Work Team C-22: Global Digital Divide

Work Group description

As the technology is not sufficient to addressing problems of social, educational and cultural exclusion of low-income population, it is important to reflect about the relationship of the individuals with the technological possibilities and the inclusion facilitated by the digital policies established by public or private initiatives, especially between the low-income population, and how the educational process of inclusive possibilities has been worked.

This discussion shows various perspectives on the new communication technologies, particularly the Internet and its impacts in the society and education, since with the growing concern about the technologies emerge, every day, new public policies with the aim of universal access to technologies. However, some initiatives disregard that increased access to information can lead the society to more democratic social relations, but can also generate a new logic of exclusion.

It also is important to consider that, in this context, some inclusive proposals disregard that the digital exclusion is merely a projection of the cultural exclusion and has its basis in the social and economic exclusion, in other words, with no access to income, culture and especially education we are not going to solve the problem of digital exclusion, since the individual subtracted of this properties will not have interest in using the technology to delight its cultural and intellectual growth.


Indeed, it is important to consider that digital inclusion is not restrict to the technological access and the teaching of informatics, but also involves the active and creative appropriation of new technologies. This ownership occurs through the creation of a virtual company that facilitates the process of exchange of experiences between communities, and to help the learning process.

In this context, it is added that digital inclusion is something that depends on actions that go beyond to facilitate access to technology, because links are needed, but induce the creation of culture and content, indicators and metrics, interfaces, products and services, all spheres of social life.