WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program and Ricardo Salinas, president and founder of Mexico-based Grupo Salinas and a member of the Aspen Institute Board of Trustees, are pleased to announce the Ricardo Salinas Scholarship Fund, which seeks to increase Latino and Latin American participation in Aspen Institute programs. The Latinos and Society Program is a new initiative of the Aspen Institute dedicated to increasing the awareness of the growing Latino Community and its critical importance to the future success of the country.  http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/latinos-society

How to Apply
Latino and Latin American candidates who would like to attend Institute events should note their interest in and eligibility for receiving funds from the Ricardo Salinas Scholarship Fund directly with the relevant program when registering or inquiring about an event. A list of events open to the public and eligible for the Ricardo Salinas Scholarship Fund is below.

“Working with the Aspen Institute has encouraged and inspired me to think about the critical issues facing our society in new ways,” said Ricardo Salinas. “I am proud to be part of the Institute’s efforts to ensure more Latinos and Latin Americans are able to contribute to and benefit from these important discussions and leadership initiatives.”

The Ricardo Salinas Scholarship Selection Committee will meet twice a year to allocate funds to programs, with a preference for candidates needing financial assistance and programs able to increase Latino participation or offer Latinos an active role in the programming as a result of these resources.

“Ricardo’s generous contribution will not only expand the horizons of scholarship recipients, but will also enrich the experience for all participants and programs at the Aspen Institute,” said Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute. “We are grateful for this opportunity to improve our programming by augmenting Latino and Latin American participation.”

Opportunities open to the public and eligible for an award from the Ricardo Salinas Scholarship Fund include:

• Aspen Words Young Writers’ Workshop 2015: The Graphic Novel: From July 27– August 1, Brooklyn-based teaching artist Tim Fielder will join Aspen Words to lead 20 high school-aged youth through the process of creating a graphic novel. www.aspenwords.org
• Aspen Summer Words: Recognized as one of the country’s pre-eminent literary festivals, Aspen Summer Words celebrates writing and writers in Aspen, CO, from June 22 – 26, including morning workshops with some of the most renowned authors and teachers. www.aspenwords.org
• The Aspen Seminar: The Aspen Seminar on Leadership, Values, and the Good Society is the Institute’s classic leadership seminar and the anchor of the Institute’s global leadership fellowship program. www.aspeninstitute.org/aspenseminar
• Spotlight Health: From Ebola, climate change, and hidden hunger to cancer, personalized medicine, and death with dignity, speakers and audience members from around the world take on challenges and look at the future-facing solutions coming from the fields of science, art, technology, and design. www.aspenideas.org/spotlighthealth  
• The Franklin Project: The Franklin Project Ambassadors Program is a year-long leadership development program and local engagement strategy that will catalyze support for universal national service. The Franklin Project will recruit up to 50 emerging leaders for this new initiative. www.franklinproject.org
• The Socrates Program: The Socrates Program provides a forum for emerging leaders (ages 28-45) from various professions to convene and explore contemporary issues through expert-moderated dialogue. The program offers seminars to facilitate the exchange of ideas and the exploration of current, pressing leadership challenges. www.aspeninstitute.org/socrates
• CityLab: Urban Solutions to Global Challenges. Hosted by the Aspen Institute, The Atlantic, and Bloomberg Philanthropies, CityLab 2015 will convene in London on October 18^th– 20^th. For more information, contact azalea.millan@aspeninstitute.org.  www.aspeninst.org/citylab

Additional questions regarding the Ricardo Salinas Scholarship Fund process may be directed to Sarah Alvarez at sarah.alvarez@aspeninst.org.

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

The Latinos and Society Program is a policy program of the Aspen Institute committed to increasing the understanding of, and improving outcomes for, the growing US Latino population and therefore, the United States. The Latinos and Society program will convene meaningful dialogues among cross-sections of society with the goal of influencing more informed decision making, contribute to public awareness of Latino issues as America’s issues, infuse the work of the Aspen Institute with Latino voices, faces and ideas, and develop Latino leadership capacity.

Grupo Salinas (www.gruposalinas.com) is a group of dynamic, fast growing, and technologically advanced companies focused on creating shareholder value, building the Mexican middle class, and improving society through excellence. Created by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo B. Salinas (www.ricardosalinas.com), Grupo Salinas operates as a management development and decision forum for the top leaders of member companies. These companies include: Azteca (www.azteca.com; www.irtvazteca.com) Azteca America (us.azteca.com), Grupo Elektra (www.grupoelektra.com.mx), Banco Azteca (www.bancoazteca.com.mx), Advance America (www.advanceamerica.net), Afore Azteca (www.aforeazteca.com.mx), Seguros Azteca (www.segurosazteca.com.mx), Punto Casa de Bolsa (www.puntocasadebolsa.mx) Totalplay (www.totalplay.com.mx) and Enlace TPE (www.enlacetpe.com.mx). Each of the Grupo Salinas companies operates independently, with its own management, board of directors and shareholders. Grupo Salinas has no equity holdings. The group of companies shares a common vision, values and strategies for achieving rapid growth, superior results and world-class performance.