11-17-05,9:53am
Cuba has endeavored to wisely and fairly use its available computer resources as its society moves into the information era, with an emphasis on using new technology for the betterment of society. Today, there are more than 335,000 computers, countless networks and some 790,000 Cubans who rely on e-mail services.
These resources are carefully managed because Cuba faces a tough economic situation both as a developing nation bounded by an unjust international order and as a small country under more than forty years of blockade by the US.
Suffice it to say that 11 of the 14 major computer and communication transnationals have at least partial US ownership, making it very difficult for Cuba to have Internet access. It wasn’t until 1996, when it dawned on the US government that it could use the Internet as a tool to attempt to subvert the Cuban Revolution that the island was finally allowed to access the Web.
Another hurdle thrown at Cuba by the US blockade is that Cuba is not allowed to hook up to any of the several underwater fiber-optic cables that run all around Cuban waters. Thus, the only Internet access for Cuba is via satellite, a costly and lower quality alternative.
According to computer engineer Armando Garcia Garcia —an expert from the Computerization Office of the Ministry of Computer Sciences and Communications— with limited Internet access, Cuba is forced to give its Internet access a social rather than a personal use, for the benefit of such areas as education, health, and computer and Internet clubs aimed at educating new users, and others.
One other way Cuba has dealt with its Internet problem is to set up networks such as the Reduniv, a site for university related information; Infomed, a public health related site; Tinored, a site of the Cuban youth organization UJC run through its network of Computer Clubs, with free public access; and Cubarte, a culture related site. All central government organizations also rely on local networks that allow them to access and interact with the Internet.
The university network is connected to all the higher learning centers of the Ministry of Higher Education. At the moment the country is working on setting up a network to connect other work centers such as those in science, as well as making Infomed a portal for all Cuban institutions related to medicine, including hospitals and polyclinics. The Infomed network also provides a virtual library of medical resources to Cuban universities.
In the realm of culture, the Cubarte network serves as a portal for several institutions and hosts a considerable number of websites by Cuban artists and intellectuals.
There is a whole wealth of programs currently underway or just beginning in Cuba aimed at bringing computers and the information era to its citizens. One of the most important is the Citizen’s Portal at www.ciudadano.cu. This site, in its initial stages, is aimed at providing Cubans with a one stop place to obtain a wide array of information on services provided by the state such as identification documents or home-related papers, etc. In the future, this site will allow for applications and forms to be filled out and submitted online.
Guiding Principles of Cuba’s Computerization Campaign
According to Armando Garcia, the computerization of Cuban society has two fundamental aspects: access to available technologies and the content available.
With respect to the first aspect, Cuba has prioritized societal access to information technology over individual access. In respect to content, Garcia argues that spreading the use of computers in society is not simple a matter of providing the necessary computers and networks but that a fundamental aspect, too, is the content of what people have access to.
“For us, the computerization of society is the orderly use of information technology to satisfy the information and learning needs of society,” Garcia added.
In spite of the aforementioned obstacles, Cuba is steadily entering the information era, with a recent program that will annually import some 100,000 computers, while continuing to develop its communications network.
At the same time, an emphasis is being made on providing public computer education programs. Already, more than 700,000 people have taken courses at the Young Computer Clubs set up throughout the island, and there are currently more than 40,000 students enrolled in Computer Science technical institutions across the country, in addition to some 8,000 in the Havana University of Computer Sciences.
