Arizona State University and Mexico have become powerful partners in recent years, thanks to collaborative, innovative endeavors with some of Mexico’s leading institutions and agencies, as well as a shared commitment to creating positive social impact on both sides of the border.

Read the complete article about ASU’s bond with universities in Mexico.

Schugurensky stresses participative democracy in Sonora talk

In a November seminar organized by Sonora College’s Center for Government Studies and Public Affairs, ASU School of Public Affairs Professor Daniel Schugurensky told attendees that citizen participation is inherent in a democratic system, and that institutions must generate the spaces to promote dialogue and participation. During the seminar titled “Citizens’ Participation in Government Decision,” Schugurensky added that citizenship is not very participative in most countries, but efforts must be made to improve this facet of democracy. Schugurensky also gave a keynote address in December at the Fifth International Congress on Educational Research and Transformation in the 21st Century in Mexico’s Ciudad Victoria in the state of Tamaulipas.

Read the Sonora College article of Schugurensky’s talk (in Spanish).

Dr. Flavio Marsiglia, director of ASU’s Global Center for Applied Health Research, discussed the “keepin it REAL” substance abuse program in a video conversation with Baja California’s Colegio de la Frontera. Known as “Mantente REAL” in Mexico, Marsiglia and his team at ASU developed the program to help delay and reduce substance abuse among adolescents. The concept is to promote abstinence by providing resistance skills and leveraging the strategies in the “REAL” acronym—refuse, explain, avoid and leave.  While the program started in the U.S., it is being tested in other countries. Pilot research has been ongoing in Mexico’s largest cities of Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey and is now expanding to other regions to gauge its efficacy. GCAHR is part of ASU’s Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions.

See YouTube video (in Spanish) of Dr. Flavio Marsiglia’s talk about the Mantente REAL program.

Read more about the keepin’ it REAL/Mantente REAL program at ASU.

Five years ago this month Mexico amended its constitution to allow the first reform of its energy sector in 75 years, a move that has opened the country to increased private and international investment. In December, four PhD students from Tecnológico de Monterrey wrapped up six months at ASU conducting research linked to the new reforms, which are technically managed by Tec’s Binational Laboratory in Mexico City. The students researched aspects of long-distance energy transmission, electricity conversion, regional interconnection of electrical systems, renewable energy processes, associated market costs, and other areas.

Learn more about ASU’s work with Mexico’s Binational Laboratory.

ASU research underway to capture impact of anti-immigrant sentiments on border youth

As intense public discourse about immigration in the U.S. continues, investigators from ASU and Mexico’s El Colegio de la Frontera Norte are looking into the impact of anti-immigrant violence and sentiments on youth living in the Nogales border region. The research will explore the youth experiences along both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. The goal is to assess how these experiences can make adolescents vulnerable to mental health problems and how coping strategies might provide protection. The project is funded by the Program for Transborder Communities, ASU’s School of Transborder Studies, and the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions Research Support and Advancement Plan.

Learn more about ASU research in Latin America.

Read more about Mexico’s El Colegio de la Frontera Norte.