Abstract
REPORT FROM THE ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT INSTITUTE OF TROPICAL MEDICINE – CAYETANO HEREDIA UNIVERSITY FROM PERU: HIV and STI prevention through education
The new scene of the Knowledge Society and the challenges of learning have brought about new ways of working which depend heavily on knowledge and collaboration. Public policies and strategies could speed up the development of digital competencies and the creation of human capital in ICT. This project has created and developed the conditions under which learning networks, based on the person-machine-person interaction, can be shaped through pedagogical structures for action relying on cooperative learning. In short, it all has to do with enriching the contexts for interactive education through the prospective vision provided by cooperative learning. Both the design and the management of these learning activities by cooperative teams through virtual tools, have to focus their efforts on fostering this shared participation in the task of learning. It is a good way for the human being to feel that he is a thread in this interactive network. Rather than speaking of persons linked through the web we suggest thinking about trainees involved in interactive networks.
Mª JESUS MEDINA Solidarity and Technology United
They are enthusiastic, altruistic, patient, active, responsible, extroverted, respectful, understanding persons who, above all, feel committed to the society they live in. They want to be the driving force of change in social issues, getting involved in the transformation process, being part of it. We are speaking about the cyber-volunteers. The meaning of the word volunteer is very well known by everyone. Those are persons who give their time and effort for free with the aim of improving the living conditions of the rest of the population. It is not a recent phenomenon. There have always been volunteers, usually related to social issues and with the clear aim of supporting disadvantaged groups or those discriminated against. Although times have changed the ultimate essence of this behaviour remains the same. The appearance of ICT has brought about new needs linked to constant changes in the social and economic organisation. These new needs have to be satisfied with resources that didn’t exist before. Beyond enabling universal access to information, the development of New Technologies has brought about the coining of the expression “digital exclusion”. We use it as an indicator which enable us to measure the differences between those groups or communities who have access to the Information Society and those who, on the contrary, for whatever reason, do not. The ultimate goal behind the creation of cyber-volunteers is to reduce this “digital exclusion” as much as possible. A cyber-volunteer is an internaut who, thanks to his knowledge, enthusiasm and solidarity, his able to help fostering digital literacy, particularly among those groups who find more difficulties accessing the web, and he does it without any economic compensation for services rendered. He wants to reach those sectors which do not know the Internet, show them the opportunities this communication toll offers and thus contribute to improve their quality of life. The cyber-volunteers Programme of the Junta de Castilla y León (regional government) is part of the Regional Strategy for the Digital Knowledge Society 2007-2013, which intends on promoting the use and enjoyment of the Digital Knowledge Society. The Programme was devised as a complement to the training plans implemented through the Programme “Iníci@te”, which aims at attracting as many people as possible towards the world of new technologies and intends add value through a more personalized attention I order to attain its objectives. The cyber-volunteer will never supplant the work of professionals, on the contrary, through his presence he will provide support to training activities, teaching fellow citizens individually or in small groups. He will support teachers and tutors, will teach at workshops for initiation in the use of Internet and will disseminate those activities that might directly benefit the community. He wants the Internet to stop creating social and cultural barriers and, to the contrary, become the tool to suppress those existing. He contributes to the reduction of inequalities in relation with access to new technologies, enabling more people to get to know some resources which can improve their quality of life. Their profiles are varied, their motivations different, their ages vary but they all work with a common goal. Through its Programme of Cyber-volunteering the Junta de Castilla y León provides technical training which will enable volunteers to know the tools with which they will be working, informs them about the Programme in which they will be taking part, handles them with data on the target groups with whom they will be involved and helps developing skills which will allow them to do their job.
OLGA FERNÁNDEZ BERRIOS: Reflections, tools and experiences about Cooperation 2.0
There is a clear semantic link as well as a theoretical one between the phenomenon of the 2.0 Web and Development Cooperation, but in practice there is no real connection, except for a few isolated and pioneering cases. From our experience in training in Information and Communication Technologies we believe that the cause of this lies in the existence of a huge digital gap in this field added to the lack of democracy and transparency in the practices of some entities, which go against the principles they are supposed to promote. Nevertheless there are some cases which prove the potential the 2.0 Web has when it comes to launching or supporting cooperation projects. These cases rely on the use of tools such as blogs, metablogs, planets, wikies, social networks, internet telephony or videoconferences. We have chosen a few examples of interesting experiences carried out by organizations, aid workers or public institutions within Cooperation 2.0. These are blogs from on-site, blogs from the headquarters, a metablog, a planet, a directory of blogs and a sample of wikies and social networks with video.
