São Paulo - The Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil, spoke about the theme, Digital Culture and Development, yesterday (11), in a welcoming lecture ("aula magna") at the University of São Paulo (USP). According to Gil, "digital culture is a new concept stemming from the idea that the digital technologies revolution is essentially cultural. What is implied here is that the use of digital technologies modifies behaviors; full use of the internet and free software creates fantastic possibilities for democratizing access to information and knowledge."

In the Minister's assessment, Brazil already possesses vast experience in the field of free software and digital inclusion, with hundreds of projects and even profound speculation in academic circles.

Gil sees the issue of free software, as well as the production and distribution of audiovisual materials, as a matter of national sovereignty. "It is preeminently a cultural question and thus has to do with the projected nation we are constructing and with the appreciation of cultural diversity, citizenship, and the generation of income and jobs through creative and clean industries. Brazil has the opportunity to undertake a massive national movement in favor of digital freedom and become a world reference in the fight for free software."

The Minister affirmed that his Ministry is making efforts to guarantee, in its policies, strategic recognition of access to digital culture. "We are developing projects that offer the possibility of universal access to information and knowledge through the full employment of telematic networks, such as the culture points and the new libraries that are part of the Hunger for Books program."

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Leonardo Stavale
Translator: David Silberstein
08/12/2004