Youth mobility and exchange programs in Querétaro

Youth from Querétaro, Mexico, are participating in various international mobility and exchange initiatives.

In a binational program supported by the Mexico-Uruguay Joint Cooperation Fund, thirteen youths from Querétaro completed an exchange in Montevideo and Canelones, Uruguay. This program focused on mental health, community care, and public policy. Participants engaged with Uruguayan officials to discuss youth development and visited the National Institute for Adolescent Social Inclusion to exchange best practices regarding juvenile justice and mental health support. A reciprocal visit by Uruguayan youth to Querétaro is planned.

Separately, Mayor Felipe Fernando Macías Olvera awarded 145 ‘Vive México’ international mobility scholarships. These grants enable local youth to participate in two-to-four-week international volunteer workcamps focused on social, cultural, and environmental projects. The initiative aims to broaden perspectives and ensure participants bring new knowledge back to their communities through a local volunteering component. Mayor Macías noted that only approximately one percent of Mexican youth have the opportunity to live in another country.

Additionally, eighteen students from Querétaro have been selected for educational exchange programs in the United States. This group includes eight students joining the Space Academy program to visit NASA in Huntsville, Alabama, and ten students participating in the Contigo Embajadores Bicentenario 2026 program to study Big Data at the University of Texas. This collaborative effort involves the Government of Querétaro, the U.S. Embassy, Microsoft, and Fundación Televisa. Governor Mauricio Kuri González highlighted the importance of the partnership with the United States, while Alejandra Lebrija Hirschfeld of Fundación Televisa emphasized the necessity of English proficiency for accessing international academic and scientific content.