Community Networks as Sustainable Infrastructure for Digital Skills

Abstract

Digital literacy has been on the agenda of different international bodies and governments during the last decades, especially in the Global South. Despite many efforts, low digital literacy is one of the main reasons for the current digital divide in developing countries. In Latin America, there is a combination of low scores in international education rankings combined with a constant increase in the adoption of digital technologies for communication. At the same time, countries from the region share a history of popular education as a model for teaching and learning media and communication. As a possible response to previously presented challenges and opportunities, this chapter focuses if and how bottom-up solutions developed by local communities can offer a more suitable approach to overcoming the digital divide in areas with limited to no Internet connectivity and low digital literacy and economic income. To achieve this goal, three case studies were carried out with digital literacy projects in different rural contexts in Brazil and Mexico, created and run by the local communities. The analysis of the case studies showed that locally developed initiatives start from the community’s context and interests and can produce meaningful, practical educational tools and content. They play an essential role in offering capacity-building initiatives for communities living in unconnected and underserved areas for the benefit of increasing digital literacy. These initiatives are also cognizant of the socio-economic and cultural particularities of different populations, allowing them to embrace digital technologies within their own culture, combining oral tradition with new media environments.