Quilombo Women, Inequality, and Digital Literacy: Challenges for Promoting Intercultural Communication
Article / Journal
Author(s) / editor(s):
Daniela de Ulysséa Leal
,
Ivonete da Silva Lopes
Year: 2025
Language(s): Spanish
Abstract:
In contemporary society, access to information and communication technologies (ICT) and digital literacy are regarded as fundamental rights, as they enable individual and community participation in society, in addition to guaranteeing access to other rights (information, health, and education). Given the unequal distribution of communication resources, this article discusses the challenges of intercultural communication among ethnic-racial groups highly affected by socioeconomic inequality in Brazil, such as remaining Quilombo communities, who were the interlocutors in this research. This reflection is anchored in the dialog between intercultural communication (ICC) and intersectionality as theoretical-methodological perspectives that seek social transformation. We followed a qualitative methodology employing the techniques of action research and participant observation, which were deployed between 2022 and 2023 during digital literacy workshops (photography, Canva, and Instagram) in two Quilombo communities in the region known as Zona da Mata, in Minas Gerais. Thirty women with ages 15 to 61 participated in the training. Findings show that only ten women had a computer at home, and two of them even shared a mobile phone with their children. Internet access is recent, with only five participants having a Wi-fi connection at home before 2020. Moreover, factors such as work overload as community leaders, gender issues, and lack of digital skills hinder the resource to ICTS and ICC for community communication. It is essential to point out the need for public policies for access and digital literacy from an intersectional perspective that considers the specificities of these territories.
https://doi.org/10.22395/angr.v23n46a04
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