Raymix opens dialogues in higher education for LGBTIQ+ youth with UNESCO, UNIC, UN Mexico and ANUIES

At a time when university youth around the world are demanding that diversity stop being treated as something requiring "tolerance" and be recognized as a reality that demands respect and the guarantee of rights, UNESCO, UNIC and the UN in Mexico, with the support of the National Association of Universities and Higher Education Institutions (ANUIES), accompany the dialogue series "Voices of LGBTIQ+ Pride: university conversations with Raymix", an initiative by the singer-songwriter, musician and aeronautical engineer himself.

Mexico has incorporated international guidelines and commitments toward higher education's engagement with social justice for LGBTIQ+ people within a human rights framework. However, significant gaps remain.

More than five million people aged 15 and older in Mexico self-identify as LGBTQ+ or have intersex variations, according to its National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI-ENDISEG 2021). Nevertheless, many of them conceal their identity and face barriers to full participation and the free development of their personality, due to prejudice, hate speech and acts of violence rooted in LGBT-phobia and misinformation.

Studies, such as " The Journey towards Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Global Status Report " of UNESCO (2022), point to a challenging reality for the incorporation of rights-based approaches and the recognition of sexual and gender diversity, as well as intersex variations. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the UN's 2025 Report on Hate Speech and Discrimination found that hate speech attacks through digital space against LGBTIQ+ people tripled in Costa Rica during 2024.

"Voices of LGBTIQ+ Pride…" opens safe and horizontal spaces for dialogue for gender-diverse and sexually dissident youth within Mexico's higher education institutions (HEIs), promoting the development of meaningful human connections and strengthening students' sense of belonging and community.

With the support of the National Association of Universities and Higher Education Institutions (ANUIES), the first institutions to join the program were Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, Universidad de Guadalajara, and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Additionally, more than 20 academic units from different HEIs across seven Mexican localities have already expressed their interest.