Institute Of The Americas

TO IMPROVE THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING OF THE PEOPLE OF THE AMERICAS

ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM: WITH THE CLIMATE IMPERATIVE AND INCREASED IMPORTANCE OF ENERGY SECURITY, THE ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM CONTINUES TO SERVE AS A CRUCIAL PLATFORM FOR THOUGHT-LEADERSHIP. AT THE CORE OF OUR MISSION, WE SEEK TO FOSTER A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERES MOST CRITICAL ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES. IN 2021, WE CELEBRATED THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR HALLMARK LA JOLLA ENERGY CONFERENCE. FORCED ONLINE AGAIN DUE TO COVID, WE SPENT THE MONTH OF MAY CONVENING PANELS, VIRTUAL ROUNDTABLES AND DEEP DIVE DISCUSSIONS AND INTERVIEWS CULMINATING IN A SERIES OF POLICY BRIEFS PUBLISHED IN THE FOLLOWING MONTHS. IN 021, WE ALSO CONTINUED TO HOST MYRIAD WEBINARS AND VIRTUAL DISCUSSIONS INCLUDING PERIODIC MEETINGS AND BRIEFINGS WITH OUR STEERING COMMITTEE AND NON-RESIDENT FELLOWS. WE ALSO CONTINUED OUR RESEARCH PROJECT ON LATIN AMERICA ENERGY TRANSITION WORKFORCE READINESS AND OUR ANNUAL ENERGY LITERACY EFFORT: THE ENERGY AMBASSADORS PROGRAM FOR BAJA CALIFORNIA CIVIC LEADERS.

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE (EC2) PROGRAM: IOAS EC2 PROGRAM STRIVES TO CATALYZE CLIMATE LEADERSHIP AMONGST THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND LOCAL/REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS IN THE AMERICAS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH, TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE AND MINIMIZE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN THE REGION WITH THE GOAL OF PROTECTING ITS RICH MARINE AND LAND-BASED NATURAL CAPITAL. IN 2021, THROUGH ITS EC2 PROGRAM THE INSTITUTE LED AN EFFORT TO A) PUBLISH AN ANALYSIS OF THE NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS PLEDGED BY COUNTRIES ACROSS THE AMERICAS IN SUPPORT OF THE PARIS AGREEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE; B) INTEGRATE THE UC-MEXUS GULF OF CALIFORNIA MARINE PROGRAM INTO ITS ORGANIZATION; C) PARTNER WITH UC SAN DIEGOS CENTER FOR US-MEXICO STUDIES ON THE US-MEXICO CLIMATE CHANGE WORKING GROUP, AND D) ANALYZED OPPORTUNITIES FOR CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION IN THE CALIFORNIAS, FOCUSED ON BLUE CARBON WITH AN INITIAL FOCUS ON MEXICOS BAJA CALIFORNIA PENINSULA.

STEAM INITIATIVE: TO MOTIVATE AND EMPOWER UNDERSERVED MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO PURSUE HIGHER LEVEL COURSEWORK, COLLEGE MAJORS AND ULTIMATELY CAREERS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, ART AND MATHEMATICS (STEAM) FIELDS, THE INSTITUTE PROVIDED EXPERIENTIAL STEAM PROGRAMMING TO STUDENTS AND STEAM SUBJECT TEACHERS. THROUGH ITS TRAINING WORKSHOP, TEACHERS LEARNED ABOUT PROJECT-BASED TEACHING, AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEACHING PEDAGOGY TO BETTER ENGAGE STUDENTS AND PROMOTE THEIR CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS. THROUGH ITS STEAM LABS, STUDENTS WERE EXPOSED TO SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS AND SUBJECT MATTER NOT OFFERED AS PART OF THEIR TRADITIONAL CURRICULUM AND ENGAGED WITH AND WERE MENTORED BY STEAM PROFESSIONALS. WITH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, ALL STEAM PROGRAMMING WAS OFFERED VIRTUALLY WITH LIVE ONLINE INSTRUCTORS AND THE USE OF STEAM KITS PROVIDING ALL PARTICIPANTS WITH THE ITEMS NEEDED TO PARTICIPATE IN ACTIVITIES, CONDUCT EXPERIMENTS, AND DEVELOP GROUP PROJECTS FOR PRESENTATION. IN 2021, THE INSTITUTE PROVIDED PROFESSIONAL TRAINING TO 31 ARGENTINE, MEXICAN AND PERUVIAN EDUCATORS. FOR STUDENTS, THE INSTITUTE ORGANIZED STEAM LABS FOR 200 MEXICAN MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, AND ITS THE FIRST SPECIALIZED STEAM LAB ON CLIMATE CHANGE FOR 26 PERUVIAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. A CUSTOM STEAM ENRICHMENT PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED AND HELD FOR 23 UNDERSERVED 11- TO 13-YEAR-OLD STUDENTS FROM TIJUANA, MEXICO. FINALLY, A WEBINAR IN HONOR OF 2021 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF WOMEN & GIRLS IN SCIENCE WAS ORGANIZED WHICH WAS ATTENDED BY 66 GIRLS FROM ARGENTINA, MEXICO, PERU AND U.S