Information and communication technology in Cuba : the case of the Joven Club de Computación y Electrónica

Abstract

In 1987, Cuba initiated the Joven Club de Computación y Electrónica (JCCE) programme, a nation-wide installation of staff and computer equipment that grew to encompass all 169 Cuban municipalities with community centres for computer-related training. Despite the severe economic upheaval that followed the 1989-1991 disappearance of Cuba's major trade ties with the U.S.S.R., the JCCE project endured. As the economy gradually recovered with the rapid growth of tourism and foreign investment, so, too, did investment in the JCCE. In 2000, the organization had 172 community centres. In less than four years, that number would nearly double. Approximately one-thousand centres are planned to be in operation within the next two years (2004-2006). Cuba's foray into this field is intended to "informaticize" its society, enabling Cubans to partake in the global "knowledge economy" through the participation of workers in joint-venture operations and through the creation and export of software and other technology. Similar ICT efforts on a smaller scale and with varying barriers to access not present in the Cuban example have been established by her Latin American neighbours, but only Cuba has the mass level of literacy and education to make that access relevant. This paper examines the development of the JCCE initiative, identifies the context in which it is being carried out and explores the Cuban experience as a sustainable model for mass ICT development.