The Diplomat
The Carolina Foundation and the Colombian Institute for Educational Credit and Technical Studies Abroad (ICETEX) have announced the launch of the 6th edition of the ICETEX-Carolina Foundation Institutional Scholarship Program. This program will provide professional training to 34 Colombians in Spain with the goal of contributing to peacebuilding and sustainable social development in Colombia.
Beneficiaries will be able to participate in a four-week Academic Mission at the Polytechnic University of Madrid. The 34 spots will be allocated to professionals with Colombian citizenship belonging to Indigenous, Black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal, and Palenquera (NARP) communities, women living in rural areas, and professionals living in the Tourist, Cultural, and Historic District of Santa Marta.
The prioritized regions are Amazonas, Cauca, Chocó, La Guajira, Nariño, and Norte de Santander, with special emphasis on the Catatumbo region (municipalities of Ábrego, Convención, El Carmen, El Tarra, Hacarí, La Playa de Belén, Ocaña, San Calixto, Sardinata, and Tibú), and the Tourist, Cultural, and Historical District of Santa Marta.
“This sixth edition reaffirms the commitment of the Carolina Colombia Foundation to bilateral cooperation between Spain and Colombia to promote quality higher education as an engine of development,” stated Carolina Olarte, Executive Director of the Carolina Foundation. “To date, this partnership has benefited 176 young Colombians from more than 20 departments across the country, strengthening their academic and professional training,” she added.
For his part, Álvaro Urquijo, president of ICETEX, emphasized that “this new edition of the program will allow the selected Colombians to experience international education and then positively impact the life and development of their communities upon their return.”
