Kansas Paraguay Partners holds annual meeting

Key Takeaways:

• Kansas Paraguay Partners (KPP) held its annual meeting in Pittsburg, Kansas.
• The Paraguayan Deputy Ambassador attended the meeting.
• The meeting is important for both Paraguayans and Kansans at Pitt State.

Kansas Paraguay Partners had its annual meeting at Pitt State on Saturday, April 15, with many members as well as the Paraguayan Deputy Ambassador of the U.S. in attendance.

Dr. Grant Moss, a professor at Pittsburg State University and member of the Kansas Paraguay Partners (KPP) board, said that the Kansas Paraguay partnership began 55 years ago when a U.S. president set up an agreement with Paraguay to enhance cooperation between the two countries.

The Kansas Paraguay Partners, as stated in their website, is an organization promoting exchanges between Paraguayans and Kansans. This organization, as well as the Paraguay Kansas Committee, are members of the Partners of the Americas.

Last Saturday at the Overman Student Center, some of the board members came to Pittsburg for the meeting and others joined by zoom. Some of these members were not students but have gone to Paraguay in the past and decided to be part of the organization.

Also in attendance were some Paraguayan students from the University of Kansas in Lawrence as well as Paraguayan and American Pitt State students.

“For 55 years we’ve [Kansas Paraguay Partners] been trying to connect people from Kansas with Paraguay, and people from Paraguay with Kansas,” Moss said. “Their goal is to connect Paraguayans and Kansans, and we try to foster more Paraguayans coming to Kansas.”

During the meeting, attendees were able to meet and connect, both Paraguayans and Kansans. Additionally, two Pitt State alumni gave a piano and violin recital for the attendees. The Paraguayan Deputy Ambassador for the US ended the event with a speech.

Aaron Hurt, director of the International Programs and Services office at Pitt State, said that in the past an embassy official has attended the annual meeting. Moss said that the Paraguayan Ambassador comes to the meetings every year because they are the only organization in the US that is specifically designed for a relationship with Paraguay. Normally, the Paraguayan Ambassador is the one attending these annual meetings, but this time he couldn’t attend, so the deputy ambassador came in his place.

“It is important for the embassy official to learn the important things KPP are doing and to show the support of the Paraguayan embassy,” Hurt said.

The Kansas Paraguay Partners provides Paraguayans and Kansans many opportunities to connect with each other, especially students.

“We as partners want to send a lot of people from the United States down to Paraguay so that they can have cultural experiences, they can meet people and basically change their lives from being there,” Moss said.

Americans, whether they are students or not, have an opportunity to experience a different culture and connect with different people in Paraguay.

“We sponsor scholarships for a lot of Paraguayan students, and we sponsor scholarships for people from the United States to go down and study in Paraguay, too,” Moss said.

Many Paraguayan students are encouraged to attend these meetings too because of all the people who attend, whether they are other students or people who have already gone to Paraguay and experienced the culture.

“I think it is important for Paraguayan students to attend these types of meetings to share their experience in the US and in Kansas, and to stay connected and to network with others,” Hurt said.