VIA Vancouver Institute for the Americas (1998–2007) was a Canadian organization of

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

dedicated to the research and projects implementation of

Education for sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desir ...

centered in the academic integration of the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, under the guidance of the

International Bureau of Education The International Bureau of Education (IBE-UNESCO) is a UNESCO category 1 institute mandated as the Centre of Excellence in curriculum and related matters. Consistent with the declaration of the decision of the 36th session of the General Confer ...

.
VIA operated from their main training center located at 470 Granville Street,

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, in the province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and from their southern regional training center located at Las Condes, in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. VIA was an organization incorporated in British Columbia, with a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

registered in Santiago. VIA was an institute registered at the Ministry of Advanced Education of British Columbia as a provider of higher private education, allowing to provide accredited certifications and its programs qualified for provincial financial assistance and Canadian government scholarship programs.

Creation

In 1998, ''"la profesora universitaria Dra. Paz"'' the university professor Dr. Paz Buttedahl, at the University of British Columbia (UBC), launched an academic organization dedicated to the vocational and professional development of educators across the Americas. Dra. Paz aim was centered in Education for Sustainable Development, giving the vision for the creation of VIA Vancouver Institute for the Americas, the main office was initially located at UBC Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia main campus, in

Point Grey Point Grey ( Squamish: Elḵsn) is a headland marking the southern entrance to English Bay and Burrard Inlet. The headland is the site of Wreck Beach, Tower Beach, Point Grey Beach and most notably, since 1925, on its top is the Point Grey Camp ...

, Vancouver; while collaborating with the Vancouver Institute, Global Reporting Centre, that has brought the University of British Columbia and Vancouver community together through free public lectures since 1916. The founding team was composed of faculty members and research students, until VIA's provincial incorporation and business licensing, then Paz Buttedahl selected a corporate team of field experts led by: * Dra. Paz Buttedahl, President;
Prof. Dr. Knute Buttedahl VP and Chief Financial Officer (CFO);
Prof. Vito de Candia-Levieux, Director of Learning Systems;
Prof. Lucía Carvajal, Director for VIA Regional Center in Santiago, Chile;
This team operated jointly with a multidisciplinary team of researchers, writers, faculty and university interns implementing multi-location projects across the Americas and extended to the Asia Pacific region.

Projects

VIA main participation was the introduction of the Digital Process of academic programs. VIA's implementations of sustainable education projects were mainly funded by the

Canadian International Development Agency The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was a federal Canadian organization that administered foreign aid programs in developing countries. The agency was merged into the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2013 by the federal governmen ...

(CIDA), impacting the fields of research and professional development for e-learning and the Global Education industry working with

UNESCO ASPNet The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

initiatives. 250px, Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC VIA's main research program was centered in human resources, with a focus on inclusion of multi-generational and

gender equity Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

in the

workplace A workplace is a location where someone works, for their employer or themselves, a place of employment. Such a place can range from a home office to a large office building or factory. For industrialized societies, the workplace is one of th ...

; these projects were affiliated and funded by

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, UNESCO and the

International Development Research Centre The International Development Research Centre (IDRC; french: Centre de recherches pour le développement international, ''CRDI'') is a Canadian federal Crown corporation that funds research and innovation within and alongside developing regions ...

(IDRC). Along VIA's philanthropic contributions, the institute participated in Peace Building initiatives and organized events for the

World Academy of Art and Science The World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), founded in 1960, is an international non-governmental scientific organization and global network of more than 800 scientists, artists, and scholars in more than 90 countries. It serves as a forum for s ...

, the Peacebuilding Commission, and the Vancouver Institute Lectures.Vancouver Institute Lectures, University of British Columbia Archives, BC Canada, February 19, 2018, https://archives.library.ubc.ca/lists/vancouver-institute-lectures/

Legacy

Among VIA's main initiatives, it is well recorded at UBC its pioneering program of academic mobility across the Americas, and its active participation in the transformation process of digital academic curriculum working with the Global

e-learning Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and Education sciences, educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edt ...

project ENLACES-Mineduc, based in Chile; also its affiliation to FLACSO University research projects. VIA stopped operating at the death of its founder Paz Buttedahl in 2007.

References

Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada Profile
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada Profile. Educational organizations based in British Columbia

Creation

Projects

Legacy

See also

References