Mar 13, 2008
BB&T, Democracia U.S.A. promote Hispanic participation in the American voting process
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) and Democracia USA today unveiled “BiBi Talks About Voting and Government in the United States,” the 10th in a series of free educational CDs in Spanish from BB&T.
Developed and distributed by BB&T as part of a corporate-wide marketing effort launched in 2002, “BiBi Talks” is a wide-ranging series of informative Spanish-language audiotapes and CDs designed to help Hispanic immigrants adapt to life in the United States.
In the latest installment, “BiBi” (pronounced Bee-Bee), the main character, discusses voter registration and the voting process; American political parties; federal government branches; state and local government roles; and more.
Previous editions have featured topics such as emergency preparedness, basic banking information, finding a job, driving, housing, insurance and the American legal system. The free tapes and CDs are available throughout BB&T’s nearly 1,500 financial centers across 11 states and Washington, D.C.
Hispanics make up the nation’s largest and fastest growing minority group, representing about 15 percent of the U.S. population. If recent voting trends continue, only about 6.5 percent of the Hispanic electorate – out of an eligible 9 percent – will vote in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
Democracia U.S.A. is working to change this by registering U.S. Hispanic voters and educating them on the merits of civic engagement. Originally launched in 2004 in Florida, D-USA registered 72,000 voters in the state that year and in 2006 expanded the project to Arizona, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, being credited by the Associated Press with registering 70% of all new non-partisan Hispanic voters.
“We created the BiBi series specifically for Spanish-speaking audiences to aid, educate and empower Hispanics on the nuances of life in the United States so that they can feel at ease living here,” said Jorge Möller, BB&T’s Multicultural Markets manager. “Our most recent BiBi CD covers the U.S. government and voting process in an educational and entertaining format.”
About 350,000 of the BiBi tapes and CDs have been distributed through BB&T financial centers and Hispanic/Latino advocacy groups since 2002.
“There’s nothing more valuable and powerful than knowledge,” said Yasmin Wurts Metivier, head of Panoltia Inc., a Latino culture consultation and media production company, and creator, writer and producer of the BiBi Talks series.
“Because all cultures are different in terms of their native customs and traditions, we address those differences in BiBi Talks and how they impact perceptions and knowledge of the U.S. government.”
“We are pleased to offer our expertise of registering U.S. Hispanic voters to this valuable learning tool for civic engagement,” said Jorge Mursuli, Democracia U.S.A. President. “We believe that “BiBi Talks About Voting and Government in the United States” is a great addition to BB&T’s educational series and will help motivate Hispanics to become more involved in the voting process.”
The “BiBi” series is one aspect of a broad multicultural program at BB&T focused on its diverse and multicultural communities, Möller said. Approximately 10 percent of BB&T’s branches are multicultural banking centers that include bilingual staff members as well as Spanish signage and brochures.
With $132.6 billion in assets, Winston-Salem-based BB&T is the nation’s 14th largest financial holding company. More information about the company is available at BBT.com.
Democracia USA will be hosting events at both the St. Cloud and Altamonte Springs BB&T branches March 15th and April 5th.
