Addressing the digital divide requires us to consider the social, historical, and political forces shaping U.S. society from the perspective of those most marginalized. That means women of color and our communities, queer and LGBT people, and the poor. Individuals from these communities direct TWM and maintain social, political, and cultural ties to them.
We organize from the perspective that marginalized communities need to create the structures and participate in the systems that run their communities. Only with the voices and visions of the communities most marginalized will culturally relevant models of technology be developed, become sustainable, and contribute to the movement for global social justice.
In this vein, Third World Majority believes that a meaningful integration of technology into disenfranchised communities requires strategies based on the following principles:
- Facilitates community involvement in the teaching process. Our training team always includes a teacher from the community in which the training is occurring, who can adapt the training for the specific needs of that community.
- Features community based curricula, created around current community issues and by community members themselves.
- Incorporates the principles of media education and media literacy in order to foster critical thinking about technology issues.
- Relies upon capacity building in the community to ensure sustainability of the program and empower the communities themselves through technology.
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