bibliotecas ambulantes y computadoras comunitarias
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Computer as Community Memory:
How People in Very Poor Neighborhoods Made a Computer Their Own
Bruno Tardieu, Institute of Research, Action and Training for Human Relations
International Movement ATD Fourth World1
Introduction:
A right orange electric cord dangles do!n from a second"floor a#artment to a
$ol%s!agen van #ar%ed & the side!al% elo!' The van(s o#en hatchac% reveals an in"
e)#ensive *+ com#uter to !hich the e)tensions cord connects' In contrast to the lea%
vacant lots and urnt"out uildings of the outh Bron) neighorhood, the scene in the
street is full of life' +hildren cluster around the van !atching each other using the com"#uter in turn' -thers sit on lan%ets on the side!al%, dra!ing, #ainting, and reading
oo%s' *arents !atch from a#artment !indo!s. others are involved !ith the children,
hel#ing or /ust su#ervising' *assers"& sto#, loo% and occasional& offer advice'0 Fanelli,
Tardieu, 12345
In the summer of 1236, one could find the same scene re#eated in three other
neighorhoods of 7e! 8or% +it&9 :ast 7e! 8or%, +one& Island and the ;o!er :ast ide
of Manhattan, and later in the lo& of a !elfare hotel in Manhattan' The activit&, called a
treet ;iraries0, is a #ilot #ro/ect of the Fourth World Movement
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To full& understand the a##roach !e have had, I !ill first descrie some of the
Fourth World Movement(s founding ideas, vision on #overt& and !a&s of o#eration, in
#articular those of the street lirar&' We !ill then see ho! these #remises led us to con"
fronting the ne! advanced information technolog&, raising ne! =uestions and !orries,
then develo##ing ne! actions and learning'
1 ac!ground to the Community Computer "treet #ibrary pro$ect
1%1 &hy there' &hy computers'
The outh Bron), :ast 7e! 8or% and the other neighorhoods !ere not chosen
& chance' The histor& of our action in the @nited tates since 124 !ith constantl& mov"
ing families led us there' The& are indeed significant #laces' The #oorest of the #oor &
an& standards0''' Fear and an)iet& are common' Man& cannot slee#0''' In the streets out"
side, the restlessness and anger that are #resent in all seasons fre=uentl& intensif& under
the stress of heat0 ''' CThe Timesrefers to the streets around t' Ann(s +hurch as the
Cdeadliest loc%s( in the Cdeadliest #recinct0 of the cit&' If there is a deadlier #lace in the
@nited tates, I don(t %no! !here it is'0 These !ords of onathan Eool descrie, in his
recent oo% Amaing Grace, the ver& same neighorhood !here the street lirar& too%
#lace, t!o loc%s a!a& from that church' In short, these neighorhoods are touched &
e)treme #overt& that the Fourth World Movement has een fighting for the last &ears
throughout the !orld'
8et, one might !onder !h& children, &oung #eo#le and adults co#ing !ith such
e)treme conditions, !ordless suffering, and tra##ed in idleness, !ould suddenl& moilie
their energ& for oo%s, #aints and com#uters, create #eace in the street, and dare again to
sho! their ho#e, es#eciall& for the little ones'
ince its eginning in France in the 124s, and no! in :uro#e, Asia, Africa and
the Americas, the street lirar& #rogram has een o#ening the modern !orld to children
in #overt&, through reading oo%s, stor& telling, art and science #ro/ects' 8et introducing
com#uters in the street liraries has not een an eas& ste#' It too% the vision of Father
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ose#h Wresins%i founder of the International Movement ATD Fourth World to con"
vince Fourth World volunteers !ith ac%ground in science and com#uters, including m&"
self, to start thin%ing aout it' He !as sure #oor #eo#le !ould get involved immediatel&,
eager to e a #art of toda&(s !orld' It !as others, us, !ho resisted'
For ose#h Wresins%i the central issue of #overt& is an e)clusion that e)tends e"
&ond economic resources to eing left out of the social, cultural, educational and #olitical
life of the nation' When com#uters arrived on the scene, he insisted that the #oorest e
#art of this modern revolution, and not once again left ehind' He !as confident that the
ver& asic humanit& of the #oorest !ould lead the volunteers and ring ne! light to that
revolution that some feared as dehuminiing relationshi#s' After all !as not that revolu"
tion #recisel& aout %no!ledge, and communication et!een human eings, !hat he sa!
