by Nam Lam
The 21st century has been marked as the end of the Information Age and the beginning of the Experience Age where people across the world are intricately connected through a complex web of online networks. As of 2019, there were approximately 4.13 billion internet users worldwide of whom 34 million reside in Colombia, giving the impression that the internet is a widely accessible resource.[i] However, when analyzing accessibility, it is important to focus on what statisticians term ‘internet penetration’ which is the percentage of the population using the internet, rather than the total number of users. In the case of Colombia, the percentage of the population using the internet was about 64% by 2018.[ii] Although this number is increasing, this means that currently about 36% of the population does not have access to the internet.
Lack of internet accessibility has led to a new wave of problems during the Covid-19 pandemic, mainly concerning the question of how to continue children’s and adults’ education during a time where people are restricted from leaving their homes. Experts in urban development like Ignacio Alcalde, a senior expert for UN-Habitat, have raised a new question of whether affordable and reliable internet connection should be treated by governments as a basic human right that is comparable to water accessibility.[iii] Since internet accessibility has become such an integral part of the modern education system especially during the pandemic, I believe that it should be treated as a human right. Colombia suffers from a growing digital gap that threatens the education of impoverished children, women, and ex-combatants in different ways during the nationwide lockdowns. In order for Colombia to reemerge from the pandemic, internet access must be given priority immediately. Every individual has the potential to not only benefit from the internet but to also be a part of the solution when it comes to solving other challenges Colombia faces.
The State of Colombia’s Education System Before Covid-19
Even before the pandemic, Colombia was plagued with a myriad of challenges, including corruption, failure to implement the 2016 peace agreement, inequality and more. To solve each of these issues, it is paramount for people, especially children, to have a quality education that will equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to combat these pressing issues that have persisted for decades. At an international conference in 2015, hosted by the University of Cambridge which focused on the Colombian peace process, former Colombian Senator and now Mayor of Bogotá Claudia López stated that “education won’t stop a war, but it is crucial in building peace.”[iv] She then emphasized how there were five million children under the age of five in Colombia of whom half came from the country’s poorest families with many having no access to elementary school, describing the situation as an “education apartheid.” The decades-long war in Colombia has had a significant negative impact on Colombian youth as between 1985-1999 approximately 1,100,000 children were displaced and suffered from long term psychological problems. By the start of the 21st century, 6,000 boys and girls were part of illegal armed groups on both the political left and the right, acting as spies, human shields, and soldiers.[v] The destruction of the education system has long affected all children regardless of race, socioeconomic status, and gender, and has now led to adults, particularly women and ex-combatants, struggling to find educational or work opportunities during the pandemic.
The Colombian war alone can not be blamed for the failing education system as the government has also long neglected providing public funding for schools in poorer, rural areas. Colombia is one of 37 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), and the OECD conducted a study on education in 2018 that illustrated how the quality of the Colombian education system is inadequate and poor. For example the average Colombian student's knowledge in math and science remains significantly lower that the average among OECD students in general. More public funding has not been enough to resolve the issues of students dropping out of school and that 26% of Colombian principals believe that their schools do not have sufficient educational resources. On top of this, Colombia continues to struggle with high levels of teacher absenteeism and a limited pool of qualified educators.[vi] The issues in Colombia’s already failing education system have now been exacerbated by Covid-19 as children do not even have access to this already underfunded system.
Impact of Covid-19 on Children
Throughout the past several months, Covid-19 has severely impacted education systems in countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, leaving millions of kids with no opportunities to continue learning and parents struggling to make ends meet. Lack of widespread internet access is a prevalent problem in Latin American and Caribbean countries where approximately 95% of enrolled children are now out of school which is equal to more than 154 million kids.[vii] Another consequence of being out of school is that now 80 million children in these regions are unable to access school meals, adding another layer of economic hardship to low-income families.8 Even after Covid-19 has passed, the long term psychological, physical, and social effects on children could be completely devastating to the future of these countries.