VICENTE C. DOMINGO: The “Mundo 21” Foundation: “Humania TV”
The “Mundo 21” Foundation is the result of more than ten years developing a platform for the use of communications and information in order to foster human development, education, access to information and exchange of knowledge with the aim of eliminating poverty and generate social and cultural development. The “Mundo 21” Foundation is a non profit foundation qualified as “of general interest”, whose main mission is: “The creation and maintenance of a system of communications and interactive training for sustainable development, education in democracy, respect, peace and human dignity, the exchange of knowledge, know how, skills and techniques and for international cooperation”. In order to achieve this main mission of the Foundation, we carry out the same kind of activities that we usually do within our professional activity. That is to say: Communications, journalism, information, audiovisuals, radio broadcasting, etc. But we do with a clear orientation towards Development Cooperation, dissemination of moral values and the implementation of social networks for the disseminations of information and knowledge towards development and eradication of poverty. That’s how HUMANIA appeared. It is the first TV programme created and maintained by a Foundation. This is an atypical and pioneering programme in the Spanish television landscape and maybe in the whole of Europe. At the same time the website www.humania.tv was also launched. It is aimed at disseminating third sector activities. There is a radio HUMANIA too, which is only accessible through the website. The “Mundo 21” Foundation constitutes thus, a stable and progressive use of television for codevelopment, international cooperation, dissemination of culture and knowledge, eradication of poverty and creation of resources for human development.
JOSE MANRIQUE: The importance of the Mobile Web in developing countries
The “digital gap” between rich and poor countries is a fact, since access to ICT is not the same in all the countries. Nevertheless, the networks of mobile telephones have achieved a coverage rate of about 80% of the world population and thus constitute one of the main gates to gain access to the ICT in developing countries. The use of mobile phones to connect to available services on the web could help closing the digital gap.
CAROLINA MORENO: Strategies for integrating the New Technologies in “Entreculturas”
This article analyses how “Entreculturas” integrates Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as a tool for Development Cooperation within the various spheres of activity of the organisation, and how it does it while trying to promote a wider use of technology. With that aim in mind, first the importance of ICT as strategic tools for Development will be discussed, and then set in the context of the present working perspectives of the International Community and, particularly, of the Spanish Agency for Cooperation. After outlining this point of departure in Spain, some of the activities of “Entreculturas” which rely heavily on the use of ICT as a strategic element for promoting sustainable development and more inclusive societies will be described.
EDUARDO PÉREZ Web based Geographic Information System for diagnosis, selection, implementation and monitoring of Education Centres for Regional Development (Chilean System for Regional Studies (SIDER))
The strengthening of the education – agriculture pairing is a fundamental task for every government aiming at the improvement of the living conditions of the inhabitants of deprived regions since it allows to define what needs to be done to achieve a truly sustainable social development. Nevertheless, in some countries (and more particularly in some of their regions), basic education and agriculture do not benefit from an adequate infrastructure which could guarantee quality, continuity, strength and growth of the more vulnerable communities. That is why there is an urgent need to set up Regional Centres which would lay the foundations to coordinate and promote community development. The first step would be to strengthen education since this is the key element when it comes to reducing social backwardness. In order to avoid isolated efforts, it is necessary to establish a single strategy which would allow coordinating and gathering in a single website all the information on the various programmes and actions which are carried out in each region, without regard to their being promoted by government, private initiative and/or non profit organisations. So, this SIDER project uses information on social issues, on education, demography, geography and economy for the diagnosis, selection, follow up and monitoring of the setting up of the Education Centres for Regional Development at geographically strategic locations. In addition the project provides aid workers with a tool for the monitoring of the applied resources, the collective decision-making on those and a tool which allows greater transparency. The evaluation of individual actions will thus help establishing future criteria which will continue to create a favourable atmosphere for social and economic welfare within each region as a whole.
