COMMITTEE TO DEMOCRATIZE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

Organizational Vision

Comitê para Democratização da Informática (CDI), or the ‘Committee to Democratize Information Technology,’ was formed in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1995 by Ashoka Fellow Rodrigo Baggio. Its mission is to bridge the digital divide in a sustainable manner by equipping young people in low-income communities with computer skills, thus expanding their job opportunities and access to modern society. The idea is to eliminate the digital divide by establishing locally based ‘Computer Science and Citizenship Schools’ (EICs). The creation of self-sufficient, self-financing local schools enables CDI to spread information technology cost-effectively without placing a financial burden on the organization itself.

Citizen Base Strategy

To develop an EIC, a community group must first establish and demonstrate local demand, including identifying local volunteers who are willing to serve on a coordinating committee. CDI then works in partnership with community organizations such as resident associations, NGOs, and religious groups to establish the schools.

Local resources, such as a physical structure for the school and security measures for computers and other equipment, are required inputs before an EIC is established. Furthermore, communities that want to start a school must present a plan to ensure financial sustainability. Therefore, most schools develop a fee structure (averaging about US$4 per student) based on costs and willingness-to-pay. The fee is used to pay salaries and cover operating costs.

Technology companies are asked to provide in-kind resources, such as hardware and software, as well as technical and institutional support. When approaching companies, CDI pitches these donations as investments that can help create a larger consumer market for technology products, not as charity. Hi-tech companies, looking to increase their consumer base, find it to be in their best interest to provide the resources necessary to set up the EICs where hundreds of potential new consumers are introduced to their products. In addition to Ashoka, CDI has received institutional support and recognition from the UN, UNESCO, Inter-American Bank for Development, and McKinsey & Co., as well as corporate support from several multi-national technology companies such as IBM, Microsoft, and Dell.

Results

By drawing its resources from the two groups that stand to benefit the most from the EICs—the low income, underdeveloped communities of Brazil and for-profit IT companies—CDI has been able to reduce the digital divide without draining its own financial base. In partnership with local communities and IT companies, CDI has established 180 self-sustaining schools that have trained over 50,000 people. The program’s success in Brazil has led to similar projects being launched in Japan, USA, Mexico, Colombia and Uruguay.

Read a profile about Rodrigo Baggio, Ashoka Fellow.