28 september 2024, Monterrey
The World Summit, founded by Mikhail Gorbachev and celebrating now its 25th anniversary, presents the Peace Summit Award each year to an artist or leader who has made significant contributions to peace building and human rights. Former recipients include musicians Ricky Martin, Bono, Peter Gabriel, Bob Geldof, and Annie Lennox, actors George Clooney and Don Cheadle, entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, and others.
Slim has provided 200,000 higher education scholarship, he has personally supported 165,000 young people to attend college, paid for surgeries, equipped schools, and helped 50,000 individuals unable to afford bail. His Foundation sponsors basic education and productive skills (trades) online for 47 million people in the Spanish-speaking world free of charge. He also founded the Carso Institute for Health to improve healthcare in Mexico. Aware of the power that art has to inspire growth on people, he created the Soumaya Museum, which is totally free of charge and has been visited by more than ten million people. His companies employ over 300,000 people and his strategic vision has shaped major companies like América Móvil, fostering economic growth and innovation.
In receiving the award, Ing. Carlos Slim Helu declared:
“I am very grateful to receive this recognition from the highly esteemed and admired Nobel Peace Laureates, whose work paved the way for many others working for peace and justice. They inspire us to remain committed with the confidence that change is possible. The pursuit of peace, justice and freedom is a collective effort. I am honoured to continue to play a small part in this work. Great work. Thank you very much for this great honour.”