CAF Finances Installation of Altiplano Computer Center

The Andean Development Corporation (CAF) and the EcoPueblo Foundation signed a technical cooperation agreement to grant up to $100,000 for the installation of a computer center (Telecentro) in the Calamarca community, located on the altiplano region near La Paz, the Bolivian capital. The agreement was signed by the CAF representative in Bolivia, José Vicente Maldonado, and the executive director of the EcoPueblo Foundation, Luz Rosario Salinas. The CAF vice president of development strategies Fidel Jaramillo was also present.

Maldonado said the project is CAF’s contribution to strengthening human capital in Bolivia and reducing the technological gap through education programs that bring the population of the rural communities into contact with modern information and communication technologies. This pilot experiment will make an important contribution to the modernization and strengthening of Bolivian education, he added.

For the CAF, this type of the initiative is important because it trains human resources and improves competitiveness. The spread of information and communication technologies in the Andean nations is essential for efficient integration of the region in the world economy.

This project will operated by the EcoPueblo Foundation and Quántica, a Venezuelan company, which will organize the education program. The EcoPueblo Foundation - an NGO - has been working for the integrated development of rural communities in Calamarca for some years. On its initiative a cultural center and daycare center with all the basic services were built in the locality. With a high profile in social responsibility, Quántica specializes in development of software and integrated systems for education adapted to each country.

The project is aimed at teachers, students, parents and members of the Calamarca community, especially underprivileged children from preschool to primary. Teachers and administrative personnel, parents and representatives and other members of the community not linked to the schools may also take part.

Calamarca has a population of some 1,100, with a preschool that takes 75 children. The municipality has 33 primary schools with 2,856 children; and secondary schools with 645 students. With the inhabitants of the surrounding area, the potential number of users of the Telecenter is 10,000.

The Telecenter will be a powerful instrument for bringing equal opportunities for access to basic tools of information technology for knowledge acquisition to the community and surrounding areas. This excellent initiative will help democratize access to information and communication technology, and contribute to closing the gap generated by exclusion form new technology, which affects low-income sectors.