NEWS AND REVIEWS IN ART, TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION

The Fight ... "Access is about Literacy"

A symbolic portrayal of the powerful warrior in the 'theater' of Media Literacy. Photographer unknown.

Spend some time with Colombian net art teacher Alejandro Duque and there's little doubt you're in the presence of a new breed of web warrior.

Duque is a member of an expanding international coterie of migrant techno-wizards opting to return to their native countries under the rallying cry "There's no place like home."

They are returning to do digital battle with the emerging model of a global economy which threatens to obliterate cultural diversity. At risk is the very essence of their country's' identity.

"The whole globalization idea just doesn't fit 'our moment 'so it is creating bigger gaps between people," says Duque, an instructor at Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Add to this drastic differences in education and economy, he says, and you have a natural imbalance where the powerful have "easy access to weapons but are blind to the life values and culture of the poor."

Duque returned to his home town of Medellin this year after two years abroad, where he did graduate study in Cuena, Spain, and new media residencies in France, Finland (Polar Circuit), Sweden and Latvia (Transit Zero). Along with his current position teaching computer literacy and art, he is engaged in research on how technology can be used for non commercial purposes. He is also an ongoing contributor to Colors magazine, an international publication headquartered in Italy.

At the heart of Duque's teaching is the goal of guiding his students towards a "sensibilization" to new media which assures they become aware users and creators. Media literacy, he believes, includes cultivating a vigilant sensitivity towards those moments when propaganda and advertising transform the 'user' into the 'used.'

Online advertising, which represents the assets, needs and reality of an entirely different culture, is out of sync with Colombia's growing virtual community.

In Colombia, good internet connections are available for approximately $10 (US) a month. Internet cafes charge $1 (US) and hour, and libraries offer free connectivity. The problem is not about access but about literacy.

"You'd be surprised, but sometimes I see myself as having better conditions to work in here than in Europe," he says. "Here, we have limited resources but , in the right hands, they are just enough to begin working. Right now, there are not enough people who really see the big picture and so they are not able to work within our cultural context."

Duque's students are currently working on a project entitled "The Fight," whose theme is aggressive interaction through insults. This class will be chatting with a computer robot which will answer with sounds, images, and pages. (Visit Nerdart for work in process.) While Duque uses software such as Dreamweaver, Photoshop and web browsers, his primary focus is on using net contents, shareware, and working with majordomo mailing lists.

"There's quite an imbalance in our class in the levels of education and literacy," he says. "I work with fine art students of all levels. The only prerequisite is that they have an email address."

Alejandro Duque: Ongoing collaborative projects: Schema and Nose