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A Robin Hood for the Digital Age

More and more schools will be connected to the Internet in Brazil. (CIDA Photo, P. St-Jacques)

2002-05-10

February 2002: tens of thousands of people, in search of alternatives to the prevailing economic model, converge on the city of Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil, for the 2^nd World Social Forum. Its theme? "Another World is Possible."

At the very heart of this other world lies the Internet. This is the powerful conviction held by Carlos Afonso, head of technological development at RITS, the Rede de informaçãoes para o terceiro setor – the information network for civil society. This nonprofit organization, based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been working since 1997 to make computer technology and its powerful communication tools available to the poorest sectors of the population, largely bypassed by the digital revolution. RITS’ ultimate aim is to set up a genuine information network. RITS receives funding from UNESCO, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), among others.

For Afonso, the Porto Alegre Social Forum was a proving ground: his network took on the task of managing all the World Social Forum's Internet sites. This was a colossal challenge for the nonprofit organization, which lacks the resources available to private sector companies. The results? An average of 200,000 hits a day. "At the height of the Forum, half a million hits were tallied in a single day," says Carlos Afonso. "Let me tell you, there were times when I was literally chewing my nails! We were leaning over the equipment, praying the servers wouldn't crash under the load." Their network proved equal to the challenge.

The Internet at the service of NGOs

RITS is understandably proud. It was a master stroke for the modest network ,which has demonstrated what can be accomplished by a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving civil society. According to Paulo Lima, RITS’ executive secretary, "without the Internet, holding a forum such as this would have been next to impossible." Carlos Afonso adds: "The Forum organizers have become aware of how important the new information and communication technologies are for civil society. In fact, this year, they held seminars and workshops on this theme. Naturally, I'm delighted."

RITS' involvement in the Porto Alegre Social Forum is a perfect illustration of the network's core mission – to modernize civil society organizations. The sharing of information and the switch to digital modes of communication are seen as the keys to this change. RITS takes the lead in this by disseminating, free of charge, its weekly "webzine" RETS (Revista do terceiro setor), which summarizes news from Brazilian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In the lineup: news, features, interviews, and classified ads on public interest topics such as the campaign run by Viva Rio, a community group, to fight the dengue fever epidemic that is raging through the state of Rio this year.

"Every issue covers a variety of topics, many of them inspired by the ton of mail received each week," says editor-in-chief Graciela Selaimen, who is in charge of RITS' information activities. "The zine is posted online every Friday, and we have 20,000 subscribers as well. The feedback is overwhelmingly positive. Our readers write to tell us how useful the information is, which is very rewarding."

Graciela Selaimen also supervizes the posting of a directory of Brazilian NGOs, whose powerful browser allows access to half of Brazil's NGOs. "It lists 35,000 organizations working in fields such as the environment, health, education, help for underprivileged children, and various types of discrimination. Over the years, RITS has become the reference in the world of Brazilian NGOs." The RITS Web site also hosts a virtual research centre on Brazilian civil society: draft legislation, regulations, the impact of information technology on daily life – all are analyzed in-depth.

Some 300 Brazilian NGOs, including some of the most important, are officially affiliated with RITS. They pay between $200 and $700 a year for services such as Web site hosting, email access, or Intranet services, which help them to optimize and pool their efforts through regular communication. RITS also provides its members privileged access to management and legal information, and provides technical support in the design and development of Web pages.

RITS thus helps Brazil’s have-nots to make themselves heard on the Web. "Our next challenge is to broadcast this voice to individual Brazilians," states Paulo Lima. "At present, fewer than 6 % of Brazilians are connected to Internet." And Carlos Afonso points out that "users are mostly concentrated in the south, near Rio and São Paolo. The regions far from the main centres have no access to a local server, which sharply increases user fees." In more than 80 % of Brazilian municipalities, for instance, Internet providers must establish a long-distance telephone connection before connecting to the Web. Because this makes providing local service prohibitively expensive, it is simply not offered."

In a move to universalize Internet access, the government has set up a special fund called FUST (Fundo de Universalização dos Serviços de Telecomunicações). Its operating principle is simple: it collects fees from telephone and telecommunications firms established in Brazil. Telephone and cable providers have, since January 1, 2001, paid 1% of their gross income into the fund: $500,000 is thus been collected each year. The plan is designed to last five years.

"This is a lot of money," says Paulo Lima. Our main concern is to ensure that it will be invested in the right places. It could certainly allow a large number of citizens to gain access to the Internet, but for this to succeed, the money must be properly spent," he adds.

The FUST: Money Unspent

Carlos Afonso deplores the fact that the millions accumulated in the FUST are currently sitting idle due to administrative and political bickering. What’s more, authorities have decided unilaterally on what types of projects will be eligible for funding. "The plan is to connect schools, libraries, health centres. It remains to be seen whether this will stimulate citizens and communities to participate actively in civil society," says Afonso. "Digital inclusion is more than simply being connected to a network. The Internet is a medium, and needs to be exploited as such. It’s not enough, for instance, that a school have Internet access; students must also know how to tell their story on the Web," he points out. Carlos Afonso is also following the tendering process set up by the authorities, keeping a keen eye out for potential corruption and conflicts of interest.

What should be done with these vast sums? Carlos Afonso believes that half the available monies would be enough to set up and operate 6,500 telecentres across the country – one centre per 25,000 inhabitants. Telecentres are Internet access points open to the community. Already, a pilot project through which 10 such centres were set up in a poor area of the megacity of São Paolo, has produced offshoots. City hall has announced the establishment of 150 new community access points in the São Paolo area. It remains to be seen who will be willing to undertake similar projects elsewhere in the country.

Carlos Afonso and his RITS colleagues are doing their best to support such initiatives. Like Robin Hoods of the digital era, they want to see the amazing tool called Internet in the hands of the poor. Their challenge is to convince NGOs, whose agendas are already full to overflowing, to make room for this important issue. RITS’ message to NGOs: this is a worthwhile focus and, in the long run, to invest in the Internet is to equip yourself to fulfil your organization’s mission. For Afonso, one thing is clear: "If NGOs used the new information and communications technologies more, they would eventually become much more effective."

Chantal Srivastava is a freelance writer based in Brazil.

For more information:

Gilles Cliche, Team Member, Pan Networking, IDRC, 250 Albert Street, PO Box 8500, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1G 3H9; Phone: (613) 236-6163 ext. 2061; Fax: (613) 567-7749; Email: gcliche@idrc.ca

Carlos Afonso, Head of Technological Development, RITS, Rua Lopes Quintas, 211, Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro/ RJ - Brasil; Phone: (21) 3205-7614; Email: ca@rits.org.br

Paulo Lima, Executive Secretary, RITS, Rua Lopes Quintas, 211, Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro/ RJ - Brasil; Phone: (21) 3205-7614; Email: plima@rits.org.br

Graciela Selaimen, Information Co-ordinator, RITS, Rua Lopes Quintas, 211, Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro/ RJ - Brasil; Phone: (21) 3205-7614; Email: graciela@rits.org.br

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