Among Latin American countries, Colombia had one of the longest lockdown periods that did not end until the start of September. There is a digital divide between rural and urban areas with the latter having a better internet infrastructure in place. But even within cities there are divisions between poor and rich sectors, as illustrated in the case of Luis Duarte, a street vendor who sells homemade masks in Bogota to sustain his family. He describes a common situation among Colombian families: “We don’t have a computer at home...The only internet connection we get is on my smartphone, and that’s only when I have data on it. My daughter is missing months of school.”[viii] The World Bank released a world development report back in 2016 titled “Digital Dividends” that essentially focused on internet accessibility and how it should be treated as a public good regardless of socioeconomic status or regional location.[ix] Since this past May, the EU Commission for International Cooperation and Development has been working with the Colombian Ministry of National Education and NGOs to make education an accessible public good in specifically Arauca, La Guajira, Nariño, and Valle del Cauca. They created a program called Save the Children Colombia’s Education in Emergency (EiE) that has been organizing communication networks to create Temporary Learning Spaces or in other words virtual classrooms. So far, the program has provided 173 math and reading learning-books to children, 2930 food kits, and “educational capsules” for 2007 children. These educational capsules are essentially audio recordings sent to families through mediums like a community radio, WhatsApp, and loudspeakers.[x] However, despite these achievements, the success of programs like EiE remain limited due to a continued lack of accessibility. For example, Martha Gracia, an information technology teacher in Arbelaez, said that her students are sent homework assignments through WhatsApp despite the fact that WhatsApp is only accessible to 30% of students in the town.12 Even though these programs have helped thousands of Colombian kids, there are still millions in the population that have yet to be reached, meaning that the government still has a long way to go in protecting their education.
For indigenous children specifically, the lack of education from the digital divide is even more prominent. On average, they have significantly less resources to sustain themselves during the pandemic. In 2010, the government hosted the First Continental Summit of Indigenous Communication in Cauca where over 200 Indigenous organizations across the Americas came together to discuss steps for establishing communication networks within indigenous communities such that they can be better connected with the world.[xi] Although the summit seemed promising, Colombia’s indigenous communities still suffer from a lack of internet access, a lack of motivation within their communities to use the internet, as well as a lack of online material that is written in their native languages.[xii] Currently, the Wayuu tribe in the Guajira province relies heavily on tablets donated from the El Origen Foundation which is funded by the World Vision charity and the Colombian bank Banco W. Each tablet has an app called O-Lab that allows the children to continue their education in both Spanish and wayuunaiki, their native language. A major advantage of these tablets is that they have the capability of operating without the internet. However, similar to the EiE program, the El Origen Foundation struggles when it comes to providing enough tablets and reaching rural, isolated communities.[xiii] Besides just education, the Colombian Constitutional Court had said in 2017 that the government had failed to provide the Wayuu tribe with health, food, and water services. The government then guaranteed the Wayuu tribe these services would come, but local authorities in La Guajira now say there will be delays until 2022.[xiv]
Impact of Covid-19 on Women
In terms of gender, education also plays a fundamental role for women as it opens up opportunities and provides them with the necessary skills to achieve financial independence from their husbands or other male family members. Covid-19 has affected about 743 million female students worldwide as they either do not have access to the internet at all or rely on their male family members. Kalpana, a student trying to earn her undergraduate degree in India, said that she uses her husband’s smartphone to attend classes which he has then used to monitor her life during the pandemic. According to Elina Lehtomäki, professor of global education at the University of Oulu in Finland, there are families where there are “three children, but only one device and the device goes to the son.” The digital divide in combination with gender inequities put women at severe disadvantages in education and dangers regardless of socioeconomic status.[xv] It is even more concerning that there is not significant data on the impact of Covid-19 on the education of Colombian girls and women considering how recent studies emphasize the importance of women in the Colombian peace process. Following the National Summit of Women and Peace that was held to increase participation in the peace process, as of 2015, 20% of the government’s negotiators and 43% of FARC’s negotiators were women. They are currently holding pivotal positions in the peace process such as in the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace and the Gender Subcommission. Women have been invaluable in expanding the peace process to protect women and indigenous rights, negotiating local cease-fires, increasing accountability of ex-combatants, and garnering support for the deal.[xvi]
