For three days it has held sessions here in Havana with the participation by teleconference of the other provinces on Second Internet Governance Forum, organized by the Union of Informaticians of Cuba together with multiple professional organizations and other sectors of civil society.
It has been a curious event, especially due to the diversity of points of view that have come together in the analysis of a phenomenon as complex as the use of the network of networks and information and communication technologies in general.
I commented to knowledgeable people that the Internet perhaps reminds us of that old fable of several people who, blindfolded, had to feel and describe an elephant, in such a way that each of them had a different idea of that great mammal, based on the part that was theirs to recognize by touch.
Communicators, economists, lawyers, computer scientists, technologists, academics, each science delves into different peculiarities and controversial aspects of the development of the Internet, as there are also very varied ways of using it, depending on the interests of each person and also on their access possibilities. .
In Cuba, the great leap in Internet penetration has come with cell phones, which have allowed more than seven million citizens to be connected, most of them through mobile data.
However, from the Forum’s own debates it is clear how much we still need to convert this greater possibility of access and this wealth of specific knowledge on the use of cyberspace, into proposals that integrate all these perspectives for the greater benefit of citizens.
Ultimately, it is about a cultural change in the way human beings relate to each other, which should imply improvements for societies and the individuals that comprise them, without setbacks in values or behaviors.
Much can still be done to computerize and implement services through the Internet and other proprietary digital platforms that make life easier for people, enrich their spirituality, and foster greater prosperity among our people.
It is not possible to do it from the Cuban singularity without taking into account that the Internet and information and communication technologies are also a field of political dispute, in which we face the same aggressions, and even much more sophisticated, that we have experienced for decades. had to overcome for trying to separate us from the hegemonic model imposed on the world by capital.
That is why it is essential that we meditate on these links and opportunities from all areas of citizen participation, without ignoring the importance of the institutional framework in Internet management, but with that much more democratic and comprehensive perspective from the individual to the collective.
It is no longer possible to live with our backs turned to the network of networks or technologies, but to take advantage of them, it must be assumed in a critical and creative way.
Paraphrasing that tasty guaracha by Ñico Saquito about María Cristina, we could say that the Internet wants to rule us, and we should not —under any circumstances— just go along with it.