WASHINGTON, April 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Mexican telecommunications company Telmex's recent Aldea Digital event has won the company an entry into the Guinness World Records book as the largest digital inclusion event in the world. Hosted with the goal of gathering as many users of digital technologies as possible in one place, this free-of-charge and open-to-everyone event brought together 154,000 people between March 16 and 26. Visitors were able to use smartphones, tablets and computers, as well as attend 30 courses and workshops ranging from computer basics to application development in the Zocalo of Mexico City, the city's central plaza.
Throughout the event, more than 5,000 computers operating at high-speed connections of 20 Gigabytes per second were loaned out to attendees. A speakers' line-up of high-level telecommunications experts from all over the world drew impressive and diverse crowds spanning all ages and generations – from young kids to their parents and grandparents – from tech-savvy developers to those for whom access to computers and the Internet was a novelty.
The Carlos Slim Foundation, which engages in philanthropic efforts in the fields of education, health and justice, expressed its pleasure with the success of the Telcel 4GLTE-Infinitum Digital Village, and stressed the importance of digital literacy to advance Mexico's social and economic development:
"The Aldea Digital event, now recognized as the largest digital inclusion event in the world, reinforces our commitment to continue to bring digital access to Mexico," said Carlos Slim Domit, Co-Chairman of America Movil.
The Aldea Digital event, which was co-hosted by Telmex, Telcel and the Mexico City government, ties into the overall context of promoting access to broadband technology as a tool to meet the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Carlos Slim Domit added, "With education and access to opportunities being the foundation of society, digital inclusion is increasingly becoming one of the main tools that binds and strengthens the ability to make it possible. As such, increasing access to information and communications technology is the key to advancing the Millennium Development goals."
Among the international leaders and industry experts that participated, the most notable were:
Hamandoun Toure, Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU); Ben Kauffman, Founder of Quirky; Noam Bardin, creator of Waze; Chris Anderson, founder of 3D Robotics; Nigel Jacob of New Urban Mechanics; Elaine Weidman of Ericsson; Ken Wang Shengqing of Huawei; and Gabrielle Gauthey of Alcatel all addressed the latest technological and digital advances and trends.
About Carlos Slim Foundation
In 1986 Carlos Slim Helu created his recognized non-profit philanthropic foundation Carlos Slim Foundation, focused on developing human capital mainly through health, education (from early childhood to digital), and human development. Today, his son Carlos Slim Domit, serves on the board of the Foundation and as Co-Chairman of America Movil, Latin America's leading wireless service provider with over 310 million mobile subscribers in 30 countries.