All online communities are there to connect people who share worldviews and above all, share the need to carry out concrete activities to bring them closer to reality. The environmental movement has been a pioneer in incorporating information and communication technologies (ICTs) for advocacy and as a working method.
Julian Casasbuenas, the director of APC member Colnodo and of the Sustainable Development Network, commented recently during an interview that the arrival of the internet and the formation of sustainable development networks were two processes that influenced and nourrished each other.
Everything began in 1992, during the United Nations summit on the environment and development that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As a result of this meeting, the countries involved committed themselves to creating sustainable development networks around the world. “We began a bit late, in 1996, and our late start proved to be an interesting opportunity for Colombia because the internet was starting to be formed at the national level,” he says.
Chapter 40 of the Agenda 21 (final document of the summit) considered the exchange in information as a condition to attaining sustainable development. In the case of Colombia, the efforts revolved around creating an information website that was defined according to the principles established in this document. With this platform, they achieved a goal that is not to be overlooked: the participation of individuals and organisations that sought to integrate Colombian society in the process.
This is how online communities were established, reversing the traditional mechanism where communication erupts from previously established groups’ needs.
How do these communities work? Different organisations are in charge of the space in which, according to specific needs, internet tools such as discussion lists, forums, event calendars and published documents are employed. The exchange of information ceases to be a commitment signed by governments and becomes concrete reality.
More than ten years after the Earth Summit, the international community has assumed new commitments. Casasbuenas made reference to the new scenario brought about by the Millennium Development Goals -launched by the United Nations in 2000. This specifically refers to the possibility of publishing information in almost real time. “ICTs will play an undeniable and very important role in following through on these goals,” he concluded.
- Article based on an interview with Julian Casasbuenas published on the Avanza website.
- Article translated from Spanish by APC.
Original interview in Spanish, on which this article is based (Avanza)
Sustainable Development Network