as %e& dimentions of the strggle against #overt&
1%( &resins!i)s *ision on e+treme po*erty% The ,ourth &orld%
--&hen e+perience is denied'
The late ose#h Wresins%i>!as orn himself in #overt& and e)clusion' He %ne!
first hand that e&ond #overt&, there is miser&, !here #eo#le are seen as infra human e"
ings,0 a social death0 that ma%es e)treme #overt& a denial of human rights'
At school ose#h !as told not to ta%e the elementar& school e)am ecause coming
from such a famil&, teachers !ere sure he !ould fail. *ushed & his mother he too% it
an&!a& outside of the school and #assed' ;ater he !as threatened to e #ut in an or"
#henage to receive etter influence' Time and again the #oorest of the #oor are told that
their children are not !ell e=ui##ed to learn and end u# elieving it' The& too are told that
the e)#erience of their milieu is harmful, not to e transmitted to their children' It ma%es
>Aout Father ose#h Wresins%i(s life 121?"1233J seeFather Joseph Wresinski-Voice of the Poorest&
Al!&ne de $os van teen!i/%, Kueenshi# *ulishing +om#an& 1224':d Kuart Monde, *aris 1232':)treme *overt& and ;ac% of :conomic ecurit&0 Re#ort of the French :conomic and ocial +ouncil,
ose#h Wresins%i, 123?'
>
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the #oor constantl& u#rooted, !ith a denied #ast, douting of their o!n e)#erience,
%no!ledge and histor&, the first man on earth0 as Alert +amus !rote'6
-- "haring !nowledge to brea! the isolation
Wresins%i sa! %no!ledge as the %e&, and sharing %no!ledge the action to under"
ta%e9 :nale the ver& #oor to free themselves of their truncated culture0 in !hich values
cannot e lived 4& learning from others, and all the other to ac%no!edge and learn from
the #oor(s suffering and struggle' As Mr' Dacier, a man !ho %ne! the e)tremes of #over"
t& recentl& told me, lac% of education and ignorance is a cruse, ut it is not the !orse'
The !orse is that #eo#le ignore &ou'0 The learning has to e reci#rocical'
-- ,ourth &orld: .n identity that allows to contribute as /ull citi0ens
In 1264 in the cam# for homeless families of 7ois& le Grand !here he funded the
Fourth World Movement, Wresins%i recognied the e)#erience of his o!n famil& and re"
alied that the families gathered in that cam# !ere not /ust an accumulation of individu"
al situation, of Lsocial casesL as the administration in these &ears called them' The Move"
ment %ne! right a!a& that the& elonged to a same #eo#le''''J Discover a #eo#le !here
other sa! social cases, see a historic identit& !here others denied the social realit&'?
These reflections led this association and its ne!l& created institue of research to forge a
name, allo!ing the #oorest of the #oor to have their distinct voice heard' The& coined the
!ord Fourth World3referring to the +ahiers du Kuatrieme -rdre0 #ulished during the
French revolution & Dufourn& de $illiers to call the attention on these citiens !ho !ere
6;e *remier Homme, A' +amus, Gallimard, 122, *aris'4:)treme *overt& and ;ac% of :conomic ecurit&0 Re#ort of the French :conomic and ocial +ouncil,
ose#h Wresins%i, 123?' This a##roach dee#ens and some!hat contradicts the idea of culture of #overt&0of -scar ;e!is'?;es *auvres sont l(:glise, Wresins%i, :d ;e +enturion, 123>, *aris'
3The association used the !ord in various #ilicaton during the 4s, then #ulished in 1242 ;e Kuart
Monde0 & *rofesseur ean ;aens' For a definition of Fourth World refering to the #oorest as su/ects,
unli%e in the sociological notions of underclass or lum#en #roletariatJ see Kuart Monde, & ;ouis oin ;am"
ert, in :nc&clo#edie @nversalia, Themes et *rolemes, ## >1">, 1231'
In his conference during the collo=uium leading to this oo%, Manuel +astel mentionned the emergence of a
fourth !orld from the outh Bron) to Bur%ina Faso,0 #eo#le !ho are not e)#loited ut are irrelevent'0
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raries had gro!n out from a /oint histor& et!een the volunteers and the #oor families'
$olunteers first lived and !or%ed in the ;o!er :ast ide of Manhattan, running a
Montessori te #reschool and learning center for &outh' When the #oorest families !ere
driven out & gentrification, volunteers chose to #ersue the lin%s !ith them rather that
%ee# their #rograms' :ventuall&, informal lin%s in !hich learning !as al!a&s central de"
cided some of these families to tal% to neighors aout learning together, and these gath"
