Many young people in Mexico are unable to afford to learn English. This project will reach young students gifted in science from disadvantaged communities and give them the opportunity to improve their knowledge in English so they can access better schools and be able to share their understanding of science with their communities. We will provide them with an English course at the RIA, books and transportation to our RIA center.
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 Red de Innovacion y Aprendizaje (RIA), or Learning and Innovation Network, is the main project of Fundacion Proacceso, a nonprofit that uses the educational benefits of technology to catalyze the social and economic development of marginalized communities. We will work to provide them with academic enrichment courses in English at the RIA and encourage them to develop their talents by participating in the National Science Fair and preparing them for international competitions in their field.
In 3 years we have built 70 education centers in 34 municipalities. 284,740 users have registered and more than 88,180 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.
