100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund Celebrates 100th Anniversary and New 100K Strong Initiatives at 2022 Summit of the Americas

During an event held on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas, regional leaders from the public and private sectors and academia, including students, gathered to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund. The event also saw the announcement of new 100K Strong initiatives at the Summit.

The 100K Alliance for Climate Action (100K CLIMA) will build on regional partnerships between industry, governments, and higher education institutions to catalyze climate action and collaboration between U.S. universities and higher education institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean to provide underserved students and faculty with technical and language skills to lead the twenty-first century green economy. The 100K CLIMA Initiative is expected to create new 100K exchange programs in climate action, energy, technology and social inclusion, and has the support of the U.S. Department of State with private sector partners, including CAF— development bank of Latin America—, Grupo Energía Bogotá (GEB), Cementos Progreso and Amazon.

The 100,000 Strong in the Americas Inclusive Education Initiative will expand institutional partnerships between U.S. higher education institutions and regional institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean to create innovative and inclusive educational exchanges around several topics, including climate action, and will increase training programs for students and faculty at Minority Service Institutions (MSIs), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).

In his remarks, Assistant Secretary Brian A. Nichols for Western Hemisphere Affairs underscored cross-sector collaboration to harness the power of education to ensure a more inclusive, green, and prosperous hemisphere. He acknowledged the leadership of CAF, GEB, Cementos Progreso and Amazon in the event, for their visionary support to the new 100K Strong Initiatives.

CAF Executive Vice President Carolina España noted: “We are pleased to formally announce our technical and financial support for the 100K CLIMA Initiative, through which we will expand access of students throughout the hemisphere to training and updating programs in climate action, energy transition and other environment-related fields. At CAF, we are committed to opening new educational opportunities and fostering sustainable and inclusive development that puts the needs of all people of the Americas at the center, especially women and the most vulnerable groups.”

Sustainability at Grupo Energía Bogotá Director Eduardo Uribe Botero emphasized: “For Grupo Energía Bogotá, the sustainability of our operations and the contribution to a fair, inclusive, equitable and economically efficient energy transition in Latin America are at the core of our business. We see them as necessary conditions to ensure the growth of our operations, and the prosperity of the communities we serve.”

Cementos Progreso CEO José Raúl González Merlo stated; “At Cementos Progreso we are honored to continue supporting the 100K Strong in the Americas project in partnership with the Department of State and Partners of the Americas. We believe that only through collaboration and creating shared value will we be able to accelerate solutions that can significantly reduce our vulnerability to climate change in Central America.”

“Amazon has long been committed to creating a sustainable business for our employees, customers and communities,” said Amazon Vice President of Worldwide Sustainability Kara Hurst. “We are proud to be founding members of the 100K CLIMA initiative to help advance these efforts and empower more people in Latin America and the Caribbean with the skills required to succeed in the green economy.”