ering of children naturall& found their !a& to the street, ecoming street liraries'
The street is reall& the center of the communit& life in #oor neighorhoods' In
neighorhoods !here nothing is organied for the children once school closes, and the
street is their onl& #la&ground, the street lirar& is a resource in the hands of a communi"
t&' It is a #ulic affirmation that des#ite all the difficulties, ever& child !ants to learn, en"
/o&s learning and creating, even the #oorest ones, if the& are given #riorit&'
(% Preparatory wor! to introduce computers:
&hat do we !now' &hat should we do'
(%1 Two rele*ent /eatures o/ the computer: power/ul words and associati*e memory%
When *ere ose#h and later $incent Fanelli told me to use m& s%ills in com#uters in the
street lirar& #rogram in 7e! 8or% +it&, I had m& douts' It !as onl& t!o &ears since I had fin"
ished m& *h'D' in com#uter science on learning models0' I did not see ho! the ver& #oor chil"
dren could enefit from com#uters' What convinced me !as to realie that Wresins%i(s =uestions
!ere real challenges to m& o!n %no!ledge aout learning #rocesses. his dialogue !ith e&mour
*a#ert and intellectual lin%s !ith *iaget attracted me' 8et I felt =uite unsecured !ith this chal"
lenge, !ondering !hat I reall& %ne!' I %e#t these =uestions in mind !hile doing these street li"
raries, and discussed them !ith $incent Fanelli, former science teacher !ho too !as thin%ing a
lot aout this' T!o facts aout com#uters rea##eared to me as significant'
First of all, com#uters are machines lin%ing language and action' Words can either
e an o/ect of !ord #rocessing or an order to the com#uter9 &ou can te the !ord
*RI7T0 as #art of the stor& of Gutemerg or te it to actuall& ma%e a #rinter #rint that
#artici#ate in the MF8 evaluation'
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stor&' In com#uter /argon one sa& that a string of its can e either data or command' This
e=uivalence allo!s #rogramming9 !ords ma%e things ha##en' eeing the effect of !ords,
ma%ing them #o!erful ideas0 *a#ert, 1235, hel#s to learn' This !as e)#lained for me
once & a child !ho renamed the com#uter(s Return Ee&0 the %e& that oe&s'0 He !as
stunned9 no such %e& in his hard life that !ould ma%e it oe&0 his !ords'
Another fact struc% me aout com#uters is that it has a memor&'0 I go to school
then I forget ever&thing, a *uertorican girl e)#lained to me' And as an echo Wresins%i
sa&s, the #oorest, !ith no memor&, no histor&, have no future'0 With com#uters memor&
ma%es a ste# & eing associative' The distinction et!een adress and content lurs' It
means that unli%e oo%s or ta#es, electronic memor& can e searched & its content9 a te)t
can e found not onl& through its author or title ut through the su/ects it covers' More"
over, t!o te)ts can e associated according to an& in=uir&, not necessaril& #redicted &
the organiers of that memor&, nor & the authors of the te)ts' +ould this associative
memor& #ossil& hel# free ouselves from al!a&s =uestionning the same #eo#le, su#"
#osed to %no!, !hile !e never =uestion others +ould it hel# us /udge from the matter
rather than authorit& of authors, and thin% together0 !ith less oundaries This has its
im#ortance for the #oor !ho are cut off from this thin%ing together'0
(%( ,irst approach2 e+periments and sur*ey: computers already in the poor)s li*es%
Before deciding !hether or not ring com#uters to the street liraries, and ho! to
go aout it !ithout loosing sight of our #riorit& "" remain close to the #oorest families, !e
!anted to find out !hat the families !e %ne! thought of com#uters and !hat e)#erience,
if an&, the& alread& had of them' We did this & conducting a surve& in our Ta#ori 11
ne!sletter that reaches aout 6 children from ver& #oor areas and other ac%grounds
throughout the @nited tates. & ma%ing a small #ersonal com#uter availale to the fami"
lies !ho came to the Fourth World center and ta%e another one to #eo#le(s home to give
11Ta#ori is the children ranch of the Fourth World Movement' It !as named after children that Father
Wresins%i had met in India, living in rail!a& stations, sharing !hat the& had, &et des#ised & man&' :ver&"
one had told him not to interact !ith these children !ho had nothing good to teach him' Ta#ori allo!s chil"
dren from ver& #oor ac%ground and other ac%grounds to learn from each other and ecome friends'
?
