Untitled - socium.ge

The US community technology movement 335small and unevenly distributed across the US and around the world, they fillan important niche, delivering the benefits of the information age to thosewho have been passed by. At present, the community technology movementis at a critical juncture, when many of the pieces are in place to bring technologyto those regions that do not currently benefit from it. First, a key groupof mature CTCs has existed for several years; these organizations haveamassed an important body of collective experience. Second, policy-makersand funders have begun to recognize the importance of confronting the digitaldivide. And, third, a range of traditional institutions – schools, libraries,CBOs, and community colleges, for example – understand that they have arole to play. Cities and regions that decide to take on the digital divide cannow benefit from the experiences of others that have already traveled thisroute.The digital divide is one manifestation of an enormous shift currentlyunderway in our society. This shift has made us more global, and our progressmore dependent on the facility with which information can be moved andapplied. The move to an information society increases our ability to connectto each other, to share information, and to open up access to education andthe labor market. At the same time, the digital divide reveals and repeatspatterns of inequality that long pre-existed the current problem. Thesepatterns exist not only in the United States but also throughout the world, indeveloped and developing countries alike. These old divides, which continueto fall out along the familiar lines of race, class, gender, and location, will notbe narrowed by a simple “tech” fix. Rather, addressing persistent poverty andinequality requires a new generation of efforts characterized by greater integration,coordination, and, most of all, a willingness to question and changethe structures that maintain existing power relations.Although the potential of IT to create opportunities for disadvantagedgroups must be pursued aggressively, we must also assess pragmatically whatit can and cannot do. Technology alone will not level deep historical inequalities.Technology, then, is one tool, not “the” answer. Deployed wisely, it cansignificantly advance important human development goals. Without supportto make it equally available, and without integrating it into a more comprehensivesolution, it will likely aggravate existing inequalities (Rogers, 1983;Markusen, 1999; Graham and Marvin, 2001). Technology can be a tool ofinclusion or exclusion. The question that needs to be answered is: how can weemploy technology as a tool of inclusion in a society that is not structured tobe fully inclusive? In the end, it is futile to think about either policy or technologyin the abstract. Both are driven by people. Both are tools with thepotential to create a global society that is more just, more open, and moreinclusive – if we can muster the political will to make it so.