Viasat’s skills-based volunteering program in Latin America has been recognized with an Anthem award.
A worthy recognition
The Anthems celebrate purpose and mission-driven work by companies, individuals, and organizations around the world to recognize both the online and offline work of organizations, brands, and people creating long-lasting impact.
Selected from more than 2,000 entries, we sit alongside other corporate, nonprofit, and individual winners such as Taylor Swift, PepsiCo, AARP, Sesame Workshop, Elton John AIDS Foundation, and World Economic Forum.
Honoring skills-based volunteerism
Late last month we won Bronze in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion category at the 2024 Anthem Awards for digital inclusion in Latin America, including our collaborative partnership with PSYDEH. PSYDEH [see-day] is a Mexican grassroots non-governmental organization (NGO) that invests in rural and indigenous women as community leaders to drive local, social and economic development.
Through our program and partnership with PSYDEH in Mexico, 2,150 youth and adults have used high speed internet for the first time - 65% of them women. In addition, 75% of these people have improved their digital skills through classes and training, and we connected and gave resources to more than 65 rural and urban sites.
Another hugely successful program recognized as part of this award is our partnership and work with Novo Sertão in Brazil, where we help bring quality internet to some of the most remote and under-connected areas of Brazil, such as the rural area of Betânia do Piauí where getting basic infrastructure set up is challenging.
“We take immense pride in the transformational and collaborative partnerships we’ve developed with PSYDEH, Novo Sertão, and other NGOs over the past few years.” says Mark Moravits, Global Social Impact Program Manager. “We’ve taken great care and time in getting to know our partners and understand their long-term needs. The fact that our approach and its results have been recognized through a prestigious award adds to our momentum and pushes us to continue to foster digital inclusion where it’s most needed.”
Supporting digital inclusion in Latin America
Digital inclusion can provide access to healthcare, education, economic opportunity, and improve nearly every aspect of life — however, 2.6 billion people remain unconnected. Our Digital Empowerment Initiative in Latin America provides an ecosystem of tools and resources to NGOs that operate in areas without terrestrial internet. The program utilizes a transformational, multi-year programmatic approach tohelp create sustained impact as it relates to increasing digital equity, access, and adoption.
Viasat developed two digital empowerment initiatives with Novo Sertão in Brazil and PYSDEH in Mexico. Our goal across these programs is to bring together our people, our technology, and our mission to have a transformational impact on communities where less opportunity exists.