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them a chance to tr& and comment' The follo!ing oservations come from the surve& as
!ell as from the Fourth World volunteers dail& #artici#ant"oservation re#orts'
-- 3+pectations but out o/ reach%
In the s#ring of 1236 among
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When some &oung #eo#le tried out the small com#uter !e had in our center, their
first idea !as to !rite their name' $incent Fanelli !ould sho! them ho! that name could
remain in the memor& of the com#uter' That reminded them their e)#erience at #ulic as"
sistance offices or in the criminal /ustice s&stem, !here information on them is %e#t &
com#uters' The& loo% u# &our name and the& %no! more aout &ou than &ou do &our"
self,0 a mother commented' After that e)#erience the& all !anted to ma%e sure that their
names !ere erased from the memor&9 I don(t !ant m& name to sta& in that thing'0
The other discover& !as that in fact children had used com#uters man& times at
ever& corner store, in the form of video game' The ver& same technolog&, the ver& same
Atari com#uter !as used as video games in the outh Bron) and used !ith the ;ogo lan"
guage develo#ed in the Media ;a of MIT in man& middle class schools and & our"
selves a fe! months laterJ' The mone& !as not the determining factor then, ut the e)#ec"
tation of a societ& to!ards its children9 from some to develo# their intelligence !ith the
est tools, for others to %ill time for a =uarter a minute'
-ne da& ohnn&, the same ohnn&, came to our center !ith his father to tr& out
our com#uter' He !as =uite disa##ointed to find no game' His father told him9 Here &ou
can learn ho! to feed the com#uter, it(s not /ust the com#uter that feeds &ou, li%e these
stu#id games' That(s !h& it is harder'0 ohnn& overcame his frustration, then discovered
he could do some sim#le math !ith the Basic language on our com#uter' He =uic%l& got
tired of !atching it give the right ans!er' I !ant to ma%e the com#uter !rong,0 he said,
and eventuall& succeeded in entering a numer too large for it to handle' This e)am#le
and man& others sho!ed us asic natural need to master the com#uter, as a tool, including
e)#loring its limits, a!a& from magic'
(% 6esigning a pro$ect integrating the computer% Ma!ing choices%
-- O*ercoming initial /ears: a tool among other tools
ome adults !ere afraid !hen !e too% our small com#uter around that it !ould
e ro%en or stolen' The& !ere sur#rised & its #rice, N16, the #rice of a T$ set' 8et
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most remained reluctant9 I !atch it ut I don(t touch it' I(m afraid I hit the !rong %e&
and rea% it' Then I have to #a& for it'0 Then $incent designed sim#le #ro/ects in !hich
the e=ui#ment !as used & teenagers in our center, along !ith other tools9 for e)am#le to
#rint the te)t of the invitation of our ne)t #art&, along !ith loc% #rinting for the illustra"
tion' The com#uter !as losing its m&sti=ue, a tool among others, eing used to carr& out a
s#ecific #ro/ect' An& further #ro/ect should retain that =ualit&'
Around that time one mother, Mrs' Gattling, a true leader !ho %ne! her commu"
nit&, told me9 Well if &ou tal% to us aout this com#uter, and sho! it around, it(s ecause
&ou !ill ring it during the street lirar& for the children to use, right0 -thers said again
that the com#uter !ould e ro%en or stolen right a!a& in the street' But her calm and
clear determination sho!ed us the !a&' Ho! are the& going to get electricit& for the
com#uter someone as%ed0, Bring a long e)tension cord, !e(ll #lug it on our homes,
!e(ll ta%e turns,0Mrs' Gattling concluded'
-- PC 7Personal Computers82 or CC 7Community Computers8'
A ste# had &et to e ta%en' Being in the street is different from eing in our center'
It meant sharing the com#uter !ith man& children and ma%e a real #ro/ect !ith it' We had
tried several soft!ares' A#art from video games, most of them !ere traditional school
drills of math and :nglish, accom#anied & flashing colors and sounds' We =uic%l& o"
served that in a grou# of children, some !ere succeeding in giving the right ans!ers and
had no reason to let others tr&, !hile others did not reall& !ant to tr& once the& had failed'
The com#uter !as adding to the e)clusion of the #oorest' -nl& a high moral #ressure en"
aled us to force the children to ta%e turn at the com#uter' I realied ho! much the !ord
*+, *ersonal +om#uter, !as rightl& chosen' It !as not meant to e shared and created
even more tension than usual' In the middle of the street lirar& !ith u# to 1 children
around, it !ould e terrile'
We did not have to acce#t the goal com#uters had een designed for, ut redesign
them to our goals' The #articular constraints of a street lirar& #ro/ect, the fact that it is
