Bibliored, Bogotá, Colombia

Colombia is beset from all sides. A smoldering civil war with leftist rebels countered by private right-wing paramilitary groups—all funded with narcotics dollars—have created a wave of internal refugees that has swollen Bogotá’s population by perhaps 2 million.

With two-thirds of the city’s population living below the poverty line, Mayor Enrique Peñalosa could not possibly have provided directly for the needs of all of Bogotá’s citizens. So he decided to give them the towols to provide for themselves. With a vision of libraries as “urban temples”—islands of civilization among violence and crushing poverty—Peñalosa created Biblored as the centerpiece of his city’s redevelopment plan.

In four years, Bogotá has upgraded 16 local branches and built three massive new libraries. The library network is distributed through the city so that no Bogotá resident lives more than one kilometer from a branch. Each day, more than 10,000 people use the system.

At 77, Otilia Fonero viuda de Yanez frequently walks to Virgilio Barco, one of the three new libraries. A retired government worker, she is learning new tools to interact with her 23 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren by computer. She sees free access to the latest technology as a way for people to improve their lives, regardless of background.

When one of the new libraries “appeared without warning” near his neighborhood, 12-year-old Luis Cárdenas was not enrolled in school. But after the Tintal library opened, Luis became a regular in technology workshops and reading incentive classes. He says the library has given him the “opportunity to learn, to know the world, to become someone, to dream, to travel in time and space—without spending money.”

Next year, Luis will return to school.

Bogotá’s commitment to give all of its citizens access to the enabling power of information technology earned Biblored the 2002 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award.

Oscar Javier Vásquez arrived at the information revolution without any background—the 14-year-old needed help to turn on the computer. But from that day forward, he became a daily user, searching the Internet for information to help him cope with migraine headaches. He soon began passing his technical knowledge to others.

“I offer to help other children and teenagers that come as ignorant about computers as I was,” he explains. His new computer skills helped broaden his interests in other ways. “After learning so many interesting things about the body and health care, I decided to become a doctor.”

From the “urban temples” of Biblored, residents of Bogotá are using the new tools of the information revolution in their struggles against poverty and in their search for knowledge.