Dear Ami, My name is Débora Braunstein and I work at CDI - the Committee for Democracy in Information Technology.
I was reading last month's messages on DDN.net and I couldn't resist answering your questions about the digital inclusion work that is currently being carried out in Brazil by CDI. Just a short background on CDI: In 1993, Rodrigo Baggio--a businessman and information technology teacher in Rio de Janeiro´s private schools--envisioned the use of computers over the Internet as a communication channel among young people belonging to different social groups. After several projects, including the first initiative of this kind in Brazil to collect computers for young people living in the poor communities, Rodrigo created CDI. Since then, CDI has implemented educational programs in Brazil and abroad through its Information Technology and Citizens Rights Schools (ITCRSs), mobilizing excluded segments of society and helping to transform their reality. Unlike Brazilian Telecentros, we only implement the ITCRSs with the agreement and in partnership with low-income community centers or indigenous communities. In addition, we work with those with special needs such as the visually impaired, psychiatric patients, homeless children, and prisoners. The Schools follow a political-pedagogical discipline based on Project Pedagogy, aimed at providing technical learning as well as local issues among the target communities. For each information technology tool, a project is created involving a process of reflection / action. The didactic content fosters community building through debates covering topics such as human rights, sexual education, non-violence, ecology, and others. Presently, there are 965 autonomous ITCRSs using CDI's methodology and model concept in Brazil and 8 other countries. As a result of the organization's work, more than 500,000 children and young people have been trained in information technology and introduced to citizens rights. Since the beginning we have been stimulating internal and external evaluations, launching in 2003 the Digital Divide Map in partnership with Getúlio Vargas Foundation, Sun Microsystems and USAID (http://www2.fgv.br/ibre/cps/mapa_exclusao/apresentacao/apresentacao.htm). Please let me know if you are interested in more information about CDI and the work we have been developing. I'm not sure if there is an English version of many of the articles and researches we know, but knowing specifically what you need we can try to help you. Best regards, Débora Braunstein Institutional Development Executive CDI - Committee for Democracy in Information Technology Phone +55 21 3235-9472 / Fax +55 21 3235-9451 Website: www.cdi.org.br -----Mensagem original----- De: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Em nome de Ami E Albernaz Enviada em: domingo, 10 de julho de 2005 11:22 Para: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Assunto: [DDN] Digital inclusion in Brazil Hi everyone -- I am a journalist and editor in Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA), and feel fortunate to have come upon this website. I am interested in digital inclusion measures in Brazil, and the impact they are having on recipient communities. I was wondering if anyone might know of any organization -- university or otherwise -- which is looking at the impact that access is having over time. Telecenter projects could be a good point of reference -- I was in Sao Paulo, Rio, and Porto Alegre in 2001 looking at some of these projects as they were just beginning, and am wondering if anyone is looking at the impacts of these projects in a longitudinal way. Thanks so much! Ami Albernaz Cambridge, MA _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
