31 March 2009

Secretary of State Launches Educational Initiative in Mexico

Access is one of many State Department educational programs

Secretary Clinton, on her first diplomatic visit to Mexico, receives a gift from a student at an event supporting indigenous education.

By Crystal Ofori
Staff Writer

Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced March 25 the launch of the English Access Microscholarship Program (Access), designed to help underprivileged students in Mexico gain educational skills that will help them and their communities.

“We’re hoping that this additional program will help even more young people expand their horizons, acquire new skills, learn what will give them a better future and then enable them to make those investments in their communities,” Clinton said.

The secretary spoke at the National Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City at an event called “Supporting Indigenous Education,” where she heard from five students who have benefited from various U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) educational programs.

Clinton called the launch of the Access program an important partnership that will strengthen the U.S.-Mexico bond and give opportunities for Mexican students to study in the United States.

“We have so much in common, we share so many common concerns and we share a common future. And there is no more critical aspect to that future than the young people here in Mexico and the United States,” Clinton said.

The Obama administration believes that education benefits not only individuals. There are “multiplier effects of education for a society,” Clinton said.

Under Access, 100 Mexican students will receive two years of English training starting this month in Atlacomulco and later in Oaxaca, Chiapas and Mexico City.

Access was established in 2004 and is run by the Department of State’s Bureau for Educational and Cultural Affairs. About 44,000 students in 55 countries have participated in the program.

The curriculum includes intensive English language study, lessons on American culture and values, critical-thinking skills and other leadership-empowerment skills. Participants gain skills that help them better compete for positions in other U.S. study programs.

Mexican students who have participated in other U.S.-Mexico exchange programs spoke of lessons they learned about America as well as the skills the programs equipped them with to improve themselves and their communities. The students participated in programs at major universities across the United States and returned to their communities to work on projects promoting indigenous studies.

Telmo Jiménez, a member of the Mixes community in Oaxaca, participated in a Department of State student leaders’ seminar in 2008 in Washington. He said his experience was inclusive.  

“It wasn’t just about the theory behind all of this [social work], but we went into community practices, saw civil associations . . .  that provided us with tools to be able to take on the problems we’re facing in our own communities,” Jiménez said.

Ella Bautista, a 1994 alumna of a U.S.-Mexico educational exchange program, said participation in these programs is readily accepted and gives hope to others.

“The idea sells itself. It’s obvious that [students] don’t want to go and wait tables or go through hardship trying to cross the border, but now an opportunity exists to actually be mainstreamed into a multicultural group, study there and learn from its educational system,” Bautista said.

Clinton’s speech was part of her first diplomatic visit to Mexico, which focused on ways the two nations can strengthen relations and work together to fight shared problems.

During her two-day visit, Clinton met with President Felipe Calderón, Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa, Federal Public Security Secretary Genaro García Luna and a number of Cabinet members. She also visited the Basilica de Santa Maria de Guadalupe and the Federal Police headquarters in Mexico City and the city of Monterrey.  (See “Clinton Says United States Stands with Mexico Against Criminals.”)

A transcript of the March 25 event is available on America.gov.