Carlos Slim Launches Acceso Latino to Educate Latinos in US for Free
Following in the footsteps of other billionaire philanthropists, Carlos Slim launched Acceso Latino Tuesday in hopes of providing millions of Latinos with access to information about education, health care, job training, and more.
The free website is completely in Spanish and offers plenty of features such as online job training in fields like welding, construction, caregiving, and more. Each course contains lessons and tests, similar to a traditional academic setting, albeit online. Acceso Latino also provides classes from top-notch universities such as Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and Mexico's National University. Users can also learn about American history and civics, a valuable tool when it comes to rights.
"We're proud to launch Acceso Latino, a completely free website that can provide Latinos access to better opportunities through education, learning English, and job training," Slim said in a press release. "Acceso Latino will put valuable knowledge at the fingertips of everyone who wants to learn new skills and engage with their community. It is a simple but powerful resource that can potentially help millions of people improve their lives."
Acceso Latino also provides information on key Latino topics like immigration and human and labor rights. There's even a section dedicated to Latino traditions with information on foods, geographical locations of importance, and, of course, history.
Carlos Slim Helu, a Mexican telecom tycoon, is currently listed as the world's richest man on Forbes with a net worth of $80.6 billion, despite losing nearly $600 million on Wednesday. He is responsible for America Movil, the largest wireless service provider in Latin America.
Latinos are the largest minority in the United States, numbering around 53 million. Latinos are also early tech adopters and avid users of the Internet -- some 80 percent of Latino adults say they have access. Finding the right information, however, isn't as easy, and this is what Acceso Latino aims to fix.
"Acceso Latino was designed with everyone in mind," said Dr. Roberto Tapia-Conyer, CEO of the Carlos Slim Foundation, founded in 1986. "No matter your nation of origin, age, level of ability, or ultimate goal, the website has something for you."
At a time when Latinos are still undermined economically following the recession and in the midst of an immigration debate tearing families apart, Acceso Latino looks uniquely positioned to fill a void through the Internet.