ICTs as Tools of Sustainable Development in the Cotahuasi Basin - Peru

Since 1996 a locally approved and planned sustainable management proposal for local development has been implemented in the province of La Unión. Through it and via Consensus Building Tables, the population, institutions, and authorities manage resources - hopefully in a sustainable manner that improves quality of life. The present project involves using ICTs as instruments to ease the process and strengthen the fulfillment of Local Agenda 21.

In 6 prioritised districts in the province, AEDES has worked to develop people's abilities to use ICTs, specifically, the Internet. Sessions are held in localities with electricity and computer equipment that, in most cases, belong to the local governments, which allow their use for training sessions. Courses are also conducted at the Cotahuasi Telecentre. Other technology, such as video, is used in localities that lack access to the required services. Laptop computers are also used to support training work.

In structuring training activities, organisers insist on the participation of both genders and different ethnic groups. Organisers say that, although initially women lacked confidence about learning to use a computer, they have became active and enthusiastic participants in the training. Likewise, young people have been trained. AEDES explains that La Unión is rich in cultural diversity. Training sessions for the mistis and indigenous people take into account language and community ties. AEDES stresses the importance of using the local dialect and building trust with the population being trained.

Technology, Sustainable Development.

Following the installation of a fixed phone service in Cotahuasi in 1997, AEDES established Internet service in its offices to foster institutional communication between the cities of Arequipa and Cotahuasi. Local professionals and students seeking to access the Internet began visiting the AEDES office to request the use of this service as a favour. In an effort to meet the population's information and communication needs, AEDES installed the Cotahuasi Internet Booth in 1998. The Booth subsequently closed due to lack of adequate technological infrastructure and high connectivity costs. AEDES then crafted a more solid proposal in which ICTs became the tools of a developmental vision, which was captured in a strategic plan. In 2001 Booth reopened its doors, this time as the Cotahuasti Telecenter.

Organisers cite ways in which many different groups, following training, have used the Telecenter to support sustainable development. Here are a few examples:

• Organised groups of women connected with other groups at regional, national, and international levels. As a result, the Federation of Women of the Union [Federación de Mujeres de La Unión (FEMULU)] participated in contests organised by the Latin American Network of Rural Women in 2000 and 2001 (obtaining first place).
• Members of youth organisations participate actively in the creation of national policy to benefit young people by connecting with regional institutions and national representatives.
• 6 educational centres in the province have joined the Globe worldwide network by monitoring their communities' environment, establishing an information exchange with other educational centres at the global level, and participating in international education programmes to improve the quality of education. (Click here for a description of this international programme.) These same groups of students are participating in activities to explore their cultural identity through the creation of local content websites and videos, which will ultimately form part of an Internet portal for the province elaborated on a free software platform.
• Producers organised through the Association of Organic Crop Producers [Asociación de Productores de Cultivos Orgánicos (APCO)] have established communication channels to commercialise their products. Small business owners are using ICTs not only to sell their own processed products and medicinal and aromatic herbs, but also as self-training tools.
• Waterer's organisations have begun to manage their own information locally through a geo-referenced information database.
• The Consensus Building Tables have been consolidated and up-to-date information and development indicators added, which has allowed plans, projects, and programmes to be designed.

This initiative takes place in the area of the Cotahuasi Basin, located northwest of Arequipa, Peru, within the Local Agenda 21. Organisers hope to repeat it in the neighbouring provinces in the Ocoña Basin area. Click here to access the international Local Agenda 21 document.

This initiative was one of the 12 finalists for the 2003 Association for Progressive Communications (APC) Betinho Communications Prize, which recognises people-centred technology initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean.