LOS ANGELES, California – September 20, 2013 – (HISPANICIZE WIRE) – Grupo Televisa, the leading media group in the Spanish-speaking world, announced today the launch of the Televisa Foundation in the United States to help propel Latino children and youth through education and culture. During an event at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) for media and community leaders, Emilio Azcárraga Jean, president/CEO, Grupo Televisa, and Alicia Lebrija, president, Televisa Foundation, offered an overview of the different programs that the Foundation will implement in the U.S.
“Latino children, their families and teachers have a dream of greater opportunities and academic success. We are committed to their dream.”
“Latino children, their families and teachers have a dream of greater opportunities and academic success. We are committed to their dream. In our work, we will partner with them, with school authorities, with community leaders, with innovators and some of the most prestigious institutions to help them achieve their dream,” said Mr. Azcárraga Jean. “Our work is devoted to the Latino community, to share our culture, to help build the strength of their children and their confidence in the future, to the opportunity they represent for themselves and for this great nation.”
Together with grassroots groups, companies, foundations, academic leaders and public figures, Televisa Foundation aims to address some of the root causes that create below average school performance, higher drop-out rates, and lower college attainment rates among Latino kids.
“Televisa Foundation brings a combination of initiatives that we pioneered in Mexico and new ideas specially crafted for the U.S. that we are developing with Univision and other strategic partners,” said Alicia Lebrija, president, Televisa Foundation. “Our education programs will initially focus in two areas. The first one is early childhood education, as we know how critical is this initial stage for academic success later in life; and second, supporting English Language Learners (ELLs), as they represent one of the most vulnerable groups in the K-12 education system. Our culture work will leverage our own Latin art collection and support new projects connected to Latino culture here in the U.S.”
The event at LACMA included special appearances by some of Televisa’s top talent including producer Salvador Mejía, and cast members of the popular Televisa-produced telenovela “La tempestad” – actress and former Miss Universe Ximena Navarrete, actor William Levy, and actor Iván Sánchez – who are already supporting Televisa Foundation’s education initiatives. The group also met with students, teachers and parents at John Muir Middle School in Los Angeles earlier in the day to discuss students’ dreams and aspirations.
In its first year, Televisa Foundation will introduce the following programs in the U.S.:
— Telenovelas for Good (Telenovelas con causa), a program that incorporates positive and educational messages in the telenovelas airing in the U.S. through the Univision network.
— Learn English with Chavo (Aprende inglés con El Chavo), an online platform designed for children 3-7 years old who want to learn English in a fun and friendly way. The platform is completely free and will be available in both Android and IOS mobile devices in September and on the Web in October.
— Golazo Educativo, a program to donate 50 English-learning scholarships in partnership with migrant organizations and other Latino community partners for each “gol” scored by the Mexican soccer team Club América in the current Mexican League season.
— Best Practices to Support ELLs, in partnership with UCLA and L.A.’s Promise, Televisa Foundation will sponsor an ongoing effort to capture the best learnings and experiences from teachers in L.A. on how to best support English-language learners. In addition, the program will provide partial scholarships to eight UCLA graduate students serving as research assistants and collaborating with L.A.’s Promise.
The new U.S. entity will also collaborate with established cultural institutions like LACMA to instill a sense of pride and confidence about Hispanics’ cultural heritage that transcends borders through the study of Latin American visual arts. The first cultural initiative supported by the Foundation is the sponsorship of Under the Mexican Sky: Gabriel Figueroa Art and Film, now on exhibit at LACMA through Feb. 2, 2014.
About Televisa Foundation
Televisa Foundation is a U.S.-registered 501(c)-3 supported by Grupo Televisa, the leading media group in the Spanish-speaking world. The Foundation’s mission is to help propel Latino children and youth through innovative educational and cultural initiatives.