Many children and teens in Mexico are unable to afford to learn English, a critical skill needed to get a quality education and well-paying jobs in the future. This project will reach children and youth that are gifted in science from disadvantaged communities and give them the opportunity to improve their knowledge, access better schools and be able to share their understanding of science with their communities and their country.
More than 69% of the population, or 78 million Mexicans, do not have access to the internet. Mexico's public education system is ranked among the worst in the OECD countries. There is a lack of incentives to boost the inventive capacity of the population which explains the failure of Mexicos development in technology and innovation. The results are close to zero: Mexico produces .8 % of the intellectual property in the world and only 0.4% of GDP is invested in science, technology and innovation.
The Learning and Innovation Network (RIA) is a project by the Fundacion Proacceso, a nonprofit that uses the educational benefits of technology to catalyze the social and economic development of marginalized communities in Mexico. We work with high school and undergraduate students and provide them with academic enrichment courses in math, reading, and English. We encourage them to develop their talents by participating in National Science Fair and prepare them for international competitions.
In 3 years we have built 70 education centers in 34 municipalities. 250,000 users have registered and more than 70,000 students have graduated from our courses in computer literacy, English, online job searching and reading. The majority of our users (65%) are between the ages 12-25. With this project we will serve 200 students and support them to reach their full potential, prepare them to strengthen their academic performance and to give their talents back to their families.