SANTIAGO PALACIOS NAVARRO AND OTHERS: Cooperating with common sense. Examples and reflections about cooperation and ICT
In this presentation we World like to describe the experience gathered during the last 2 years working with the HegoBit Aldea (Education – Development – Technology – Cooperation) association. This association was officially founded on the 28th of December 2006. It has 20 members and has been carrying out a number of actions or micro-projects in which information and communication technologies played a fundamental role. As described in the articles of association, this organisation also focuses its activity on online social education tasks as well as on training and organisation. Indeed, the meaning of the name HegoBit Aldea (the digitalized village from the South or in favour of a digitalized South) already points towards the aims and orientation of this association. Among the main goals of the association we could mention the following: To provide access to the new technologies for those groups at risk of being affected by the digital gap. To inform about the risks implied both by the digital gap and highly digitalized societies. To foster the exchange of knowledge between groups divided by the digital gap. Others (consult the association’s web http://www.hegobitaldea.org) Therefore, we World like to present some of the projects the association is involved in, since we consider them as good examples about the way in which cooperation can be adapted, can evolve and develop its own identity and how it can be implemented through the use of Information and Communication Technologies. In addition we would like to stress the evaluation related aspects and the potentialities brought along by the use of IC Technologies for an objective evaluation of the interventions. We would like to point out as well the contributions of IC Technologies in the field of the internal organisation of the leading actors in Development Cooperation. Indeed as it has already been said during this congress “… when working in Cooperation programmes, whether it be seen from the point of view of a single entity or from the perspective of the international system of development cooperation, we can foresee that cooperation will increasingly be done online and through networks ...”
VALENTÍN VILLARROEL: “Willay”: ICT for the local administration in Peru
“Willay” is a Quechan word which can be translated as meaning “to communicate”. The Willay Programme aims at supporting democratic governance at the local level, helping decentralisation and strengthening management at the municipal level. It is directed at public local entities such as city councils, schools and health centres in rural areas of Peru. It addresses the improvement of management procedures through the use of adequate, low cost, information and communication technologies. The strategy relies on fostering the effective spreading of Information and Communication Technologies solutions in order to achieve an institutional strengthening. It is done through training courses for specialists, strengthening of key actors, improving the partnerships among them and carrying out demonstrative actions.
YOLANDA RUEDA: Cybervolunteers, a social network aimed at fostering development.
We work day by day with a vision in our minds: How to use New Technologies as a mean to solve fundamental social problems? In order to achieve it, we rely on a social network, the cyber-volunteers: these are persons who are curious, eager to learn, pro-active, who love to share and who are very enthusiastic about new technologies, persons who contribute, in an altruistic way, to foster the use and the knowledge of technological tools among the population with less opportunities to have access to ICT and with lower levels of education. The cyber-volunteers are agents of the social change. They play a vital role linking the local level with the global one within the Information Society and, usually, they do it in an innovative way when it comes to searching for solutions and in a creative way when they identify and channel existing needs and demands within their spheres of action. That’s the reason why it is vital for our organisation to vindicate the past, present and future importance of ICT volunteers for the development and implementation of information and shared knowledge society, because, as the United Nations have pointed out, without volunteers it would be impossible to close the digital gap.
JOSÉ HERNÁNDEZ: "CooperAcción": A practical case of social network for development cooperation
“CooperAcción” is the first social network specializing in development cooperation and intends to be the reference social network in this field. It offers a personal space for its members as well as shared spaces allowing all those interested in development cooperation to find each other and gather around common aims and interests. “CooperAcción” allows access to a variety of tools among which the users can choose: personal or community blogs, tags, private and public communities, an array of access controls, web space for the storage of personal or community files, podcasting, complete syndication, etc. To sum up, “CooperAcción” intends to facilitate working in a network environment and wishes to become a practical example of cooperation 2.0, as a new model which makes use of technological possibilities while incorporating collaborative practices into development cooperation.
