 Fellows from 20 countries. They came from 30 different home organizations to work in 29 different host organizations. The program has provided mid-level professionals with the opportunity to not only make a difference in their career but in their home community as well. Fellows’ expertise ranged from a venture capitalist in Uruguay who evaluated opportunities for growth of management activities in Minnesota to environmentalists in St. Lucia who worked on creating a “white paper” report on air pollution. American Fellows alumni were given a unique opportunity
to reengage in their home community with the Small Community Project Grants. A total of 11 project grants were approved during the 2011 program in thematic areas such as agriculture, youth involvement, and entrepreneurship. One specific project, titled “Seeds of Life”, brought together students in Bolivia in an after-school program by teaching youth life skills through methods like building seed beds and planting. The American Fellows Program fosters long-term, international linkages between the public and private sectors of the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean through the exchange of methods, techniques, and expertise between professionals and their organizations. The program offers Fellows a unique opportunity to gain handson experience, establish valuable institutional and professional relationships, and expand their knowledge through 4-8 week fellowships in a host organization in a partnering country. Since 2003, Partners has worked with 240 Fellows from 26 countries, 34 U.S. States, and 313 host and home organizations through the American Fellows Program.
Legislative Fellows
Sponsored by: U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs The Legislative Fellows Program bridges the gap between civil society and government. It creates an international exchange among professional leaders with a focus on democracy and good governance. Fellows are selected based upon their expertise in the following areas: accountability, transparency, citizen advocacy, and citizen participation. Partners of the Americas began working on the Legislative Fellows program in 2011 and Fellows started travelling in 2012.
Climate Change Fellows
Sponsored by: U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Partners of the Americas’ Climate Change Fellows Program builds on decades of sustained programs that connect people, institutions, and communities to serve and to change lives across the hemisphere. Throughout 2011, 43 professionals from the United States and Colombia representing 30 different organizations across five sectors—private, academic, media, government, and non-profit—participated in fellowships that harnessed the power of citizen diplomacy and linked it to long-term engagement around climate change issues that affect multiple communities. Partners’ program fostered integration, mutual understanding, and continuity through four fellowship classes. Each class consisted of 10-11 Fellows who traveled either to the U.S. or Colombia for a three- to eight- week fellowship. Fellows were recruited and selected to represent a rich mix of local, regional, and national leaders along with representatives from the fields of disaster preparedness and communications. The Colombian fellowship class traveled to Washington, D.C. at or towards the end of their fellowships to participate in a Professional Fellows Congress where they were able to meet with other professionals from around the world to discuss and exchange ideas regarding those issues of climate change that are affecting their communities. Participants and host organizations in the program built sustainable relationships with professionals and organizations in diverse communities. They also had the opportunity to share their professional expertise and continue their professional development through their fel-