Following presentations from 10 finalists in the competition in Mexico City, a binational selection committee presented the 2013 awards to the following programs: I am Mexico, Colorado River Binational Collaborative Effort, Children’s Hospital of the Californias, Women, Poverty, and Education in Mexico, and Day of the River.

“By highlighting the creativity and collaborative spirit of organizations working along the border, these awards help provide a counter narrative to the stories of drugs and unauthorized migration that tend to dominate media coverage of the region,” noted Christopher Wilson, Associate at the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

About the Winners:

1. Yo soy México (I am Mexico). I am Mexico is a bi-national initiative of The Mexicans and Americans Thinking Together Foundation Inc., whose primary objective is to support migrants returning from the United States to Mexico by connecting them with key institutions and organizations that can assist them in obtaining identity documents and job opportunities.
2. Colorado River Binational Collaborative Effort. The Colorado River Binational Collaborative Effort is an initiative spearheaded by “Pronatura Noroeste” and the Environmental Defense Fund, whose primary objective is to reestablish a balance in the management of Colorado River water, in order to restore ecosystems that have been degraded over decades.
3. Binational Partnership for the Hospital Infantil de las Californias (Children’s Hospital of the Californias). The Children’s Hospital of the Californias is a non-profit children’s health institution operated by the Foundation for the Children of the Californias, whose goal is to promote children’s health, education, welfare and well-being in the Californias.
4. Women, Poverty, and Education in Mexico. Women, Poverty, and Education in Mexico is a project whose objective is to create education and development opportunities for women living in the border region, as well as for their families and their communities.
5. Day of the River. Day of the River is a project organized by the Rio Grande International Study Center whose objective is to preserve and protect the Rio Grande-Rio Bravo, its watershed, and its environment through awareness, advocacy, research, education, stewardship and bi-national collaboration.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is the national, living memorial honoring President Woodrow Wilson. The Wilson Center provides a strictly nonpartisan space for the worlds of policymaking and scholarship to interact. By conducting relevant and timely research and promoting dialogue from all perspectives, it works to address the critical current and emerging challenges confronting the United States and the world. Created by an Act of Congress in 1968, The Wilson Center is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and supported by both public and private funds.

The Border Research Partnership comprises the North American Research Partnership, Mexico’s El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF) and the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.