SEARCH

Subscribe to our newsletter:

Name:

Email:

where do you live?
UK BRAZIL SOMEWHERE ELSE

Digital Democracy

Offering computers to youngsters can be a means of social inclusion, says Rodrigo Baggio, creator of the Committee for the Democratization of Information Technology

In 1993, Rio-native Rodrigo Baggio had a dream in which underprivileged youngsters used computers to discuss the world they lived in and to resolve the problems they faced. He woke up with what he’d imagined fresh in his mind and got to work. Thirteen years later, the Committee for the Democratization of Information Technology (CDI) has opened 965 schools in Brasil and has branches in eight other countries. Baggio has won over 30 prizes and recently took part in Principal Voices, a project organised by CNN in which ten famous figures debate challenging issues facing the world today. This month he’s taking part in a round table at Aspen, together with Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai. Baggio found some time in his busy schedule to talk to Jungle about the challenges of being a social entrepreneur.

How did the Committee for the Democratization of Information Technology come about?

The story of CDI has a lot to do with the story of my life. It all started when I was 12 years old and my dad bought me my first computer. I became obsessed by technology and learned how to use the PC all by myself. At the same time I started working as a volunteer for the Archdiocese of Rio helping out street children. By the time I was 24 I already had my own IT company up and running, but I didn’t feel fulfilled because there was no time for me to do any volunteering. At the end of 1993 I dreamt of underprivileged youths discussing the world they lived in and using technology to improve their lives. The dream set me off in a certain direction and I decided to stick to this path no matter what.

What was the next step?

The second step was starting up a campaign in `94 to encourage people to donate computers called, the first of its kind in Latin America. I received computers, fixed them up and then donated them to communities in need. Six months later I thought of creating an IT and citizenship school. In December I started visiting a favela called Morro Santa Marta in order to round up interested young people. Then in March 1995 we inaugurated the first IT and Citizenship School (EIC), with more than 300 young people signed up to take part.

CDI has spread throughout Brasil and has branches in eight other countries. How did things develop to such an extent?

A lot of people from the community and from the press turned up to the launch party. With all the media attention, volunteers started seeking me out. Seeing as there were more than 70, I thought that I wouldn’t need all of them to help at one school. Then I had the bright idea of opening five schools and creating Latin America’s first ever digital inclusion NGO. Eleven years later we have branches in 19 Brasilian states as well as in Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay, Columbia, the US, Japan and South Africa.