Digital Vision Program » Fabiana Valente

	Fabiana Valente Digital Inclusion Center Sustainability Project The Digital Inclusion Center Sustainability Project will broaden the financial support given to existing Digital Centers that bridge the digital divide for thousands of poor Brazilians, adding social entrepreneurship to the current non-profit funding model. Rather than applying a single model for developing the micro-business arm of the Digital Centers, Fabiana Rodrigues Valente will use the opportunity at Stanford to evaluate multiple business models, bring the best models back, and test them in multiple locations. The goal is to that generate sufficient business revenue to expand the existing network from forty to fifty Digital Centers that serve 30,000 people, and to eliminate dependence on outside non-profit funding. Once tested and scaled up, the model will be a reference case for the global community. Bio When I was a Journalism student, I had the opportunity to participate of an internship program at the United Nations Information Center – UNIC-Rio, in Brazil, and at the United Nations Radio, in New York afterwards. This period defined to me what I really wanted to do. I could recognize how to use my journalism skills as a tool to achieve my personal goal which is work to help meeting the demands of the under privileged in order to improve their own lives. I believe that through the promotion of knowledge of men's fundamental principles we can transform individuals into citizens aware of their potential. Upon entering the United Nations, I became deeply interested in Human Rights, Education, Ethic principles and Citizenship studies. However, as a professional journalist, I started to focus my interests in social inclusion specifically working with education. As soon as I arrived in Brazil, in 2004, I was invited to develop a Digital Inclusion Project at Bradesco Foundation, a nonprofit organization which for the past fifty years has been operating in formal education and running 40 schools for needy communities countrywide. The Bradesco Foundation project is considered the largest private social program in Latin America and is probably the largest project on free regular education provided by a private institution in the world. My contribution to the Digital Inclusion Centers Project (or CIDs, as it is called in Portuguese) is aimed especially at enhancing social values and promoting informal education. The CIDs are in general computer labs installed in community centers near each Bradesco Foundation schools. It works as a catalyst for social development, using technology resources to help community members to solve their social problems. In the CIDs, we provide post-school education activities to foster youth protagonism. However, I believe that this is the time to go deeper on my academic studies - start to search my personal academic questions and try to build a solid project on digital divide. My expectation is to find answers to develop a model that will help to empower community Leaders to transform small social enterprises into commercial and sustainable product/service centers. I have chosen the Reuters Digital Vision Program because it has the tools and support to help me to achieve my objectives - developing a new model for a self sustainable social project. It will be based on social development and aimed to leveraging technology solutions for social entrepreneurship, with a focus on educational and humanitarian aspects. I am sure that this opportunity will contribute not only to my personal qualification but to my professional skills as well. When I return from this course, I will bring with me new important concepts and knowledge related to digital inclusion and self sustainability and will be able to contribute with ideas and solutions to improve the development of my country. Send an email to Fabiana Valente

Fabiana Valente

Digital Inclusion Center Sustainability Project

The Digital Inclusion Center Sustainability Project will broaden the financial support given to existing Digital Centers that bridge the digital divide for thousands of poor Brazilians, adding social entrepreneurship to the current non-profit funding model. Rather than applying a single model for developing the micro-business arm of the Digital Centers, Fabiana Rodrigues Valente will use the opportunity at Stanford to evaluate multiple business models, bring the best models back, and test them in multiple locations. The goal is to that generate sufficient business revenue to expand the existing network from forty to fifty Digital Centers that serve 30,000 people, and to eliminate dependence on outside non-profit funding. Once tested and scaled up, the model will be a reference case for the global community.

Bio

When I was a Journalism student, I had the opportunity to participate of an internship program at the United Nations Information Center – UNIC-Rio, in Brazil, and at the United Nations Radio, in New York afterwards. This period defined to me what I really wanted to do. I could recognize how to use my journalism skills as a tool to achieve my personal goal which is work to help meeting the demands of the under privileged in order to improve their own lives. I believe that through the promotion of knowledge of men's fundamental principles we can transform individuals into citizens aware of their potential.

Upon entering the United Nations, I became deeply interested in Human Rights, Education, Ethic principles and Citizenship studies. However, as a professional journalist, I started to focus my interests in social inclusion specifically working with education.
As soon as I arrived in Brazil, in 2004, I was invited to develop a Digital Inclusion Project at Bradesco Foundation, a nonprofit organization which for the past fifty years has been operating in formal education and running 40 schools for needy communities countrywide. The Bradesco Foundation project is considered the largest private social program in Latin America and is probably the largest project on free regular education provided by a private institution in the world.

My contribution to the Digital Inclusion Centers Project (or CIDs, as it is called in Portuguese) is aimed especially at enhancing social values and promoting informal education. The CIDs are in general computer labs installed in community centers near each Bradesco Foundation schools. It works as a catalyst for social development, using technology resources to help community members to solve their social problems. In the CIDs, we provide post-school education activities to foster youth protagonism.

However, I believe that this is the time to go deeper on my academic studies - start to search my personal academic questions and try to build a solid project on digital divide. My expectation is to find answers to develop a model that will help to empower community Leaders to transform small social enterprises into commercial and sustainable product/service centers.

I have chosen the Reuters Digital Vision Program because it has the tools and support to help me to achieve my objectives - developing a new model for a self sustainable social project. It will be based on social development and aimed to leveraging technology solutions for social entrepreneurship, with a focus on educational and humanitarian aspects.

I am sure that this opportunity will contribute not only to my personal qualification but to my professional skills as well. When I return from this course, I will bring with me new important concepts and knowledge related to digital inclusion and self sustainability and will be able to contribute with ideas and solutions to improve the development of my country.

Send an email to Fabiana Valente