Univision Launches National Campaign to Promote Hispanic Academic Achievement and College Readiness, Access and Completion

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Univision Communications today announced the launch of Es El Momento (The Moment is Now), a comprehensive, multi-platform, multi-million dollar three-year national education initiative.  Es El Momento will be aimed at improving academic achievement among K-12 Hispanic students with a specific focus on increasing rates of high school graduation, college readiness, college completion and engaging Hispanic parents and the broader community in these efforts.

The Spanish-language campaign, which goes live today across all Univision platforms – television, radio, online and mobile will be conducted in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, community, education and civil rights groups from around the country.  Award-winning Univision news anchor Jorge Ramos will be the campaign's primary spokesperson. In addition, an Advisory Board with experts in education has been established to assist Univision in the on-going development of the multi-year campaign.

Joe Uva, president and CEO of Univision said, "Univision has always stood for championing the needs and interests of the Hispanic community. Today, no issue is more important than education and improving academic achievement for our young people. That is why we are using all of the resources across our entire portfolio to empower Hispanic parents and children by providing them with relevant information and connecting them with the resources they need to succeed."

According to research, the high school graduation rate for Hispanic students is 55 percent compared to 69 percent for their non-Hispanic peers. Hispanic students lag behind their non-Hispanic peers on a number of key metrics, including standardized test scores, high school graduation rates, college matriculation rates, and college graduation rates. Given that one out of five K-12 students is Hispanic, closing this achievement gap is essential to help these students succeed in school and be prepared for today's workforce, as well as to bolster the overall strength of the U.S. education system and the future of the nation's economy.

The campaign focuses on fostering a strong culture of academic achievement and college aspiration among the U.S. Hispanic community. Outreach targets not only Hispanic students but also parents and caretakers and the broader community. The initiative includes national Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on Univision media platforms, national and local news coverage, and special programming on television and radio, along with partnerships at the local level for grassroots and community efforts.  Es El Momento will also include a comprehensive online and mobile website at www.eselmomento.com, featuring a weekly Q&A with popular motivational radio personality Dr. Isabel and users. Interactive offerings including a school locator widget and weekly mobile text alerts will provide relevant educational tips. Hispanics will soon be able to find educational tools and resources in their area through localized feeds on the website. 

Today, Univision Communications touches millions of Hispanics across its television, radio and interactive platforms. Univision Communications includes one of the top five networks in the country regardless of language, which is also the #1 Spanish-language network in the country; the #2 Spanish-language broadcast network in key day parts, the #1 Spanish-language cable network in the country; the leading Spanish-language radio group and the #1 Spanish-language website among U.S. Hispanics.

Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said, "A great education is not an honor or privilege—it's a fundamental civil right.  This partnership with Univision will not only inspire Hispanic students and their parents and community to aspire to a college education, it will give them access to the information and tools they need to make their dream a reality. Education is the best way to expand opportunity for all. We can't think of a better partner to work with on Es El Momento than Univision, which shares this belief in the power of education."

United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan stated, "President Obama and I believe that reducing dropout rates and boosting student achievement among Hispanic students is absolutely essential to the future of our economy and the future of our nation. As our nation—from the federal level to schools and districts across the country—strives to realize the dream of equal educational opportunity, Univision's efforts will help Latino parents and the community ensure that dream by providing the tools and information to cultivate and support a college-going culture.  I applaud Univision for taking on this critical conversation with parents and students – indeed, The Moment is Now- ¡Es El Momento!"

"As the first person in my family to attend college, I know first-hand the importance of a good education. And as Secretary of Labor, I recognize that it is critical to accessing jobs that are safe, green, and that have good wages and benefits.  In short, education—especially higher education—is key to making good jobs for everyone a reality," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L Solis.  "For the nation's Latinos, who have an unemployment rate of 12.6%, 'The Moment is Now' -¡Es El Momento!"  We must encourage our young people to pursue higher education, which will make them more competitive for the good jobs we are working to make a standard of our 21st century economy."

Commenting on the Es El Momento campaign, Univision Networks President Cesar Conde said, "The family is the center of Hispanic life. And study-after-study shows that parental involvement and support is absolutely essential for academic achievement. So it is only natural that in launching this multi-faceted campaign we are focused on reaching parents and the entire community in order to encourage them to help guide our young people toward a college degree."

Outakes from the multi-media campaign, produced by the Miami-based firm Republica, debuted at a news conference at the National Press Club. For more details on the campaign including videos, advertising and advisory board biographies please visit the Univision FTP site (ftp.univision.net) Enter username: eselmomento  and password: educate.

Univision Communications Inc. is the premier Spanish-language media company in the United States.  Its operations include Univision Network, the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the U.S. reaching 95% of U.S. Hispanic Households; TeleFutura Network, a general-interest Spanish-language broadcast television network, which was launched in 2002 and now reaches 85% of U.S. Hispanic Households; Galavision, the country's leading Spanish-language cable network; Univision Studios, which produces and co-produces telenovelas, reality shows, dramatic series and other programming formats for all of the Company's platforms; Univision Television Group, which owns and operates 64 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; Univision Radio, the leading Spanish-language radio group which owns and/or operates 68 radio stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and 5 stations in Puerto Rico; and Univision Interactive Media, which includes http://www.univision.com, the premier Spanish-language Internet destination in the U.S., and Univision Movil, the industry's most comprehensive Spanish-language suite of mobile offerings. Univision Communications also has a 50% interest in TuTv, a joint venture formed to broadcast Televisa's pay television channels in the U.S. Univision Communications has television network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States.

For more information, please visit www.univision.net

SOURCE Univision Communications Inc.