Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) recently received a grant for $19,936 from the U.S. Embassy in Asuncion, Paraguay. The grant will fund the Paraguayan and American Gender Equality (PAGE) Program, which is designed to address gender equality in Paraguay.
SMWC will partner with the Universidad Americana, Asuncion, with the goal to strengthen educational ties and the student mobility of both institutions. This will occur by working together on developing gender equality case studies, which will be applied to multiple organizations in the Paraguayan economy. The project includes case study workshops, immersive study abroad components, cross-cultural collaboration, multidimensional mentorship and publication opportunities of the outputs with an extensive social impact in improving Paraguay’s ranking in gender equality in South American nations.
Lamprini Pantazi, Ph.D., dean of business and leadership at SMWC, is excited to lead the PAGE program. “I am very pleased to work with our partners, the U.S. Embassy in Paraguay and Universidad Americana in Asunción on this exciting project. By generating shared intellectual capital through collaborative interactions and activities, the project will develop educational resources that reflect the unique national cultures of Paraguay and the United States while leveraging common interests in gender equality and leadership development,” Pantazi said.
Dr. Katherin Arrua, dean of the College of Economic and Administrative Sciences at Universidad Americana, shared, “We at Universidad Americana are so excited of being part of a global leadership initiative aimed at addressing gender equality here in Paraguay! Support and guidance offered by Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and the U.S. Embassy in Asuncion (Paraguay) will deem crucial to jointly develop gender equality case studies that can have a positive impact and be applicable in various sectors of the Paraguayan economy.”
A statement from the U.S. Embassy in Paraguay said, “The Embassy is excited to support this project, not only to build ties between U.S. and Paraguayan universities for enriching the learning experience for all students and building stronger people-to-people ties but to increase awareness of gender equality and women’s leadership for young people which aligns with ongoing efforts by the Embassy to support democratic participation and inclusion.”
Participants of the projects will consist of selected graduate and doctoral students and faculty from SMWC and Universidad Americana.