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!ide o#en, that children are totall& free and !al% a!a& if not interested, the choice to in"
clude ever& one, im#oses on us to ring onl& things that are meaningful to all children,
that the& can master and get involved !ith' This forced us to rethin% the use of the com"
#uter'
--Tapori 3ncyclopedia
As !e said efore com#uters could hel# master %no!ledge & storing it in its
memor&, ordering it in a dataan%, using a #articular %ind of #o!erful idea0 in !hich
!ords ""%e& !ords0 "" command actions of researching te)ts on the same su/ect '
+ould !e turn the children into !riters and researchers We decided to tr&' We decided
to ma%e a giant enc&clo#edia !ith all !hat the children %ne!, comining the com#uters
ca#acities mentionned aove as !ell as its #rinter, !ith other tools such as #aint rush to
illustrate the enc&clo#edia, and car#entr& tools to uild the oo% itself out of !ood' +hil"
dren in each neighorhood !ould contriute !hat the& %ne! from their lives or from
oo%s & entering information in the dataase and !ould e ale to loo% u# other entries
& ting a %e& !ord' This #ro/ect !ould ma%e the com#uter a common good, instead of
an e)clusive tool9 the more s%illed children !ould not mono#olie the com#uter since
the& !ould also need to see other children(s entries' The enc&clo#edia #ro/ect !ould
need the com#uter, and the children #artici#ating in it !ould need each other'
I then designed an original soft!are, called Ta#ori Dataan%, !ith !hich children
could enter short te)ts, sign them, do research & title, & authors or & %e&!ords, an&
!ord in the te)t eing a #otential %e& !ord no #reestalished list of %e&!ordJ' For these
functions not to ta%e hours on such a small com#uter +ommodore 4J the soft!are had
to e !ritten entirel& in machine language, !hich I had to relearn for the occasion'
-- 39uipment choices - choose according to which criterion'
We used a lac% and !hite T$ set as monitor' During the first summer it ro%e
do!n, immediatel& a father offered one he had' Along the same lines, !e chose to use
cassette ta#es rather than dis% drive to store the soft!are and the dataase, ecause cas"
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settes are less fragile and e)#ensive' More im#ortant, the children could relate to that o"
/ect' Wh& doesn(t it tal%0 a child as%ed' We listened to the ta#e on one of their oom
o)0 radio and heard the high"#itched ee#s of the data, coding the te)ts !e had entered'
This multi sensorial e)#erience hel#ed them understand the idea of coding information'
Familiarit& !ith cassettes also #rovided an occasion for teenagers to fi) the com#uter0
!hen our ta#e got tangled u#' The& !ould #atientl& untangle the ta#e, re!ind it !ith a
#encil and #roudl& !atch as the #rogram !as successfull& reloaded'
-f course a data cassette is much slo!er than a dis% drive' But !ho is in a hurr&
!hen the summer feels li%e eternit& !ith nothing in front of &ou And !ho said one
learns etter & going faster #eed determined also our choice et!een t!o #rinters, a
dot matri) and a #lotter' We noticed that !ith the dot matri) #rinter, things !ent so fast
that the children /ust could not realie !hat !as going on' -n the contrar& the #lotter, that
!e had first ought ecause it !as chea#er, !as actuall& a little in% #en dra!ing ever&
single letter' The children !ere fascinated & !atching it #rint slo!l& and hearing the
clic%"clac%0 it made as it #rinted' The& !ere finall& !atching a com#uter !or% at their
r&thm' @nfortunatel& !hen !e loo%ed for another #lotter !e !ere told it !as no longer
#roduced9 too slo!' Too slo! for !hat
&hat really happened'
%1 ,irst steps
The first !ee% of that summer 1236 !ith children, teenagers and adults, !e uilt
and #ainted !ooden #latforms that !ould !elcome the com#uters in the van' The fol"
lo!ing !ee%, though, the van ro%e do!n and !e rought the com#uters & su!a&' That
!ee% !as #articularl& !arm, and the sight of three volunteers carr&ing suitcases from the
su!a& im#ressed the children' The& =uic%l& got organied to get tales from their #ar"
ents, install the com#uters, hel# connect the !ires and get the street lirar& started' In the
van the mae of !ires !as out of sight under the #latforms, ut no! the& !ere all o#en'
8et no one #ulled or touched !ires' This tought us ho! this !as for the !hole communi"
t& a source of #ride and confidence "" first condition for learning'
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%( . typical session o/ street library2 /rom one tool to another%
After an hour of oo% reading !e !ould introduce a theme for the da&(s !or% on
the enc&clo#edia' -ften children !ould first #la& charades to suggest items to e entered
