BOLT

On Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, the Rapa Nui language has long struggled to secure its place in the digital world. Despite having Internet access, communities such as those on remote islands and in parts of South America face an invisible barrier: language.   While connectivity is increasing, a significant digital divide persists. Over…

Brazil’s north and northeastern states are home to many unique indigenous and quilombo communities that often lack reliable access to the Internet, which can be integral to living in vast territories facing multiple natural and human threats. Due to geographic challenges, many people in northern and northeastern Brazil are unserved by traditional radio, cellular, or…

By Gustavo Streger Access to Internet connectivity in rural Sierra Leone is limited and expensive. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), only 21.3% of households have Internet access via a fixed or mobile network, and only 5.6% of homes have a computer. According to Media Matters for Women, very few people, most of whom are…

The Internet has the potential to revolutionize learning, but more than access is needed. This is where Fundación SOLE Colombia, a grantee of the Internet Society Foundation’s BOLT program, comes in. They created a SOLE Lab, a physical space where people can access and use the Internet collaboratively to answer questions important to the community. …