Iowa-Yucatan Partners of the Americas.

The Partners of the Americas program developed out of the Alliance for Progress organization which began in 1961 under the encouragement of President John F. Kennedy. The Alliance for Progress was a government-to-government cooperative program between the United States and South America. When the Alliance for Progress produced disappointing results, James Boren, Director of the Alliance for Progress, suggested an alternative program. This new program would partner a U.S. state with a South American state as a way to establish a direct people-to-people contact between North and South America. The National Association serves as a servicing and advisory agency. All Partnerships are self-directed groups, collecting most of the funding on their own and initiating and planning all projects and activities carried out by the individual Partnerships.

The Iowa-Yucatan Partners of the Americas was established on September 24, 1965, by a group of business and civic leaders who met in Des Moines with then Iowa Governor Harold Hughes. The Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico was chosen as Iowa's partner because of its henequen production. Henequen was used in baler and binder twine, a common product used for harvesting Iowa's oats and hay crops. WIth the help of the United States Department of State, a partnership was established between Iowa and the states of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico (Yucatan, Campeche, Tabasco, and the Territory of Quintana Roo). The next year, in 1966, a development team from Iowa traveled to Yucatan to meet with members of the Yucatan Partners to discuss projects of mutual benefit.

Throughout its history, the Iowa-Yucatan Parners of the Americas has had numerous commitees to carry out its work. The Central and Executive Committees have overseen the management of the Iowa-Yucatan Partners, and numerous other committees have been formed to carry out activities and projects including agriculture, education, youth exchanges, food and nutrition, public health, community development, art and music, sports and athletics, donation shipments, and emergency preparedness. The Partners have also worked with Yucatan businesses, such as the Bob Stone Cordage Company and the Cordemex Twine Company. In addition, members of the Iowa-Yucatan Partners also lead tour groups through the Yucatan Peninsula to view Partners' project sites and visit tourist destinations. With the help of the Iowa-Yucatan Parners, Central College (Pella, Iowa) established a branch campus in Merida, Yucatan, where it sends Central College students and gives scholarships to Merida students.

Since its establishment in 1985, the Iowa Sister States (ISS) have given the Iowa Partners of the Americas financial and logistical support. Iowa Sister States is a volunteer, non-profit organization which supports Iowa's relationship with eight partner states around the world, including the Yucatan. This relationship in unique among the Partners of the Americas chapters.

From the description of Records, 1965-[ongoing]. (Iowa State University). WorldCat record id: 424641976