Grants:APG/Proposals/2020-2021 round 1/Wikimedia Argentina/Proposal form/Context assessment 2021

Context Assessment 2021

Education and Human Rights Program

Schools and universities have been closed all year round in Argentina. In addition to this, the pandemic revealed the great existing inequalities in Argentina’s education fields. According to the National Ministry of Education, only 37% of educators own a computer of exclusive use in their home, 52% of educators have used booklets that had been specifically designed to be printed and 40% of students don't have access to internet. This context reveals that lack of connectivity and devices is a big problem at a national level that affects both educators and students and generates great gaps regarding the right to the access to quality education. This situation affects LATAM in a similar way, since educational inequalities are also very significant.

Likewise, our counterparts in the Human Rights field have not carried out any in-person activity at the local level, where lockdown remains in force in some parts of the country.

According to this analysis we have designed an Education & Human Rights program based on the following forecasts and context:

• The implementation of the program in both online and offline formats will continue throughout 2021. We will generate a flexible and contextualized program, with projects that can easily adapt to the challenges and opportunities of a very unequal context.
• The needs of educators to incorporate new digital skills and strengthen their capabilities will remain stable, as they are able to adapt their curricula to a scenario that remains very uncertain.
• Face-to-face activities may be a possibility in Argentina but are still difficult to happen at a regional level in a short term; strengthening, supporting and mentoring online will remain fundamental to boost the development, growth and sustainability of communities in matters of education and human rights.

Culture and Open Knowledge Program

The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on public and private cultural activity all around the world. Organizations like ICOM (International Council of Museums) have revealed that at least half of the museums were not able to carry out digital proposals, such as online collections or virtual exhibitions. Argentina is not the exception. Cultural institutions have been closed for 8 months and according to the Ministry of Culture, 33% of cultural organizations consider that the online modality is only partially applicable unless advice, resources and support are provided and almost a quarter of the organizations do not believe it is possible to "virtualize" their activities. In this sense, the switch to virtuality revealed important structural weaknesses which affect resources and staff, exposing the lack of technical equipment and knowledge on how to offer open and quality access to local heritage and collections.

According to this analysis we have designed a Culture & Open Knowledge program based on the following forecasts and context:

• The need to incorporate new skills, knowledge and resources will remain fundamental, as cultural institutions will continue to prioritize their digital and online strategy next year.
• Cultural institutions will continue working to make their collections accessible to the public, so our work to incorporate open access policies and digitization projects will continue to be a priority.
• Budgets will not increase during 2021; in a context of limited resources, similar challenges and common needs, creating networks of cooperation and support is a key to guarantee the sustainability, resilience and growth of cultural institutions and communities.

Cooperation and Inclusion Program

The pandemic context and the obligatory lockdown which led to compulsory virtuality have created a new everyday reality in which social inequalities have become more visible. Stoppage of commercial activity, school, university classes and leisure activities, among others, has had a direct impact on the communities. Both locally and regionally, volunteers were forced to change their daily lives and spaces, while they also suffered from increased household chores, especially women. This entire situation has led to a hyper-virtuality in which resting is also mediated by the virtual space. The context has also changed how and in what ways we connect at all levels: with family, friends, with our volunteer spaces and even with information, which significantly redefines what we understand by community and our role in the society.

According to this analysis we have designed a Cooperation & Inclusion program based on the following forecasts and context:

• Most volunteers are connected to the Internet all day and need to redefine their spaces for resting, so creating proposals that favor learning, leisure and socialization are critical in this context.
• Although we cannot meet face to face, working online erases distances and generates new possibilities of articulation, cooperation and assistance among communities at all levels.
• In a context of lockdown, where the media and the Internet are key to maintaining contact with the outside world, creating and making accessible verifiable, reliable and locally relevant information to citizens becomes a priority.