in the enc&clo#edia on that theme' It !as a first !a& to internalie their idea' Then the
original #lan had een that the children !ould first read more aout the entr& the& !anted
to ma%e, draft a te)t, enter it into the com#uter, and then #aint an illustration for it or go
to the car#entr& !or%sho# to ma%e the !ooden cover' At the eginning, ho!ever, the
children !ere immediatel& attracted & the novelt& of the com#uter, and !hen their turn
came the& had not #re#ared !hat the& !anted to enter' When that ha##ened !e !ould
send them to the #ainting !or%sho#' There, the slo! #rocess of #ainting fi)ed the chil"
dren(s attention, hel#ed them to calm do!n, and gave them time to thin% more aout !hat
the& !ould #ut in the com#uter, s#ea% aout it !ith others or as% for a oo% to learn
more'
% #oo! up my own entry%
At first, and for months, the children did not use this #ossiilit& of referring to
each other(s entr&' The& did use the research function ut it !as s&stematicall& to loo% for
their o!n entr&' I !as some!hat disa##ointed thin%ing of the #ains it too% me to uild
this function' I changed slightl& the #rogram so that te)ts from other children using the
!ord a child had chosen as title, !ould e #rinted together !ith his o!n te)t' The& con"
tinued to loo% u# onl& their entries'
We !ere to acce#t the necessar& time for them to internalie and ri#en this ne!
e)#erience that their entries !ere %e#t in the machine(s memor&, and their %no!edge val"
ued' -nl& after 4 months, the& started to e eager to loo% u# !hat others had !ritten'
+onversations aout a !hole range of su/ects too% #lace around the com#uter, !ithin the
communit& and from one communit& to another9 !hich is the tallest s%&scra#er. !hat can
&ou do !ith a #um#%in. !h& firefighters are heroes. can ees e ad since the& are a crea"
tures of God. ho! #rett& are our moms. !ho is the est !restler. !hat is #olice for
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everal hundred entries !ere !ritten, often !ith four or five authors giving their
vie!s' Man& of them !ere entered & children !ho actuall& could not read or !rite, and
feared an& occasion to tr&' 8et for this #ro/ect, ecause the& %ne! their contriution !as
e)#ected and no one !ould ma%e fun of them, the& did not count their efforts' Writing
five lines & as%ing ho! each !ord is s#elled and then for each letter as%ing !here it is
hidden in that !eird"non"al#haetical %e&oard could ta%e a long time' *atience of other
children !aiting for their turn in front of such efforts !as al!a&s a lesson for me'
All the te)ts !ere #rinted and #asted in the enc&clo#edia and illustrated !ith
eautiful !atercolor #aints' *asting the other #rint out on right lue inde) card for the
child !ho had /ust entered his te)t to %ee#, !as al!a&s a ver& s#ecial ceremon&' These
cards have found their !a&s in the homes of the families' Recentl&, I !as visiting :ast
7e! 8or%, a mother insisted that I !ould come u# and see ho! she had arranged the #ho"
to of her child !ho had #assed a!a& too &oung9 the four te)ts he had !ritten ten &ears
ago, #asted on the lue card, all around his #icture' He !ould have een a !hi,0 she
said'
% &hen the parents and the whole community get in*ol*ed
*arents sho!ed #ride and su##ort in man& !a&s including the crucial one9 #rovid"
ing electricit&' -ur huge right orange e)tention cord going sometimes u# to the 4th floor
intrigued #asser"& and reall& hoo%ed us u# to the communit&' 8et at the end of the first
summer man& #arents had come to !atch the children use the com#uter, ut no one ven"
tured to tr& it themselves, and refused !hen invited to' It !as the celeration at the end
of the summer in each neighorhood that rought the #arents to the com#uter' It started
!ith a #arade !ith children carr&ing ig cardoard moc%"u#s of a com#uter, cassette,
monitor, #rinter, #aint rushes, hammers, sa!, scissors "" all the tools the& had used dur"
ing the street liraries "" and finall& the com#leted enc&clo#edia itself, measuring t!o and
a half & four feet, !ith, on its !ooden cover, the names of the neighorhoods and the ti"
tle Ta#ori :nc&clo#edia' A short #la& in !itch the children used the cardoard moc%"
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u#s e)#lained ho! the& constructed the enc&clo#edia' The adults as%ed a lot of =uestions,
some as%ed aout the com#uter' The& seem to !ant to tr& it' $olunteers and children
=uic%l& agreed9 toda& the com#uter !ould e for the adults' That !ee%, in the four neigh"
orhoods, hundreds of adults touched com#uters for the first time, to loo% u# !hat their
children, little rothers and sisters had !ritten in the Ta#ori dataan%'
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% Pro$ects grew out o/ that /irst e+perience2 in New ?or! and world wide
%1 ,ourth &orld Networ!
