The University of Guadalajara at Los Angeles (UDGLA) took part in the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME) Information Day held September 23-26 in Mexico City. The theme of this 71st Information Day, organized by IME through the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), was “Educational Outreach.” Its main objective was to disseminate information about the educational programs and services that the Mexican government has implemented for Mexicans living abroad as well as to discuss the current status of education in the United States as it relates to Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans.

The current economic crisis and its potential impact on educational programs for immigrants makes the presence of the University of Guadalajara’s most important internationalization and educational extension project highly significant, according to University of Guadalajara at Los Angeles (UDGLA) Executive Director Gustavo Padilla.

He explained that the University of Guadalajara has set out to gradually expand its program in Los Angeles, and that its main functions will be to provide the Hispanic and Mexican community living in and around the city with educational services at the technical, life-long learning, high school and university levels and to make a range of cultural and artistic opportunities available to them. This combination will facilitate the integration of our youth into their local communities while at the same time helping them to preserve their Mexican heritage.

In response to the question of why there should be a Mexican university in Los Angeles, Padilla outlined out three specific reasons: of the 30 million people of Mexican origin now in the United States, more than a third of them live in California; Los Angeles has more people of Mexican origin than any another other city in the world after Mexico City; among Latino immigrants in the US, Mexicans are the least likely to finish high school and even fewer end up earning university degrees.

This is why, he went on to say, that since 2008 the University of Guadalajara at Los Angeles has been organizing top-level cultural, artistic and academic activities in this region. In addition, UDGLA is already running online courses and degree programs through the UDG’s Virtual University System. Online Bachelor's programs are currently being offered in fields such as education, business, information technology, cultural management and library science. He also said that UDGLA’s most ambitious project, which it hopes to launch within the near future, is to create a facility in Los Angeles where on-site high school, technical and university-level instruction will take place.

The purpose behind IME Information Days is to spread information about programs and services offered by the Mexican government through its consulate network which are meant to contribute to the betterment of the lives of Mexicans abroad. These activities also serve as vehicles for establishing constructive and inclusive dialogue with supporters and leaders from American cities with large Mexican populations.

Other objectives of Information Days include the following: promoting a better level of understanding about the Mexican government's policy of serving Mexican communities abroad; supporting leadership training within the immigrant community; fostering cooperation between different agencies of the federal government, international bodies, private institutions, non-governmental organizations as well as state and municipal governments working for the betterment of immigrant communities; strengthening the bonds of friendship and communication between community leaders who represent the interests of Mexicans and the Institute for Mexicans Abroad.