The Florida-Colombia Partner’s Quarterly Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, June 11th, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Agenda
The Art Therapy Project in Barranquilla is nearly complete. This video offers a glimpse of a key activity during the project.
At the July Quarterly meeting, Isabel Pacheco spoke to the group about the Art Therapy Project, showing the painted glasses the students created. You can find more about the project at this Instagram feed.
Saturday, July 17
9:45 – 10 a.m. (Eastern Time) Cafe Chat
10:00 – 10:45 a.m. Chapter Board Meeting (Board members only)
10:45 – 11:30 a.m. General Session, open to members and the public
Location: Online Zoom meeting. Contact John Schoch (chazschoch@gmail.com) for link)
Theme: Gender
4:00 CST (5: 00 PM EST, 3:00 MT and 2:00 PT) – Screening of short film “Marie” – 25 min Click here to get your ticket.
4:30 CST (5:30 PM EST, 3:00 MT, 2:00 PT) – Panel Discussion on Gender with: Leo Tabosa, Director, Jorge Sardo Jr., Producer- Bruno Tavares – Film Critic, and moderator – Prof. Herbert Garcia of Northwestern University
7:00 CST (8:00 PM EST, 6:00 MT, 5:00 PT) – Meet actress and producer of Aos Nossos Filhos, Laura Castro with Mariana Santos
Q & A follow
Click here to get your ticket to watch Aos Nossos Filhos, feature film and attend the Q&A with the producer. This film will be available to screen Nov. 12, 13 and 14. Last showing is 5:00 pm EST (4:00 pm CST, 3:00 MT, 2:00 PST) Sunday, November 15.
For other movies showing this weekend – https://mostrafilmfestival.org/xi/ hosted by Illinois – Sao Paulo Partners
The next quarterly meeting of Florida Partners will be held via Zoom on Saturday, Oct. 17 starting at 10am ET. Anyone wishing to tune in should contact John Schoch at email: “chazschoch@gmail.com“.
Every Saturday at 6:00 p.m. ET
Host(s): São Paulo Chapter and PartnersCampus Goiânia Student Chapter
Language: Various
The Partners Music Festival is a live music festival of artists from across the Americas. Follow and participate in the live Partners Music Festival on Instagram: poa_festival
Every Friday at 11:00 a.m. ET
Host(s): Red Internacional de Estudiantes por la Paz (Red EsPaz) Affiliate Chapter
Language: Spanish
Affiliate Chapter Red EsPaz hosts free virtual discussions on a variety of topics for those interested in talking about promoting peace culture at the international level. Follow Red EsPaz on Facebook for up-to-date information about upcoming talks and to receive the link to join through Zoom.
John Schoch, then Vice President, and his wife Marilu (another FPOA member) traveled to Bogota (and later to Barranquilla) in September, 2019, where he met with Bogota Chapter members Manuel Pena, Anita Lievano (Chapter President), and Nury Penagos to discuss several issues of interest to both chapters. He, also, participated in a well-attended meeting at the home of Anita Lievano where Bogota chapter members and NGO invitees discussed possible project activities. Additionally, he flew to Barranquilla, where he stayed with Bogota chapter member, Fabian Gonzalez, and visited Peace Corps operations. John met with Barranquilla chapter members at the University of Uninorte and afterwards toured the University del Atlántico.
The PATH Artist-In-Residence (PAIR) Program invites qualified Hip Hop artists, scholars and arts administrators from around the world to spend 2 – 3 weeks during the Miami OURstory Project/PATH Hip Hop Summer Academy. Recipients work with aspiring teen artists and other PATH-sponsored programs while developing their own craft with artist in the Miami area. Recipients also get to utilize the PATH Trusthrisery–a collection of Hip-Hop resources, to develop existing work or design and create new pieces.
FPOA brought the option of securing possible funding through the Travel and Culture grants by connecting to the various Caribbean Partners of the America Chapters. Working with the Washington POA coordinators, funding was secured and four artists were awarded grants to attend during the Miami OURstory Project/PATH Hip Hop Summer Academy for students. More information may be found on their website: http://www.pathtohiphop.org/youth/pair-project/
Partners Campus organization at Stetson University. Our chapter invited them to FPOA meetings and attended their campus events. Partners Campus chapter hosted David Robles and Yerlis Miranda, two Colombian exchange students in January 2019, our chapter sponsored a dinner for them, provided airport transportation, and attended some of their presentation events at Stetson University.
David Robles, from Partners Campus La Salle
Yerlis Miranda Uriana, from Partners Campus UniGuajira/CEENIUG
Through the initiative of member David Berry, we collaborated with the Retired Peace Core Volunteer (RPCV) group of Jacksonville to sponsor a December, 2018 visit to Duval, Flagler and Volusia Counties for Diana Vasquez, Director of a Woman’s shelter in Cuenca, so that she could visit women’s shelters in those counties. After attending the Partner’s What Works Conference, she traveled to Jacksonville, FL and visited the Hubbard House, a full-service certified domestic violence center; RETHREADED, an organization that works with survivors of human trafficking; the DOLORES BARR WEAVER POLICY CENTER, which does research and policy development on issues affecting women and girls; CLARA WHITE MISSION, a full-service organization training the homeless in culinary skills; QUIGLEY HOUSE (Green Cove Springs) a domestic and sexual violence center; and Betty Griffin House (St. Augustine), a 54 bed emergency shelter.
David & Bernadette Miron and Ellen Siler served as host for Diana’s time in the Jacksonville area. Ellen, known as one of the most recognized leaders for her work with abused women on the east coast of Florida, helped mentor Diana with several opportunities in the area.
