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ABOUT US

THE CYBER VOLUNTEERS FOUNDATION

The Cyber Volunteers Foundation is a non-lucrative entity whose mission is “To achieve that every person has the equal opportunity to access, know and use the New Technologies in order to finish with the digital breach and to foster the Knowledge Society.”

To the Cyber Volunteers Foundation, the digital tutoring work is something inherent to any web-surfer. The Cyber Volunteers legitimated it on their First Encounter, held in December 2001. There, they set the foundation, structure and actions of the organization, which were carried out by a society, during the first three years.

The Cyber Volunteers personally explain the chances that the use of the ICT has to offer, in a useful, simple and effective way for the daily needs.By means of courses, talks, conferences, workshops, events, seminars, etc.

Cyber Volunteers Foundation considers as their beneficiary population, those with the lesser chances for access, or in the higher risk of digital exclusion, that is the members of the following groups:

• Elderly people
• Women
• Handicapped people
• People living in rural areas and small towns
• Groups under the risk of social and/or working exclusion
• People with a low level of education
• Volunteers and another NGO’s
• Other

That is, groups that could be excluded from the Information Society due to their gender, age, job or social environment, lack of time, lack of economical resources and/or lack of knowledge or skills.

CYBER VOLUNTEERS’ GENERAL PROGRAMME

The Cyber Volunteering is a network of volunteers of both genders, who are able to take and transmit their knowledge about the Internet, especially to those on risk of digital exclusion or with difficulties for access to it.

These generous and uninterested web-surfers are willing to talk about their universe to their community, and to teach them the wide scope of opportunities that this new way of communications offers. The cyber volunteers’ aim is that the Internet, does not only stop creating new social and cultural borders, but also that it becomes the instrument by which the present barriers disappear.

In the pursue of our goals, cyber volunteers’ programme includes these functions:

1.- Giving and organising courses, talks and workshops.

For instance, there is a basic introduction course on the Internet, to provide ICT inexperienced citizens, with skills enough to become regular and independent ICT users.

2.- Raising group awareness.

There are groups that suffer a higher risk of social exclusion or with more difficulties for access. They must become motivated and self-aware of its importance, as well as enabling their access to adequate training, to ICT use, so that the digital breach is avoided and their inclusion into the ICT is fostered.

3.- Getting public and private spaces and venues.

The cyber volunteers achieve our goals thanks to the generous contribution of centres that let us their venues completely free. Public Educative Centres (Primary and Secondary Schools, Universities, Libraries, Civic Halls...) open their doors to the many groups in their area, so that they can know and learn how to use the Internet, improving and creating a positive and active relationship with their environment.

4.- Enrolling and training cyber volunteers.

The core of our program is the Cyber Volunteers. The growth of the technological volunteering has to be fostered because their importance in the social movement can be determining for a future cultural change, and the definite launch of a generalised use of the ICT, to happen in our society. This is why the continuous training of the cyber volunteers is essential.

5.- Teaching small NGO’s in the use of the ICT to improve their management and participation in other entities

One of the main challenges for NGO’s is to use and adapt the use of the ICT to their daily management. Small societies (in town areas, villages, etc) usually count with lesser resources. They are precisely the ones who urgently require bringing in the use of the ICT, in order to speed up their administration and inner running. Besides they are essential promoters of the use of the ICT among the groups with the higher risk, who are the ultimate beneficiaries of their action.

6.- Raising social awareness

To achieve a cultural change that makes citizens trust in the use of the ICT, so that its use is spread and its image is promoted as a public service and a communicative tool.

7.- Organising significant events and promotional activities.

To make and organise any kind of representative activities, meetings, forum, encounters, etc, whose objective is to foster a positive image of the Internet and the ICT, as well as enabling its access.

Among us, e-STAS Symposium about the Technologies for the Social Action, with an international and multi-stakeholder nature, where all the agents implicated in the development and implementation of the ICT’s are appointed to exchange their experiences and knowledge, in an aim to finish with the digital breach. The aim of e-STAS is to promote, foster and adapt the use of ICT's for the social action .

II Edition e-STAS will be held 22th-23th March 2007 , in Seville ( Spain ). It is conceived to be a living reflection of everything that was proposed at the World Summit on the Information Society

INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITY

From its birth, the Cyber Volunteers Foundation has had an important International activity. Let’s just mention:

- Participation at the PrepComs-3 for the WSIS by the UN, in Geneva , ( Switzerland ) and at the WSIS Second Phase held in Tunis , within the family of Volunteers, vindicating their important role in the development and implementation of the Information Society, worldwide.

- Speaker at a joint-talk with IC-Volunteers, at the “ 1st Volunteering Euro forum: Common Challenges in 25-members Europe ”, talking about the volunteering and the ICT.

- Digital World Africa. Septemberl 2006, Nigeria - European Forum Civil Society. November 2006. Bergamo Italia