Post-2015 SDGs: Technology, Citizenship, and Afrodescendance in Latin America and the Caribbean

Afrodescendant struggles for social, political and economic equity in Latin America and the Caribbean have focused on assertions of citizenship via territorial autonomy, inclusion within the national citizenry or a combination of the two. With the emergence of new Web 2.0 and information and communication technology (“ICT”), new space has emerged from which to address these struggles. While it is important to remain agnostic about particular platforms, the skills developed from and various uses of ICT cannot be overstated or dismissed. The rapid global expansion of mobile phone use has been extensive and well documented. In Latin America and the Caribbean this expansion holds potential which has not yet been fully embraced or developed. We will examine the landscape of the use of ICT, in particular mobile phones, in the context of its potential for social, economic and political development among Afrodescendants in Latin America, the Caribbean and the diaspora. Specifically we examine the factors facing Afrodescendant communities which create a need for a particular focus on using mobile in development. We then briefly review the progress made in the use of ICT for Millennium Development Goals from a regional and national policy perspective and finally we propose specific post-2015 areas of focus for afrodescendant organizations, educators and community activists in the region, including cultural heritage collection and preservation, Census, labor and employment.