The U.S. State Department has donated 4,000 dollars’ worth of new materials to add to the impressive Franklin Collection of U.S. works at the recently opened Juan Jose Arreola state library in Guadalajara.
The gift was presented formally by U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Anthony Wayne at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Benjamin Franklin Collection at the library this week.
During the Ambassador’s visit to Guadalajara, his first since the Pan-American Games, he joined a range of distinguished guests at the opening ceremony of the International Book Fair in Guadalajara (FIL). U.S. authors Jonathan Franzen and John Wray are participating in this year’s fair, as are U.S. publishing companies such as Random House, McGraw Hill, and National Geographic.
During the day, Ambassador Wayne spoke with alum of the online training program conducted by the University of Guadalajara’s Center for Digital Journalism, hearing some of the challenges they face in covering stories related to crime and violence. With support from the United States beginning in 2010, approximately 125 journalists from every region of Mexico have received instruction on managing the risks of reporting on drug crimes. All the training sessions were led by specialists from the New York-based International Center for Journalists.
Wayne also met with high school students learning English at the Guadalajara Bi-National Center with support from the U.S. English Access Micro-scholarship Program, and held an informal discussion with university students from six Guadalajara universities.