JORGE ORTIZ: “BorgouNET”: providing on-line services for the institutional strengthening of development agents
This article presents an in depth study of the experience of “BourgoNET”, a project in which the non-profit organisation from Madrid Engineers Without Borders (ISF) was involved. The study was conducted with the systematization method. The study covers its history, analyses its successes and failures in order to learn from them and improve future actions. This implied fostering a joint reflexion and exchange of views between those persons who have been involved in the experience. In addition, the methodology which has been used to conduct the study was new for ISF, and thus it has served the purpose of demonstrating to the ISF staff not involved in the project, the importance of systematization as a method for analysing a project, while explaining what the method consists of and how it should be implemented. The experience with “BorgouNET” started in the year 2000, when a Spanish engineer then staying in the city of Parakou in Benin, offered is services to the local development agents (City Council, hospital, education centres, non-profit organisations, both national and international, religious missions, etc.), who explained that they had a problem concerning communications with the rest of the country and the rest of the world. In order to solve it he developed, with a computer, an email gateway which allowed local users of communications to save a lot of money. The good news spread and the project started growing quickly. The experience evolved, partly due to the support he received from ISF, which got funding and provided technical support, until it became what it now is, a non-profit organisation that offers broadband Internet access through a satellite link, among other online services. These organizations can now access information from around the world and strengthen their relationships with other national or international institutions. Thanks to this project, these institutions have cut their expenditure on communications, improved their internal management and increased their fields of action. Since 2005 “BorgouNET” is self-sufficient, that is, it works autonomously, without outside support. It is thus a success story. ISF has now become another of the partners of the west-African non-profit organisation. In order to be more understandable, the study analyses four different fields. These are the following: Intervention, where we look at the work done by ISF and the aspects linked to development. Here we find four different models, which are very much influenced by the different kind of support from outside. Work started without outside support, next came two projects funded by ISF, and then the last model, which is self-sufficient. Management: In this field we focus on the rules which define the structure and organisational procedures of “BorgouNET”. It deals with both the organisation of the non-profit entity and its staff. We could also identify four models, which match the results of the previous field of study (Intervention). Here the changes depend on the growing complexity of the organisation, which was rather informal in the beginning, but got more complex as ISF and funding from outside made their appearance and then became autonomous. Technology: Here we analyse the kind of technology used during each phase. Again, we find four different models but they are not related to those in “Intervention” nor “Management” since they depend on more technical issues. In addition change happens at a much quicker pace since the forth stage starts in august 2004, that is a year before the fourth model appeared in the preceding fields. It all started with a simple email, then came surfing the web through a Commuted Telephone network (RTC) and then WiFi was installed. Later on optical fibre allowed offering broadband Internet connection. Finally, fibre was dropped in favour of VSAT. Business: here the subject matter was the business strategy followed by “BorgouNET”, analysing the type and number of clients, the charging rates and the services offered. This time we found three models: an initial one where the prices were based on costs. In a second model fixed tariffs were established according to a commercial strategy. And then there is a last model once financial sustainability has been attained and the organisation works autonomously.
MIGUEL ANGEL GONZÁLEZ: Remote laboratories on the Web, a tool for Development Cooperation in the field of Education
Technological advances are bringing about the need for a greater number of equipments in the laboratories used for the practices in Science and Technology subjects, which implies a significant increase of maintenance costs. That is why teachers in Centres with budgetary problems find many difficulties to have well equipped labs. This means that such advances might indeed result in an increase of the digital gap. In this article we present a laboratory conducting real experiences in Physics which is accessible through the Web. The aim is to reduce the expenses involved in teaching Physics. This laboratory allows the student to use very expensive equipment to which he would otherwise seldom have access. The use of new technologies in education opens new perspectives and enables access to resources that improve the quality of education in less developed countries.
CARLOS E. JIMÉNEZ: Towards network co-operation: the example of the virtual volunteers.
The usefulness of ICT has been demonstrated in quite a number of fields. This presentation focuses on one of those fields, development cooperation, and addresses, more specifically, the potentialities of working in a network environment illustrated by the concept of virtual volunteering. Therefore, we will first explore in more depth the meaning of this expression, and then analyse the most important key elements when it comes to designing and implementing virtual volunteering initiatives (that is, infrastructure, human capital management, leadership skills, project planning and management and technological culture). The presentation concludes with two success stories which stress the importance of the variables discussed previously.
VICENTE CARLOS GUADIÁN: ICT as a key element in development cooperation policies
Information and Communication Technologies are operating as a lever to change the society in which we live. The advances and particularly the quick pace at which they occur in the field of information and communication technologies are affecting all the spheres of society. This technological advance is having both positive and negative consequences. The benefits which we can draw from technology are many and varied. Even more so when we take into account the new stage in which the Internet is now. The 2.0 Web is a social one. It is regenerating the web completely after having included an array of tools which have allowed users to take control. From being mere consumers of information in a one way ecosystem the users have become producers and consumers in a new bidirectional environment. The prosumer is the emerging figure in the XXI century. Public administrations should take advantage of these new abilities acquired by the digital citizens I order to foster cooperation. The tools are there; they should just be correctly used. Therefore, through ICT based strategies, the effort made in the first World should be channelled so that it reaches developing countries in a better way. But at the same time ICT strategies should be fostered in those countries so that they can generate their own development without depending on third parties.
