Nombre: The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Indigenous People’s empowerment: A Case-study in Southern Colombia

Investigador principal: Luis Fernando Barón

Financiamiento: University of Washington

Resumen:

Several projects and studies have shown that the uses and innovations given to ICTs by excluded communities and organizations represent not only new possibilities of communication and expression, but also new opportunities for social change and human development.  For these reasons this proposal aims to investigate how one particular indigenous organization in Colombia is using ICTs (websites, listserv, blogs, etc.) to achieve its cultural, political and social purposes. Furthermore, it will seek to identify if ICTs contribute to social interactions between this ethnic organization and other social sectors (government institutions, other social organizations and civil society). To accomplish this goal, we will approach these themes through work that combines qualitative and quantitative methods and cooperative research work which will involve local scholars as well as indigenous researchers.