She participated in the Rotary Club meeting in Jacksonville which included round-table discussion with representatives of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department and State Attorney’s office, and service providers for victims of domestic violence. She also toured the Daytona Abuse Council in Daytona Beach and Family Life Center (shelter) in Flagler Beach. She toured Stetson University and met with the FPOA board members to discuss several initiatives in her country. The travel for this project was funded by a Partners Travel Grant.
Diana Vázquez presents at the Partners of the Americas What Works 2018 Conference in San Antonio, Texas. She explains the work of Asociacion Mujeres con Exito–The Successful Women Association Community of the Casa Maria Amor–which gives women who have been abused the job skills to change their lives and the lives of their children in Cuenca, Ecuador. The association contains a laundromat, a cafe, and catering, all staffed by the women residents. They are a legal association that offers ventures carried out by women survivors of violence. Check the website for more information: Asociacion Mujeres con Exito
Nury Penagos teaches elementary students at the Eduardo Umana Mendoza mega school in Usme, Bogota. She is the prime mover for our chapter’s “Our Birds Are Your Birds Too” program (aka “Un Pajarito Me Conto”), and came to Florida on a Partners Travel Grant to extend the program by meeting with teachers in Volusia and Miami-Dade county. She had the opportunity to study Florida birds with expert birder, Sam Van Leer of the Urban Paradise guild at the Arch Creek East (ACE) in Volusia County, including native plant species and addressing climate change initiatives.
She met with Alex Levine and other staff discussing their focus of teacher/student involvement programs at the Miami Fairchild Gardens. She, also, connected with their teacher contact, Kiki Mutis (originally from Bogota) during an observation field exercise and birding workshop. Other activities included touring the Tropical Audubon Society facility (Miami) and the Marine Discovery Center (New Smyrna Beach.) Nury made presentations at various schools including Pine Ridge High School (Deltona), Rock Church Academy (Port Orange); Starke Elementary (DeLand), and Holly Hill School (Holly Hill.) She met with Aiyanna Maciel of the Stetson Partners Campus and the other Mentored Field Experience students.
The travel for this trip was funded by Partners Travel Grant. Read more about the Our Birds Are Your Birds, Too project here.
Juan Camillo from the Bogota Chapter visited with John and MaryLu Schoch to discuss chapter updates and possible project collaboration. September 22, 2018
July 21, 2018
Florida POA supported member Sekajipo Genestos’ continuing education as a Hip-Hop artist while strengthening the interests of FPOA in the Hip Hop community of Miami, Florida. Our Florida POA chapter supported his May 2018 trip to Medellin for continued education and performance in Hip-Hop artistry workshops by helping pay for his airfare. Additionally, the focus was to participate in songwriting and recording workshops, share experiences working with PATH in Miami, and learn more about how UVA recording studios are impacting their local communities. You can read his report and see more images from his trip here.
Sue Mahan, who serves as the chapter’s Regional Director for Northern Colombia, met with several members of the Barranquilla Partners and visited the Fundación Cede social Barranquilla. The Cede social Agency works with sexually abused and trafficked women, children; orphans; and Venezuelan refugees. While there, the agency directors discuss and share their current projects with Sue and make their requests for training opportunities. She also, visited CEINE- Centro Educativa Integral Nueve Esperanza, an organization in Soledad, which has built a community center, kitchen, and school to aid and support women and children in need. Dr. Mahan supports each location with staff workshop trainings. In this spring session, she provided a workshop to the entire staff about Dealing with Stress which included breathing techniques and meditation.
Gina Pezzano and other members of the Barranquilla chapter meet with Florida Partners Regional Liaison, Sue Mahan to discuss project updates.
Stetson University Professor, Tony Abbott, former chapter President, and his wife Barbara Bredis, also a FPOA member, took a cadre of Stetson students to Colombia. In May-June, 2017 Professor Abbott organized and guided a group of students, skilled in international community service and relations, visited various Colombian locations to connect and develop network ties with students with partners in Colombia. These Mentored Field Experience students collaborated with the students from the Partners Campus chapter in Colombia which supported the planning and development of the Partners Campus at Stetson University. This trip utilized extensive support from both Colombian Chapters in Bogota and Barranquilla which included the following contacts and activities:
• Bogota (Lorena Lopez, Luis Carlos Villaveces, Luz Adriana Retrepo)
• •UniAndes, Universidad Distrital, Universidad de La Salle, Teaching and Learning English Program, Formemos (Andres Carne de Res and Mina de Sal)
• Cartegena (Maralex Martinez)
• •Corporación Universitaria Rafael Núñez, Institución Tecnológica Colegio Mayor de Bolívar (Beach and the Fortress)
• Barranquilla (Maralex Martinez, Sixto Duran, Fabian Gonzalez)
• •Regional Student Chapter Reunion UniAtlantico and UniNorte with students from Guajira in attendance.
• •Amor Fiel (UniAtlantico Service Project)
Outcomes included formation of a Partners Campus chapter at Stetson; this chapter later hosted two visitors supported by Partners Cultural Exchange Grants. This trip was funded through Stetson University.
When our group traveled to Barranquilla, we had the pleasure of meeting a bright young student of chemistry who was working on project to capture whey protein (a waste product in a lot of dairy processing) as a product to be used a a nutritional supplement. He asked partners for funding to support an internship he has organized at FSU, but needs further support. He has started a crowdfunding campaign–please have a look and share this with friends!
August 9, 2013: John Schoch, FPOA President, meets with Nury Penagos and her students at Colegio Eduardo Umaña Mendoza in Bogota, Colombia. Students are showcasing their work on the birding project, “A Little Bird Told Me.”
