Mérida launches youth AI innovation and women's economic programs

The municipal administration of Mérida, led by Mayor Cecilia Patrón Laviada, has introduced two distinct initiatives focused on social innovation and economic empowerment.

Through the Third Social Innovation Laboratory, the city is engaging youth to develop solutions for urban challenges using artificial intelligence. The program brought together 100 participants aged 18 to 29 from 14 different universities to create proposals for the city and its surrounding districts using AI tools.

Simultaneously, the city has launched the ‘Mayan Women Preserving Stingless Bees’ program. In collaboration with the Municipal Institute for Women and Abarrotes Dunosusa, 28 women from the rural communities of Molas, Yaxnic, and Dzoyaxché received equipment and training in meliponiculture. This initiative aims to foster economic autonomy and preserve regional biodiversity through the management of native stingless bees.