Central America has increasing rates of Internet connectivity. However, Information and Communication Technologies are more often used to promote violence and risky behavior. This project aims to promote civic engagement and the right of living in peace through the use of ICTs. The intention is to empower and provide youth with channels to share, discuss and commit with active citizenship and peace culture.
UN reports and youth surveys in Guatemala reveal that Guatemalan youth feels disconnected and marginalized of public affairs. In part, this frustration is because of the lack of proper channels to communicate and express themselves. Thanks to the growth of Internet coverage and the legal obligation of municipal governments to be more accountable in the use of ICTs, rural and urban youth can have the opportunity to share concerns, identify mutual problems and propose solutions through ICTs.
We will provide a proper web-based environment to promote communication within youth and build a "right place" to share mutual concerns and propose solutions. The main objective is to empower youth by giving the opportunity to express their feelings and concerns trough digital and media arts, blogs, forums and events. The intention is build a sense of community and actively participate to create a networking environment in order to promote real action, incidence and empowerment.
The sustainability of the project mainly depends on the success of the community building strategy. The main activity is to create the right environment with the proper channels. Then, empower youth to education, training and networking. Precisely, the networking is the key factor to have a long term impact promoting real civic engagement and peace culture, having real incidence and allowing youth to find creative and collaborative solutions for common problems.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).