Wampia Project

Higher education is closely linked to some basic competences, which, if weak or absent, seriously compromise a student’s future performance and permanence in college. Asymmetries in computational skills, for instance, create a significant gap between students from ethnic minorities or from underdeveloped communities and those from more privileged strata. Such is the case of the Wampia people, an indigenous community located in the Colombian mountains. Just like other indigenous groups, the Wampia youngsters have weaknesses in computational skills that result in an unfair disadvantage when they enter college. Developing basic computational skills is therefore an effective tool to reduce the academic gap and to build cross-cultural communication channels that trigger subsequent development of other educational competencies amongst the Wampia students.

Universidad Icesi leads a social project aimed at developing ICT skills amongst the Wampianos. Classes are taught at the Wampia reservation, located about 3 hours from our campus in a gorgeous mountainous zone. Designed to address specific needs of the Wampia people, these classes educate students in basic computational skills, including word processing, worksheets, and internet. More important, the entire project is designed to develop a general technological literacy that helps Wampianos enter higher education and adapt better to college life.