Telemundo partners with Voto Latino’s ‘Vota por tu Futuro’.

Telemundo Media has partnered with Voto Latino to register, educate and engage young voters, as well as to host an upcoming “Vota por tu Futuro” (www.telemundo.com/votaportufuturo) town hall that will take place on Saturday, April 14, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The town hall will be the kick-off event for Voto Latino’s Power Summit April 14-15 and will be featured on a special edition of “Enfoque,” Telemundo’s weekly public affairs program on April 15.

The “Vota por tu Futuro” town hall will be moderated by Ana Patricia Candiani, News Anchor, KVEA Telemundo Los Angeles. Among the panelists discussing the state of Latino issues, the involvement of the next generation and the obstacles and challenges to affecting positive change will be Rosario Marin, former US Treasurer; Dolores Huerta, the noted American labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the National Farmworkers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW); the actor Wilmer Valderrama; Jennifer Sevilla Korn, Executive Director of the Hispanic Leadership Network (HLN); Maria Elena Durazo, current Executive Secretary–Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO; and Maria Teresa Kumar president and co-founder of Voto Latino. Portions of the town hall will be aired during a special edition of “Enfoque con José Díaz-Balart” on Sunday, April 15 and featured on other Telemundo news programs.

“As a leader in Hispanic media, Telemundo has both the opportunity and responsibility to empower our audience through objective and thoughtful coverage of the issues that are vital to the daily lives of our viewers,” said Alina Falcon, Executive Vice President, News and Alternative Programming, Telemundo Media. “Telemundo seeks to empower our Hispanic community by mobilizing them to make their voices heard in the voting booth in 2012.”

“As there are roughly nine million American Latino youth in the U.S., with only a small fraction actually voting, we are dedicated to continue to bring new and diverse voices into the political process,” said Voto Latino President Maria Teresa Kumar.
“The ‘Vota por Tu Futuro’ initiative continues to grow and we are proud to partner with Voto Latino to expand the reach of this important campaign to the Latino voting population,” said Alfredo Richard, Senior Vice President, Communications and Talent Strategy, Telemundo Media. “It is imperative to engage our community and empower them to make their voices heard through the voting process.”

The Voto Latino partnership and town hall are part of Telemundo’s ongoing multiplatform public service campaign “Vota por tu Futuro,” which aims to boost electoral participation among Hispanics in the United States. Ratifying Telemundo’s commitment to the U.S. Hispanic community, the campaign will run through the 2012 presidential election across all platforms, including Telemundo’s broadcast network, local stations and digital properties.