Although specific data on female education in Colombia is limited, there is evidence of the digital divide damaging the well-being of women in terms of domestic violence. The patriarchal structure of Colombian society[xvii] has been particularly damaging for women as the World Bank notes that calls for domestic violence have increased by 91% ever since lockdowns began.[xviii] There has been a movement worldwide called #AntiDomesticViolenceDuringEpidemic that seeks to expand online services for women. The Colombian government has stated that they are trying to continue offering “virtual gender-based violence services” such as public hearings, legal assistance, and psychosocial assistance.[xix] The Vive Digital Plan between 2010-2014 implemented by the Ministry of Communication was designed to expand information and communications technologies (ICTs) access for everyone and indirectly create more virtual safe spaces for women. However, the plan still had limited success when it came to particularly bringing ICT access to older and/or low-income women in rural areas, significantly reducing “the potential impact of ICTs on their work and educational and social opportunities.”[xx]
Impact of Covid-19 on Ex-Combatants
Now turning to a smaller but still important demographic, Covid-19 poses a significant threat to ex-combatants who are struggling to get access to reintegration education and work opportunities from the 2016 peace deal. From 2017 to before the pandemic, Colombia was achieving substantial success through the implementation of 26 Territorial Areas for Training and Reintegration (TATR). These training zones were created as part of a program approved by the Colombian Ministry of Education called “Forging the Education” that was designed by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the National Open and Distance University (UNAD), and the Colombian Foundation of ex-combatants and Peace Promoters (FUCEPAZ). The goal of Forging the Education was to help ex-combatants reintegrate by providing them with a primary and secondary education. Throughout its creation, the program has affected the lives of 3,500 ex-combatants as well as the lives of 3,200 people who live in communities near the TATRs.[xxi] Maria Muñoz, an ex-combatant who is pursuing a career in sewing and agriculture, stated that gaining a high school education was a “dream that [she] always wanted to come true.”
Access to TARTs has been extremely limited due to the pandemic. Ex-combatants living within these areas have blocked off anyone on the outside from entering and restricted educational campaigns. Many reintegration training programs and work projects available inside TARTs have thus been moved to online platforms or eliminated entirely, making it unclear as to how many individuals are still enrolled. For example, Forging the Education program classes have been cancelled indefinitely and, as ex-combatant Jeiner Arrieta notes, “many projects are completely stopped.” All agricultural projects have ended except for the World Food Program, and all tourism projects have been discontinued.24 During the pandemic, the government has struggled to expand outreach, broadcast the availability of reintegration training, and make work projects safely available since most programs are now online or unable to be completed in-person safely. The United Nations Security Council had a meeting concerning the 2016 peace agreement during April of 2020 where Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Secretary-General’s Special Representative to Colombia, raised the concern of large numbers of ex-combatants living far away from training and reintegration areas with extremely limited clean water and sanitation.
Massieu called for members of the UN to provide assistance to Colombia’s National Reintegration Council to increase the number of projects available to low-income ex-combatants in vulnerable areas without internet access. The representative of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines stated that combatants face “significant challenges in accessing education and training programmes.” The representative of the Dominican Republic continued with how 9,500 ex-combatants currently live outside of TATR zones, fearing that they will not have access to opportunities to reintegrate into society and may instead return back to armed groups.[xxii]
Possible Solutions
Although some of the solutions I discussed in this essay struggled to provide resources on a nationwide scale, they have still been invaluable. Colombia can still benefit from instituting similar programs or by following what other countries have done to increase internet accessibility. The Brazilian city Recife’s mayor recently pledged to invest in 2,500 smartphones that will be given out to children to continue their studies. Similarly, the Peruviain government has so far spent $165,000,000 towards buying 850,000 Wi-Fi tablets for children and is working with Telecom companies to expand the number of internet users. Medellin, Colombia has also taken a unique approach by investing millions into building community libraries in poor neighborhoods that offer free internet accessibility.[xxiii] It is clear that several countries and areas are increasing investments in internet access which is why the Colombian government as well as wealthy individuals throughout Colombia are pivotal in reconstructing the country.
In addressing the problems of lack of online material in native languages and internet access faced by indigenous groups, Indonesia created the Bacabal Wiki program in 2019 that was created by members of government in tandem with the community to improve literacy learning through BASAbali, an online dictionary tool for local languages. The organizers of the program have recognized that during the pandemic access to BASAbali is limited, so with the help of the government and teachers nationwide they are currently investing in “new superhero” books that “teach creative writing and encourage the joy of reading among children,” focusing specifically on kids in impoverished areas.[xxiv] The Colombian government should take a similar approach as the Bacabal Wiki program to give native children the opportunity to learn in their native language considering how there are 102 indigenous groups across the country.
