Schools
CDI’s Information Technology and Citizen Rights Schools (ITCRSs or EIC) work within the concept of “informal schools”, with an organizational structure consisting of a coordinator, educators and students, all aiming at changing the local reality by using information technologies as a tool for social inclusion.
Most ITCRSs are located at institutions set up in low-income communities or in the area surrounding them. Their work is performed in such a way as to make it clear that digital inclusion goes beyond “computer lessons”, encompassing other initiatives, such as cultural activities, job and income generation and community mobilization.
In the creation process of an ITCRS, CDI offers the methodology for the implementation and development of its political-pedagogical proposal through the preparation and execution of a qualification plan and ongoing follow-up for the schools’ coordinator and educators.
The institutions, in turn, need to have an appropriate space in which at least 10 computers may be installed, besides counting on a sustainability plan that can ensure the school’s evolution. To this end, the community or organization co-working with the ITCRS is instructed to seek support from partnership institutions that can collaborate on the school financial and operational feasibility.
This is a dynamic process that takes place in partnerships involving all concerned (the ITCRS team, CDI and the community), who become co-responsible for the project management and for pursuing effective results in social changes.