Stars and STEM Stories
Latin America and the Caribbean VI Regional Meeting, Iguazu - Argentina
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The sixth meeting of GLOBE Country Coordinators in the Latin American and the Caribbean Consortium (CLAC) took place in Iguazu, Argentina, on 23-24 March 2009, followed by a GLOBE Train the Trainer (TTT) workshop, from 25-27 March. The event brought together teachers from the schools that belong to the Green Corridor, which includes Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
Twelve country coordinators, representing their respective Ministries — either Ministry of Education or Ministry of Environment, participated in the event. Countries present included Argentina, Bahamas, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.
The main objective of this meeting was to provide an opportunity for the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium to further define their Regional Plan. The following actions resulted from the event:
- Confirmation of the CLAC Working Committee and its membership for the next year;
- Reevaluation of the working commissions established in the V CLAC meeting that took place in San Antonio, Texas;
- Discussion regarding funding strategies and future collaborative projects for the region; and
- Confirmation of the establishment of the Regional Office in Argentina.
The following agreements were reached during the meeting:
- Ratification of the validity and importance of the GLOBE Regional Consortium, consisting of the Latin America and Caribbean countries that are part of the GLOBE Program.
- Ratification of the establishment of the GLOBE Regional Office for the coordination of the Latin American and The Caribbean Consortium; for the period 2009-2010, Argentina is responsible for the the coordination of the office.
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Restructuring the CLAC Coordination Committee, which consists of representatives of the following sub regions:
- Central America and México: Costa Rica (Ana Viria Hernández) and Panamá (Adilia Olmedo de Pérez);
- Caribbean: Trinidad and Tobago (Henry Saunders) and Dominican Republic (María Lorraine de Ruiz-Alma);
- South America: Ecuador (Marco Encalada) and Perú (Carlos Rojas).
- Invite non-GLOBE countries in the region to participate as observers in future Latin America and Caribbean Consortium meetings. Suggested countries include Brazil, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
- Adjust the terms of conformation of the following commissions, according to the chart detailed below:
| Commission | Member Countries | Functions |
|---|---|---|
| Institutional Management | Paraguay (Coordination), Argentina, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic (to confirm) |
Articulate the importance of the program to political authorities in order to promote linkages and partnerships with stakeholders to reach the sustainability objectives of the Program. Promote participation of CLAC members at Annual Conferences. |
| Educational Development and Training | Guatemala (Coordination), Panamá, Perú, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay |
Promote the exchange of materials, methodologies and activities. Promote mechanisms to access information, monitoring and evaluation of training activities. |
| Projects and Resources | Bahamas (Coordination), Ecuador, Honduras and Dominican Republic |
Identify funding strategies. Promoting the region's participation in the International Campaign about Climate Change (2009-2013) and the Learning Expedition 2013. |
It was agreed by all present that it is important to consult with all countries in the region that were not able to attend the meeting and to request them to join in the working commissions.
As was mentioned earlier, the CLAC meeting was followed by a GLOBE Train the Trainers Workshop on 25-27 March with the participation of representatives of from Argentina and Paraguay.
The idea of conducting this Train the Trainer workshop in Iguazu was to promote GLOBE research in the Green Corridor of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil, in order to continue student investigations about Seasons and Biomes; research that was conducted during the International Polar Year between the two Argentina and Alaska.
Therefore, the first task of the workshop was to identify the biome in Iguazu using GLOBE protocols such as those found in the atmosphere, soil, phenology and hydrology investigations and recognize the biome, using the satellite images and knowledge about the Earth as a System.
A special thanks was given to the representatives from the Iguazu Argentina S.A. National Park for their assistance with participants during the workshop through their environmental education program and also for their hard work to guard and preserve the beautiful park.
17 April 2009