Hector Ruiz, AMD Chief, Gives His Thoughts After Visiting the Chiapas 50x15 Learning Lab
7/15/2008
Hector Ruiz
Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board, AMD
AMD
I have always considered myself a fortunate man, one whose life has been filled with many opportunities. Recently, fortune was bestowed on me again, when I had the rare occasion to see the vision of 50x15 coming to life in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. This time however, the opportunities belong to the villagers of Chiapas.
AMD's Hector Ruiz (third from left) cuts the ribbon at the 50x15 Learning Lab launch in San Juan Chamula.
In April, AMD Mexico successfully installed two digital inclusion centers to supply indigenous communities in San Juan Chamula and Oxchuc, Chiapas with computing technology and Internet access.
The people of Chiapas don't have a lot to call their own. This is a mountainous area populated by poor, rural farmers. Malnutrition is unfortunately all too common. What they do have is an endless supply of hospitality, enormous gratitude, and a boundless desire to learn about the world outside their communities.
I was not surprised to visit the newly opened digital centers and see the communities' residents surfing the Internet within minutes of sitting down at a computer for the first time in their lives. But I couldn't help but be amazed.
The Internet is a medium to connect people and the power of connecting people and ideas is pretty awesome. It spans people of all ages, races, and cultures. It spans borders, regions and languages around the world. In many ways, the Internet is the new universal language.
AMD's Hector Ruiz works with a student using one of the new computers provided at the 50x15 Learning Lab launch in Oxchuc.
These computing labs and the tools they provide are a significant step to help these Chiapas communities build businesses, gain access to health and nutritional information, communicate with the world at large, and foster sustainable development. It's a tool for them to grow their standing in the global economy and pave their future, while at the same time preserve their valued traditions and culture so deeply rooted in the past.
One of the first e-mails sent from these new digital centers was from a local boy named Jorge, who wrote to a university student volunteer who helped AMD set up the computer lab. He wrote, "Hi Julia, how are you? I have my e-mail account now. What you guys did here in Chamula was very important to me. I just have to say, 'There's nothing else to say but thanks.' I love you. Jorge."
E-mails such as the one from Jorge demonstrate the potential of 50x15. We've just given him one of the most powerful educational tools available. And with education, Jorge could become a great technology innovator of the future. Or a CEO. Or a world leader. The possibilities are limitless.
That's why our work at AMD to accelerate digital inclusion is so important. And why we will continue to work tirelessly to make the vision of 50x15 become a reality.
So that others may share in our fortune.