As wave after wave of new technological innovations continue to wash over the world, I’ve become aware of both the intended consequences of access to digital tools, as well as those ramifications which might come as a surprise. Earlier this year I wrote an article entitled “Electronic Apartheid” which spoke to some certain consequences, where in the piece I quoted one of the world’s most venerated elders, Nelson Mandela as saying:
In the twenty-first century, the capacity to communicate will almost certainly be a key human right. Eliminating the distinction between the information-rich and information-poor is also critical to eliminating economic and other inequalities between North and South, and to improve the life of all humanity.
20 years ago, who would have thought of the “capacity to communicate” as being a key human right? And yet, it makes perfect sense today, because in writing that article, I discovered that there is a direct correlation between access to digital technology and high school graduation rates; as outlined in the research of University of California professor — Robert Fairlie.
Someone else who’s hip to all this, and dedicated to do something about it, is Jepchumba, the founder of African Digital Art — an online collective of digital artists and enthusiasts. And last month, while the World Cup was in full swing in South Africa, Jepchumba and I had a roving email exchange as she made the rounds in her native land.
Read the full interview with this innovative artist here.