While so many aid efforts are devoted to increasing the incomes of those living in desperate poverty, Rodrigo Baggio has a different approach -- he wants to enrich people's minds.

For the past 12 years Baggio has devoted his life to helping disadvantaged young people in his native Brazil cross the so-called "digital divide," the chasm separating those with access to, and expertise in, computers and the Internet, and those without.

In many ways Brazil is not a desperately poor nation. Under the Human Development Index, a UN-devised index of national deprivation based on a range of measures relating to health, education and wealth, it is ranks 63rd out of 177 countries listed, with an average income per capita of around $8,000.

However, these bare statistics mask great divisions between rich and poor. Many millions, particularly in the favelas, the vast shanty town slums dotted around Brazil's cities, have very few opportunities to better themselves. Just over a fifth of the population live on $2 a day or less.

Baggio, born in 1969 to a middle class Rio family, has attempted to help people through his innovative Committee for Democracy in Information Technology, or CDI. His organization works with low-income communities and other institutions such as prisons to teach people vital computer skills, as well as citizenship.

"Twelve years ago I had a dream. In my dream I saw young, poor people using computers. I saw them finding solutions to their problems," he says.

Baggio, whose organization now has 965 schools around Brazil and in eight other counties, and has taught around 500,000 poor, young people, describes himself as a "social entrepreneur."

Teachers are generally drawn from the same communities the schools are intended to assist, while equipment is donated by commercial partners. Crucially, Baggio says, the students have to pay up as well.

Each CDI school is "self-sustainable and self-managed," he notes.

"Our schools work like social entrepreneurships. This is a very important concept for us. Through a symbolic fee the students contribute to the development of our schools. If a student cannot pay the fee they can work as a volunteer at the school. Nothing in life is free. Everything is about exchange."

Knowledge is the key to improving people's lives, Baggio inists.

"We live in the new age, the knowledge age. People need to be included in this new age. They need to have access to technology and the Internet. This will allow them to improve not just their jobs but their lives, too.

"When we open a new CDI school, word spreads from mouth to mouth. People talk about the school, technology makes a difference to these poor, young people so they love the opportunity to learn about technology. This makes it easy for us to impact their lives and keep them coming to school."

Baggio sees his work as both vital and hugely rewarding.

"For many young people living in the favelas it is difficult to avoid drugs and crime. We hope that by giving them access to education and technology, we can make a difference," he says.

"When I go into the favelas and see our students in front computers I see the light in their eyes, the life in their eyes. I feel very, very happy to see our work producing such great results."

How can we bridge the digital divide?

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As most of the poor are illiterates, it does not make sense to me to teach adults how to read or write when actually they can learn visually.

The company I work for, LGH International, focuses on supporting development projects and education in developing countries through educational TV programs.

Personally, I think that for information and communication needs, every man woman and child should at the very least have access to these resources, but I think in places like here in the UK, schools are over-reliant on computers in the classroom, and results show children are falling way behind in terms of manual skills attainment.

Eventually, I think that various countries will be in crisis if this current trend carries on/increases because of a lack of skilled craftsmen/woman essential in many industries and services.

Dear all, I share the same dream with Baggio. My dream is a bit younger though.

I also believe that world development begins with each of us. I also believe that individual development can be reached by the ability to keep up with the rapid flow our world is undertaking.

What better way than having access to our largest and most updated public library, the internet?

One thing is vital to provide accessibility to the Internet, a PC. The other vital technology that needs to be accessible to all of us is the telecommunication technology that provides the accessibility to the internet.

In many parts of our world, the telecommunication infrastructure is not mature or even does not exist yet. As any other infrastructure, once it is established, it needs a period of time for the return of investment.

During this period, it is most likely that the infrastructure and the services that it supports would not be accessible by those with a weak economy. Not to forget that establishing a new infrastructure for providing the internet to all is not only an issue of massive investment, but is also an issue that is time on a large scale.

My dream is to provide THE infrastructure that is phenomenally less demanding in terms of investment and deployment time. And I think that I know THE way to live this dream. Let us talk.

In the Bahamas we are bridging the digital divide by engaging the public and private sectors to work together on making the Bahamas digitally literate.

The Ministry of Education and the Inter-American Development Bank identified a public private partnership to support the education and training systems in the nation.

Reading good comments about the CDI idea makes me happy. It is important to notice that Brazil is so bad in wealth distribution because of lack of information and knowledge about economics and politics.

With CDIs I hope that poor people from my country can be informed, learn to think for themselves and have good sense when voting in the future.

I would like to get in touch with Rodrigo Baggio to know how to start a program like this in Tijuana.

This is a great effort which is necessary in every developing country. Knowlege is power and the power of the Internet and wireless technology makes information much more accessible than ever before.

Finding ways to enhance availability of computers and Internet access with technological education will allow young citizens to expand their minds and come up with solutions to problems in their society.

The best, if not the only way to bridge the digital divide is a sustained effort in bridging the basic educational divide.

How can the world emphasize bridging the digital divide when millions of children are not in school for lack of chalk, text and exercise books and chairs to sit?

Increase funding for public libraries, a haven for the disenfranchised all over the world.

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