Ensuring that the computerization of Cuban society contributes to economic development and the population’s quality of life was the interest of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro. I will refer to three projects that, due to their vision, projection and results, contribute to the updating of the Cuban economic and social model of socialist development.
First, the Youth Computer Clubs, for more than 30 years of work, have offered important services to the community through the courses taught at these institutions, known as ''The Computer of the Cuban Family''.
The development project of the Computer Programs of the National Education System allows interacting with the computer and educational software from early childhood. This project represents the quality of Cuban education by linking Computer Science with other subjects, from an interdisciplinary approach. A significant achievement is the access of the Ariguanabo schools to the Internet and social networks.
The third project is the collaborative Cuban encyclopedia ''EcuRed'', the most visited Cuban website on the Internet, which receives about 300,000 daily visits from several countries in Latin America and throughout the world. The founders of EcuRed were inspired and based on Fidel's ideas, with the aim of generating knowledge and showing a point of view from the South -which can rarely be found in the media with a 'Western' vision, and under the power that money grants-. Do you remember how many times you have used EcuRed for a homework, or just to urgently search for information? Especially since it can be very close ... waiting on your mobile.
My generation has experienced the evolution of technological development. It started in a school laboratory, where computers used Caribe TVs as monitors; Then the courses began to be taught at the Youth Club to learn basic subjects, until the modern external storage disk arrived, and later ... the Cloud.
Then smart mobile phones, magnetic cards, Internet - with advantages and disadvantages - and even a digital currency ... However, I am sure that the computerization of Cuban society (with which the Commander dreamed and started) still has much to do and wait. Let's wait for the click that will transport us directly to the future.
