Bibliotecas Ambulantes y Computadoras Comunitarias

8/13/2019 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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Bibliotecas Ambulantes y Computadoras Comunitarias

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Transcript of Bibliotecas Ambulantes y Computadoras Comunitarias