The key to helping women is to increase the availability of virtual safe spaces to learn and be free from domestic-violence. The new arrival of 5G technology to Colombia could be the key for women to access online spaces. ICT Minister Karen Abudien stated that 5G has the capability of “generating new sources of social and economic development” as 34 million Colombians currently do not have the internet through mobile devices.[xxv] 5G makes the internet faster and more reliable while increasing the size and reach of wireless networks such that more people can access them from isolated areas. Thus, 5G could be the solution for creating a large complex network for women across the country to communicate with each other safely and get the help they need even if they are in rural areas.
For the many ex-combatants currently unable to continue their education or access work projects, a possible solution is to expand the “Obras Escuela” program to ex-combatants. Obras Escuela was implemented by the Antioquia regional branch of Camacol, a non-profit based in
Colombia, with the purpose of increasing literacy learning at construction sites by offering classes at the workplace. The program has experienced difficulties during the pandemic as many of the workers are “digitally non-literate,” making online teaching difficult to implement. Instead, to continue their education the program coordinators successfully organized telephone contacts between the workers and a team of teachers as well as employed a combination of informative videos and audio samples that can be viewed at home. [xxvi] The Obras Escuela not only promotes construction work opportunities--though admittedly these are currently limited by the pandemic--it also gives ex-combatants, who tend to be adults with poor education, the chance to develop the necessary basic literacy skills to effectively reintegrate into society.
Conclusion
In some ways, the pandemic can be seen in a positive light as it forces the issue of the digital gap into the forefront of the public eye. The digital divide existed before the pandemic and more Colombians are now witnessing the consequences of the government neglecting this problem as children, women, and ex-combatants are left helpless to the pandemic, uncertain of how to continue their education. It is important to recognize, however, that there is still time to resolve this issue if steps are taken accordingly. Education should not be treated as a political issue and involves the cooperation of every individual ranging from the political left, the political right, NGOs, and international institutions. Accessibility of education for individuals of all ages must be the priority because having a new well-educated generation is the key to solving the many other problems Colombia faces concerning the economy, corruption, peace agreement, and more. Internet access is inextricably tied to education which is why the internet must be perceived as a basic human right as it is central in protecting the future of Colombia.
[i] J. Clement, “Internet Usage Worldwide - Statistics & Facts,” Statista, Statista, October 26, 2020, https://www.statista.com/topics/1145/internet-usage-worldwide/.
[ii] José Gabriel Navarro, “Colombia: Internet Penetration,” Statista, Statista, March 2, 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/209109/number-of-internet-users-per-100-inhabitants-in-colombia-since-2000/.
[iii] Anastasia Moloney, “Could Coronavirus Lockdowns Help Close Latin America's Digital Divide?,” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, May 12, 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-latam-tech-trfn/could-coronavirus-lockdowns-help-close-latin -americas-digital-divide-idUSKBN22O1L5.
[iv] University of Cambridge, “Cambridge Conference on Colombia Says Education Holds Key to Sustainable Peace,” University of Cambridge, University of Cambridge, 2015, Accessed December 1, 2020, https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/cambridge-conference-on-colombia-says-education-holds-key-to-sustainable-peace.
[v] OCHA Services, “Children and the Armed Conflict in Colombia - Colombia,” ReliefWeb, UNOCHA, October 30, 2001, https://reliefweb.int/report/colombia/children-and-armed-conflict-colombia.
[vi] Laura Heras Recuero and Eduardo Olaberría, “Public Spending in Education and Student's Performance in Colombia,” OECD iLibrary, OECD, February 23, 2018, https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/public-spending-in-education-and-student-s-performance-in-colombia_28 2d9700-en;jsessionid=h_EXA-4Ec1gwuRHhC2Ic-H8N.ip-10-240-5-87.
[vii] UNICEF, “COVID-19: More than 95 per Cent of Children Are out of School in Latin America and the Caribbean,”UNICEF, March 23, 2020, https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/covid-19-more-95-cent-children-are-out-school-latin-america-and-caribbean. 8 OCHA Services, “Children Are the Hidden Victims of Latin America's Corona Crisis - World,” ReliefWeb, UNOCHA, May 29, 2020, https://reliefweb.int/report/world/children-are-hidden-victims-latin-america-s-corona-crisis.
[viii] Moloney, “Latin America’s digital divide?”.
[ix] World Bank Group, “World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends,” World Bank, The World Bank, 2016, Accessed December 1, 2020, https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2016.
[x] European Commission, “Education for Children in Colombia Times of COVID-19,” International Cooperation and Development, European Commission, May 27, 2020, https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/stories/education-children-colombia-times-covid-19_en.
