The Wisconsin/Nicaragua Partnership, headquartered at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), was recently honored with the prestigious Partners of the Americas Project Development Award for 2006.

The award is shared with Compa�eros Nicaragua as co-sponsors for the Wisconsin Women Care II project that took place in three phases beginning in 2004 and ending with a conference in 2005. The key component of this project was bringing 12 Nicaraguan women to Wisconsin and for them to share their stories and to hear how women in the United States often face many of the same work and home challenges.

There are over 60 Partners chapters throughout the Western Hemisphere that competed for this award. According to Amy Wiza, director of development for the Partnership, the award is bestowed upon a project that displays resourcefulness and innovation while making a difference in a targeted community. In addition, the project must show potential as a model for other communities.

"The Wisconsin Women Care II project shows how women from Wisconsin and Nicaragua share many life experiences," said Wiza. "Shared experiences often reveal shared success stories where each culture can learn from one another and hopefully lead toward an improved quality of life."

The project began with the "shawls of love" project where local craft experts created 69 shawls as a fundraiser. All were sold for more than $1,700 while the organization expanded its network to handcrafters and yarn shops throughout the Midwest.

Prior to the second project phase, a folk art workshop was held in Stevens Point. These 12 Nicaraguan women visited various Wisconsin communities across the state in order to share their experiences and to gain insights into how Wisconsin women deal with many of the same concerns. The workshop offered a chance for everyone to learn more about both cultures as well as breaking down cultural barriers.

The final project phase was the actual Wisconsin Women II conference held in fall 2005 in Stevens Point with 170 attendees.

Campus faculty and staff helped make this project a success, according to Wiza. Faculty and staff from all four UWSP colleges had a role in the project including Provost Virginia Helm, Lance Grahn, dean of the College of Letters and Science, and many others. In addition, UWSP students in the Center for the Small City program as well foreign language (Spanish) majors helped with pre-conference planning.

Partners of the Americas began in 1964 as the people-to-people component of President John F. Kennedy�s Alliance for Progress, and has since evolved into a private nonprofit organization. Areas of work include education, cultural exchanges, healthcare, and the environment. There is more information on the Wisconsin/Nicaragua Partners on the Web at http://wnp.uwsp.edu.

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