TIJUANA.- The private sector and government are working toward synchronizing efforts to prevent violence. Tijuana's City Government and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) kicked off the "First Annual Coordination, Movement, and Planning Forum: Towards a Model of Social Prevention for Citizen Safety."

During the event, Municipal Public Security Secretary Alejandro Lares Valladares indicated that one of their main goals is promote education in communities to attempt to prevent the incubation and spreading of violence of various types.

"Unfortunately, we live in a country where violence relates to everything from material wealth, to unemployment, lack of values, and the popularity of certain musical groups-the latter of which unconsciously generates more crime and the idolatry of bad role models" said Lares.

Lares indicated that in order to combat these issues, the government is working on new strategies that fortify ethics and values in the population, by, for example, demonstrating success cases based on education so that adolescents understand that illegal activities are not the pathway to success.

Jason Vorderstrasse of the United States Consul General in Tijuana indicated that the goal of the forum is to develop a model with different perspectives to attack this issue on both sides of the border and with the help of various entities.

This initiative is part of an agreement signed by Mexico and the United States in 2008 to develop prevention strategies and develop youth programs in cities on both sides of the border specifically in the border region.

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