Coverage
Global Literacy: Guatemala
September 01, 2008
HotChalk
Deiter Estrada Sandoval is at the forefront of efforts to bring computer skills — and with them, economic opportunity — to Guatemala, one of the most impoverished nations in Central America.
Estrada Sandoval is the founder and General Manager of Centro de Computacion, an independent information and communications technology school in Guatemala City, the country’s capital. The school provides computer training to elementary and high school students, and public school teachers.
"The best way to educate the populace is to start with the teachers, who in turn can reach their students," said Estrada Sandoval at an international conference on digital literacy in Kona, Hawaii in August. The conference was sponsored by Utah-based Certiport, which does computer training and certification, and develops computer proficiency standards used internationally. Centro de Computacion offers Certiport training.
Estrada Sandoval was one of six people to receive awards from Certiport for their efforts in promoting digital literacy; other award-winners hailed from Peru, the Philippines, Iraq, Germany, and the U.S. More than 700 students a year attend classes each year at Centro de Computacion.
When Centro de Computacion opened its doors ten years ago, parents didn’t always see the need for their children to have computing skills. Acceptance that computer literacy is important wasn’t immediate, Estrada Sandoval told the conference when he accepted his award. Since the inception, things have changed. “Now, they look for it,” he said in a statement issued after the conference. “They know their children are going to have better opportunities with these skills.”
The Guatemalan government also is on board with digital literacy training. It has asked Centro de Computacion instructors to train the country’s public school teachers: the plan is to have 5,000 teachers with computer skills and certification. There are massive challenges in transforming the Central American nation into a computer-literate country: half of Guatemala’s labor force works in agriculture, with coffee, sugar, and bananas the main exports. Bringing education to the country’s rural regions is a challenge. Anothe challenge: Athough Spanish is the official language, Guatemala has multiple linguistic groups. Out of a population of 13 million, some 40 percent are indigenous. Among this group, 23 separate languages are spoken.
Guatemala has made dramatic changes since 1996, when it signed peace accords, ending 36 years of civil war and removing a major obstacle to foreign investment, and has since made steps toward economic stability. In 2006, the U.S. and Guatemala signed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), resulting in increased investment in the export sector. A number of multinational companies have operations in Guatemala and offer work opportunities for those who are qualified.
“In our country right now, we have many companies that are recognized throughout the world,” Estrada Sandoval said in his statement. “To prepare our students to get jobs in these companies, we prepare them with ICT (information and communication technology) knowledge.” Digital literacy, leading to employment, can dramatically alter the economic landscape of developing countries such as Guatemala, according to Certiport CEO David Saedi.
"Not everyone benefited from the Industrial Revolution," Saedi told HotChalk at the conference. "That’s why there’s a first and third world—that is, developed and developing countries."
Saedi believes that disparity doesn’t have to exist. “We have a unique opportunity with the digital revolution,” Saedi said. “It can really equalize the playing field.”