The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, organized by UNESCO, is commemorated every year on May 21, highlighting the importance of intercultural dialogue for peace and sustainable development, as well as its global economic contribution of 3.1% to GDP and 6.2% to employment.
Chaco Innova stands out as an exemplary project that encapsulates the values and objectives of World Day for Cultural Diversity. This project, on which Wingu has worked in collaboration with Nanum Mujeres Conectadas, WTT Ventures, Fundación Avina, Fundación Gran Chaco, Nativa, Grupo Sunu de Acción Intercultural and BID Lab, focuses on boosting local production in the Gran Chaco Americano. This project recognizes and values the cultural diversity present in the region, promoting intercultural dialogue and collaboration between communities. It also seeks to promote economic and social development through the use of innovative technologies that enable local communities to access new markets and improve their production and marketing processes.
Wingu’s work as a promoter of Chaco Innova is framed in a methodology rooted in its values. Since its founding in 2008, the organization has embraced digital culture as a strategic instrument to generate a significant impact on the communities with which it collaborates in the design of customized technological tools. This commitment is manifested in the Civic and Social Technology team’s focus on self-sustainability, gender equity, accessibility and integrity in all its actions.
This comprehensive approach has been essential to develop Chaco Innova as a working model that not only transforms the technological infrastructure of the indigenous communities of the Chaco, but also promotes sustainable social and economic development. The adaptation of technological solutions to the cultural and linguistic context of these communities has been a fundamental pillar in this process, thus ensuring that the initiative is inclusive and benefits all the people involved, providing a model where emerging technologies are accessible to all.
Find more information about the project and about Wingu’s participation in the 9th Multilateral Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for the Sustainable Development Goals in New York HERE. In her speech, Daniela Carvajalino Tobón, Director of Strategic Alliances at Wingu, presented our initiatives, highlighting how innovation can emerge from the Global South and be an engine for inclusive and sustainable development.
I invite you to discover more about this and other projects with which we promote cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue through technology and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Lina Ontibon
Institutional Development Coordinator Andean Region