In 1234 $incent Fanelli and I, urged & Father ose#h, !rote *ass#ort to the
ne! !orld of technolog&''' +om#uters0 mentioned aove' The #ro/ect itself and its #uli"
cation hel#ed convince other Fourth World grou#s and affiliate associations to venture
!ith com#uters and #oor families' It also o#ened ne! avenues for e)#erimentation' In the
last #age of the oo% !e !rote9 -ur #ro/ect in 7e! 8or% had international echoes' We
are loo%ing into ho! !e might lin% u# !ith grou#s in other areas, using a modem that
!as recentl& given to us !hich !e can use !ith our +ommodore com#uter'0 Internet, in
1234 !as not &et used & the large #ulic'
T!o &ears later, !ith a grant of the :uro#ean @nion, $incent Fanelli develo#ed a
com#uteried net!or% that enaled all the Fourth World @niversities1
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touch !ith other #oor families from other continent as !ell as !ith #eo#le from other
ac%grounds concerned & #overt&, and to use advanced information technolog& for this'
In the street lirar& itself the com#uter has also remained naturall& integrated to
the learning' +hris +lear&, a Fourth World volunteer no! !or%ing in the 7e! 8or% street
liraries sa&s that several #arents call them the com#uter #eo#le'0 Most of them, he
adds, have never heard of internet or rather did not register it !hen the& heard it9 ho! of"
ten do !e see e"mail or !e"site addresses on T$ or in the ne!s#a#ers0 o the& decid"
ed to introduce it in the street lirar&' He !rites, !hen the children first got in touch !ith
it the& had a difficult time figuring out !hat to loo% for, as if thro!n into a huge lirar&
and having to choose a oo%' We had them start !ith thin%ing aout things around them,
li%e their neighorhood of Harlem, and !e found a site !ith a #icture of a &oung o& and
a fe! things he had to sa& aout living in Harlem, a fe! loc%s from !here !e had the
street lirar&' From then on the ideas came fairl& =uic%l&'0 Then Denis +retinon, no! in
charge of the #rogram, introduced the children to an e)#erimental !esite, allo!ing all
the street liraries going on in the !orld to e)change' This might e the eginning of a
ne! adventure'
Another ma/or develo#ment in 7e! 8or% has een the use of the com#uter to de"
sign science machines' Eurt Reit a ne! Fourth World volunteer and Denis +retinon or"
ganied small !or%sho#s !ith the children !ho had the most difficulties to uild a Mar"
le Rollercoaster' The idea came from seeing a large %inetic scul#ture in *ort Authorit&
!here illiard alls rolling do!n com#licated trac%s, doing tric%s,0 ma%ing noises and
music along the !a&' :ach child had to invent a #art of the trac% that !ould do !hatever
tric%s0 he !ished' The children first designed the trac% and descrie !hat the& !anted
the all to do' The com#uter !as used & the children to enter their designs and com"
ments aout !hat the all should do0 in a dataan% designed & Eurt Reit !ith Her"
cardJ !ith additional #ages sho!ing some asic #h&sics la!s aout alls going do!n
hill'0
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Then the& had to actuall& uild the trac% out of !ood' -ften the all did not do
e)actl& !hat the& had #lanned it !ould do' Then the& had to ad/ust' It !as amaing to
see ho! conformale the children ecame !ith the tools, including #o!er tools, !rote
Denis +retinon''' It could have een dangerous ut nothing ha##ened' It is #roal& due
to that #rocess of designing, recording it, ma%ing it and reflect ac% on it' The& !ere not
/ust #la&ing around !ith tools' The& had a #ur#ose'0 +hildren !ould go ac% to the com"
#uter to !rite !hat the all actuall& did, then entered ne! designs' Eurt !rote9 As the
desire to create ecomes stronger, the children naturall&, graduall&, develo# the disci#line
that the& lac% to do the tedious !or% re=uired to ring their creation to fruition'0
Conclusion:
