Each year the OAS Secretary General publishes a proposed Program-Budget for the coming calendar year. The OAS General Assembly meets in a Special Session to approve the Program-Budget. Find these documents from 1998-2013 here.
Each year in April, the OAS Board of External Auditors publishes a report covering the previous calendar year’s financial results. Reports covering 1996-2016 may be found here.
Approximately six weeks after the end of each semester, the OAS publishes a Semiannual Management and Performance Report, which since 2013 includes reporting on programmatic results. The full texts may be found here.
Here you will find data on the Human Resources of the OAS, including its organizational structure, each organizational unit’s staffing, vacant posts, and performance contracts.
The OAS executes a variety of projects funded by donors. Evaluation reports are commissioned by donors. Reports of these evaluations may be found here.
The Inspector General provides the Secretary General with reports on the audits, investigations, and inspections conducted. These reports are made available to the Permanent Council. More information may be found here.
The OAS has discussed for several years the real estate issue, the funding required for maintenance and repairs, as well as the deferred maintenance of its historic buildings. The General Secretariat has provided a series of options for funding it. The most recent document, reflecting the current status of the Strategy, is CP/CAAP-3211/13 rev. 4.
Here you will find information related to the GS/OAS Procurement Operations, including a list of procurement notices for formal bids, links to the performance contract and travel control measure reports, the applicable procurement rules and regulations, and the training and qualifications of its staff.
The OAS Treasurer certifies the financial statements of all funds managed or administered by the GS/OAS. Here you will find the latest general purpose financial reports for the main OAS funds, as well as OAS Quarterly Financial Reports (QFRs).
Every year the GS/OAS publishes the annual operating plans for all areas of the Organization, used to aid in the formulation of the annual budget and as a way to provide follow-up on institutional mandates.
Here you will find information related to the OAS Strategic Plan 2016-2020, including its design, preparation and approval.
First National Sustainable Energy Awareness Workshop for Educators in the Bahamas
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Organization of American States (OAS) through its Department of Sustainable Development conducted a two-day teacher workshop in New Providence August 21-22, 2013. This workshop gave focus to the importance of teaching renewable energy, energy conservation, and the need for advocacy of cleaner and more sustainable energy development in The Bahamas. The fifteen attendees included teachers representing primary, junior and secondary schools on Abaco, Andros, Inagua
and New Providence.
The sessions were conducted via lectures on wind, solar and energy efficiency, which were complemented with hand-on activities and practical experiments.
Among the most active activity was the design wind turbine blades, the teachers received a variety of supplies such as index cards, tape, cardboard, balsa, paper clips, corks etc. and instructing them to build a windmill that could lift weight. After that activity, teachers designed blades and attempted to make the most efficient wind turbine possible. This was a great inquiry-based unit, allowing for teachers to test hypotheses and try out different variables.
Given that solar water heaters are an environmentally sound way to reduce energy bills, and remain one of the most efficient and least expensive of the renewable energy technologies, and lastly reduce carbon emissions, the session on understanding and experimenting with solar thermal and PV was highly receptive by the participants. During the activity, the teachers received a solar thermal exploration kit, the teachers then designed a solar thermal collector to harness the energy of the sun for water heater.
We can conclude that the workshop fulfilled its purpose to increase the capacity of the educators to effectively prepare student-centered lessons on these topics and incorporate them as part of the national science curricula and raise awareness among new generations on the importance of renewable energy sources, and efficient use of energy in the Bahamas. Additionally, the workshop opened the doors to further capacity building to teachers and educators, which provides the validation to implement an education and awareness program. Teachers left the workshop not only having learned about current technologies and advances in science from experts in the field, but also with lessons, ideas and materials to use during hands-on instruction with students.
The workshop, partially funded by the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) Caribbean Initiative, was implemented through the OAS’s pilot program, the Caribbean Energy Education and Awareness Programme (CEEAP) under the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Program (CSEP) and in close collaboration with the KidWind Project.