JESÚS SALINAS: The integration of communities of Patagonia into the Information and Knowledge Society through the Interinstitutional Network for Regional Integration - The UNPA network
We present the defining elements of a project for the digital inclusion and community revitalization which is part of a wider and more ambitious project involving several institutions, a project about educational innovation implemented by the National University of Southern Patagonia (UNPA) with the collaboration of University of the Balearic Isles about the use of ICT for the improvement of the quality of the University system as well as of vocational training at the different campuses of that University. It includes allowing access to the University facilities to the communities. The idea is to implement a number of local nodes – resource centres - in order to provide information, assessment and open (online) education services to both the young and the adults.
FABIO NASCIMBENI: Towards an open mechanism for the identification of the agenda for research on ICT between Europe and Latin America: the WINDS – LATIN AMERICA project
Through its Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) for Research and Technological development, the European Commission promotes the creation of collaborative research networks with Latin America (LA). With the aim of promoting FP7 in Latin America and fostering the creation of Latin American – European consortia for research on ICT it is supporting the WINDS Latin America project. Being a follow up to a number of programmes such as Eurolatis, @LIS ISN and EU-LAT, WINDS-LA (www.winds-la.eu) aims at deepening the strategic cooperation in the fields of research and development between Europe and Latin America around issues related to Information and Communication Technologies. It does it through information services on excellence in R&D in ICT in terms of actors, projects and results, through collaboration services to facilitate the joint work of researchers around specific topics as well as the preparation of collaboration projects, and through the organisation of conferences in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. The question which lies behind the project is the following: How can we open up the Euro-Latin American agenda for research on ICT, taking into account, on one hand, the needs and the excellence of the Latin American continent and on the other the European priorities and interests? And even further: Is it possible to involve in this exercise all the actors who are interested in the application of the results of research on ICT, in order to improve the quality of live and the competitiveness of Latin American people? These are key questions since they address the same mechanism of offer and demand in both regions, and they are particularly important for the Latin American region because they can help filling existing gaps between countries and between sectors within the countries.
REPORT BY JOSÉ LUIS TESORO: Training programme in digital civism.
This technical note presents the contents of the training courses for the following actors of the Training Programme in Digital Civism (ForCiD Programme): Coordinators, Tutors, Leaders and Operators. The ForCiD Programme aims at generating a cycle in which the process of transformation of democracies in Latin America will depend more on the respective societies, through an increase in the demand for more e-government services regarding better information, better administrative procedures, better formalities, greater integration, better governance, and better democracy in order to achieve better quality of life for the population as a whole. The ForCiD Programme is being carried out by the Inter-American Network for Training in E-Government (RIF-GE) of the College of the Americas (COLAM) of the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education with the support of the “1@+tú=1?” initiative of the Information and Communication Technological centre (CTIC) from Gijon in the region of Asturias, Spain. The ForCiD Programme intends to contribute directly to attaining the objectives set in the Latin American Charter for Electronic Government (CLAD, 2007) which are based on the fact that the right of the citizen to have access to the public administration via electronic means opens many possibilities for social inclusion through access to information, services, participation and control, overcoming any possible barriers, be they bureaucratic, socioeconomic, cultural, educational, of space or time. It is worth mentioning that the Latin American Charter was adopted at the XVII Latin American Summit of Heads of State and Government in Resolution number 18 of the Santiago Declaration issued on 10/1/2007. The first section of this technical note outlines the key elements of the ForCiD Programme. The second section describes the training programmes for the different actors. The third section deals with the contents of the training modules.
EVA Mª REGUERA. AQUA-Sahara Project
This document describes the work carried out by Ingeniería Sin Fronteras in the Saharan refugee camps (Tindouf, Algeria), focusing on the application of Information and Communication Technologies (ITCs) in AQUA-Sahara, a cooperation project that tries to improve the water supply in the whole region.ICTs are used in this project in a cross way, providing access to different communication tools which contribute to the exchange of information between cooperation agents and the Saharan community and, therefore, making it easier to achieve the objectives of the project. On the other hand, this project refers to the Seventh Objective of the Millennium for Development and the role played by ICTs serves as an example of how these technologies can be used in Cooperation in a cross way, in order to offer digital opportunities, which are intended to reduce the huge difference between North and South as far as possible, and to boost the achievement of the projects and the improvement of the quality of life in regions such as Sahara.
