UIMF Collaboration with Colombian Rotarians

On November 23rd, 2021, Dallas Karren, UIMF President, Mr. Jose Velasco, Rotary International’s Utah District Governor Elect for 2022 and Mr. Rigo Ciceri, a Colombian Rotarian from District 4281 discussed joint activities

UIMF Collaborates with Colombian Rotarians on Joint Initiatives

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Mr. Jose Velasco, Rotary International Utah District Governor Elect

             This week I represented the Utah International Mountain Forum (UIMF), a coalition of student clubs at UVU, and the UVU chapter of Rotaract during two separate meetings with individuals in Colombia as the next steps in furthering our involvement in the country and peace projects. On November 23rd, 2021, we were again joined by Mr. Jose Velasco, Rotary International’s Utah District Governor Elect for 2022, who introduced us to Mr. Rigo Ciceri, a Colombian Rotarian from District 4281 and administrator of the Global Grant that was created in 2018 for peace education in Colombia.

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Mr. Rigo Ciceri

            Rigo answered questions that I had about the Global Grant and projects in Colombia and the previous project. I was then able to explain to him the objectives of our involvement and collaborate on how to be involved.

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Ms. Catalina Novoa

 On November 24th, 2021, I met with Ms. Catalina Novoa, a Rotarian and President of the Rotary club in Tunja, Colombia. Similarly to the meeting with Mr. Ciceri, I got acquainted with her and I conducted the meeting in Spanish, sharing info on logistics and in what capacities our organizations would be able to work together and set forth an agenda that will be implemented through weekly meetings.

During the two meetings, we were able to connect with them, and share information about our methodology as well as learn more about the projects underway in Colombia, and speak about future joint activities. Our proposal was received very warmly by Rigo and Catalina. As a result of these meetings, we will be establishing a trilateral organization to include Rotarians from Utah; Monterrey, Mexico; and Colombia, with intentions to include Central Asia in the future. Through this partnership, we will collaborate on mutually beneficial joint activities and further the sustainable development interests of each region while promoting the student engaged learning model implemented at UVU around the globe.

      Mr. Dallas Karren, UIMF President