12 Anggy Polanco, “Latin America Adjusts to Home Schooling as Coronavirus Halts Class,” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, April 2, 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-latam-education/latin-america-adjusts-to-home-schooling-ascoronavirus-halts-class-idUSKBN21K2UY.
[xi] John Ahni Schertow, “Time to Build a Continental Indigenous Communications Network,” Intercontinental Cry, Intercontinental Cry, November 18, 2010, https://intercontinentalcry.org/its-time-to-build-a-continental-indigenous communications-network/.
[xii] Hernan Galperin, “Why Are Half of Latin Americans Not Online? A Four-Country Study of Reasons for Internet Non-Adoption,” International Journal of Communication, University of Southern California, 2017, Accessed December 1, 2020, https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/6287.
[xiii] Anastasia Moloney, “Colombia's Indigenous Children Switch to Remote Learning as COVID-19 Keeps Schools Shut,” Global Citizen, Thomas Reuters Foundation, November 6, 2020, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/colombia-indigenous-children-education-covid-19/.
[xiv] Human Rights Watch, “Colombia: Indigenous Kids at Risk of Malnutrition, Death,” Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Watch, August 13, 2020, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/08/13/colombia-indigenous-kids-risk-malnutrition-death.
[xv] Columbia Politics Collective, “Why COVID-19 School Closures Are Impacting Girls More,” Columbia Global Reports, Columbia University, October 9, 2020, https://globalreports.columbia.edu/blog/2020/10/school-closures-are-impacting-girls/.
[xvi] Jamille Bigio, Rachel B. Vogelstein, and Guest Blogger for Women Around the World, “Women's Participation in Peace Processes: Colombia,” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, December 15, 2017, https://www.cfr.org/blog/womens-participation-peace-processes-colombia.
[xvii] Alejandra Pineda, “Peace and Security in Colombia,” Humanitarian Advisory Group, Humanitarian Advisory Group, Accessed December 1, 2020, https://humanitarianadvisorygroup.org/peace-and-security-in-colombia/.
[xviii] The World Bank, “COVID-19 Could Worsen Gender Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean,” The World
Bank, The World Bank, May 15, 2020, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/05/15/covid-19-could-worsen-gender-inequality-in-latin-americaand-the-caribbean.
[xix] António Guterres, “Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on Women,” UN Women, United Nations, April 9
[xx] Olga Paz Martinez, “Women's Rights, Gender and ICTs,” Colombia | Global Information Society Watch, Colnodo, 2013, Accessed December 1, 2020, https://www.giswatch.org/en/country-report/womens-rights-gender/colombia.
[xxi] OCHA Services, “Former FARC-EP Members Are Transforming Their Lives with Education,” Reliefweb, UNOCHA, July 26, 2018, https://reliefweb.int/report/colombia/former-farc-ep-members-are-transforming-their-lives-education.
24 OCHA Services, “This Is How Quarantine Is Experienced in the Former Territorial Areas for Training and Reintegration - Colombia,” ReliefWeb, UNOCHA, May 8, 2020, https://reliefweb.int/report/colombia/how-quarantine-experienced-former-territorial-areas-training-and-reintegration.
[xxii] United Nations, “COVID-19 Pandemic Must Not Be Allowed to Derail Colombia Peace Agreement, Special Representative Tells Security Council | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases,” United Nations, United Nations, April 14, 2020, https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/sc14160.doc.htm.
[xxiii]Anastasia Moloney, “Could Coronavirus Lockdowns Help Close Latin America's Digital Divide?,” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, May 12, 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-latam-tech-trfn/could-coronavirus-lockdowns-help-close-latin -americas-digital-divide-idUSKBN22O1L5.
[xxiv] UNESCO, “Disruptions of Literacy Learning in Indonesia and Colombia Due to COVID-19,” UNESCO, UNESCO, July 15, 2020, https://en.unesco.org/news/disruptions-literacy-learning-indonesia-and-colombia-due-covid-19.
[xxv] Loren Moss, “5 Firms To Begin 5G Network Trials In Colombia While 4G Deployment Continues,” Finance Colombia, Finance Colombia, June 29, 2020, https://www.financecolombia.com/5-firms-to-begin-5g-network-trials in-colombia-while-4g-deployment-continues/.
[xxvi] UNESCO, “Disruption of Literacy Learning”.
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