Tech: key to re-empower 30 surviving communities

Empowerment of communities to close the digital divide aims to accompany the development and strengthening of skills to close the digital divide in communities that have survived the conflict, providing them with technology skills applicable to their personal lives. , family and community; that contribute to improving their mental health, strengthening the social fabric and economic empowerment.

With this project, Participants began to develop skills such as collaboration, creativity, expression, critical thinking, self-direction, and technological fluency. Additionally, they created local and global connections with the Abuelitas and other SOLEs. The Ambassadors of each of the 15 communities have become new leaders to encourage curiosity and people to meet. The communities have created a new space, the SOLE, to regularly meet and use the Internet as a learning tool for all the topics that are important to them. The Grannies of the Nube de Abuelitas have engaged the emotion in the Participants, creating relationships of trust and motivation to achieve a good life, in turn receiving a loving exchange of lives in these remote parts of the country. The Explorers have discovered how SOLE can be used to connect many of the themes that are sought to be investigated in WLH and have been the great local promoters of accompanying the Ambassadors.

Undoubtedly, the world is facing a transformation of the age where technology is a new key to unleash the potential of people to learn, act and create.

Together, we are discovering how to scale up this community empowerment methodology to close the digital divide throughout the country. It is not an easy task, but thanks to this project we are confident that it is possible to bring together people, who would hardly have the opportunity, to learn, listen, share and test new ideas using the Internet.

We believe that SOLE Colombia can be a model for Latin America and the world. Now is the time to step up, after decades of violence and a pandemic, people are ready to connect and create together.

Some conclusions that we have been able to reach from the work in the communities through the Big Questions:

• It is striking that there are few historical questions. Maybe people are in survival mode constantly. Perhaps they cannot yet ask themselves questions that have to do with questioning the past, with touching what still hurts.
• There are very powerful scientific questions about the world. nature is a recurring theme in all communities, as well as the empowerment economy of each region.
• The level of education of the people makes the questions of the adults adults seem like children's questions.
• Women's questions are very hard. Gives us food for thought about what they have to deal with in their day to day. They are also the ones who do SOLE the most. Makes us think that women are fundamental and unifying links of the community, are the ones who gather, who encourage, who ask the most questions about things. Most of these women are not eminent figures in the community, but SOLE empowers them and transforms them into agents of change.

Tahank you for being a part of change, for spreading generosity so organizations like ours can keep working... Let's change the world together!!

Links:

• Bridging the digital divide and building peace in Colombia