Framing the issue as one of access is the ultimate success for #eo#le !ho have
created a technolog& and tr& to sell it' If the #oor and e)cluded need access, the& mostl&
need reinvention for different aims' The fact that !e sa! ourselves #ushed in a some!hat
une)#lored area !as im#ortant to free us to =uestion the means and the meaning ehind'
Technolog& & itself is meaningless, ut #eo#le !ho have designed a s#ecific a##lication
for it, did give it a meaning' We had to discover that meaning ehind the tool, !ith no
fear of challenging such im#osing and #o!erful s&mols of smarter than thou0' We
o#ened choices9 #rinter"has"to"e"fast"to"gain"time"and"mone&0 versus #rinter has"to"
e"slo!"for"children"!ho"have"#lent&"of"time"to"oserve"and"learn0. *ersonnal +om"
#uter0 versus +ommunit& +om#uters.0 +om#uters to e fed &0 versus com#uters to
feed.0 Technolog& to give &ou ans!ers0 versus technolog& to hel# ecome a researcher
and frame &our =uestions'0
But if freeing oneself of commonl& acce#ted ideas is a necessera& ste#s, it also
calls for some securities' -ur securities came in the form of sim#le #ractice enaling us to
!rite our travel log and dra! the ma# of our /ourne& along the !a& to learn our direc"
tions, !ith #eo#le as onl& landmar%s' B& doing ever& night m& #artici#ant"oservation re"
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#ort I had the feeling to e more scientific than !hen I !as in m& universit&, leting the
facts sin% in and challenge theories' We also had constant collective reflection on inter"
#retation of !hat !e had seen and heard and on our action' We could share aloud to our
co"!or%ers our sur#rises or disa#ointments, and !ith the securit& of team commitment
and tenderness for each other, !e could tr& to decode their meaning together to constant"
l& reinvent the action' These t!o #rocesses #ersonal and collectiveJ allo!ed us to face
the real challenges rought in & the #oorest #eo#le, the ones !ho ma%e actions and ideas
fail, instead of covering them u# or hardening ourselves as it is often tem#ting' It allo!ed
us to remain close to the #oorest and ma%e their humanit& and =uest for transformation as
our com#ass' All came from a shared life, never from a theor&0, Wresins%i !rote to e)"
#lain ho! the grou# started' As Denis +retinon said recentl&, In the street the children
are the master, not the com#uter' If !hat(s on the com#uter doen(t ma%e sense to them, it
is the end of it'0
This o#ens u# to an ongoing venture in !hich oth ver& #oor #eo#le and #eo#le
!ho master toda&s means of communication are needed in a #artnershi#' We tried to
sho! here that a genuine /oint venture and reci#rocal learning et!een them can e fruit"
ful and #romising' It is also vital' If su#er #o!erful tools of %no!ledge construction and
communication are mastered and #ut into #ractice & a continuousl& shrin%ing numer of
#eo#le, the ga# et!een means and meaning !ill ecome foriding, and a danger for our
modern democracies' -n the other hand if those !ho design the structure of toda&(s and
tomorro!(s !orld acce#t to confront their inventions, values, and visions !ith the #oorest
#eo#le in our societies, !ith enough #atience for each other, and no fear to e attac%ed,
the& !ill e ale to reinvent them together, roader, dee#er, more humane, more mean"
ingful' Then our advancing technolog& !ill e also an advancement in civiliation, and
our different %no!ldeges !ill reinforce each other instead and uilding u# arriers, fear
and violence' As Father ose#h concluded his 123> conference in ;a orone to invite
memers of the academia in the struggle against e)treme #overt&, When the free and ed"
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ucated men and !omen !ill /oin the Fourth World, e)treme #overt& !ill not e)ist an&"
more'1>0
1>:chec a la Misere o# cit
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