[WSIS CS-Plenary] Speaker Nomination: Carlos Afonso

[Erick Iriarte Ahon]

Hi..

If someone need more information about Carlos Afonso..you can read this :)

Erick

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When it comes to the beggining of internet in Brazil, Carlos Alberto Afonso 
has got to be remembered. Master in Economy, with studies of doctorship in 
Social and Political Thought for the York University (Toronto, Canadá), 
former member of the Managing Committee of Internet in Brazil (1995-1997), 
co-founder and former director of the Brazilian Institute of Social and 
Economical Analysis (Ibase) and currently director of Technology 
Development of the Information Network for the Third Sector (Rits), he was 
responsible for the rising of AlterNex ­ the first internet provider in Brazil.

A dream that started to come true yet in 1979, when, exiled of 
dictatorship, living in Canada, he talked over creating Ibase with Herbert 
de Souza, also known as Betinho ­ who played one of the most important 
roles in the fight for democracy in Brazil. Betinho was also exiled, in 
Mexico. At that time, Carlos Afonso was able to perceive the transforming 
potential of technology as he could follow up the usage of the first 
microcomputers in Canadian universities. Two years later, Afonso' and his 
partner would come back to Brazil to found Ibase. Afonso had then, under 
his arm, a modern Apple II computer that would be the beggining of a 
revolution. Ibase was born withou a single typewriter. But at least it had 
a computer.

"The seed was growing up. At that time, there was no modem. Our first 
modem, a 300 bits per second board obtained in 1983, would never work as it 
should. Anyway, who could we connect to?".
In the beginning of 1984, Ibase started to use the National Network of 
Package Commutation, at the incredible speed of 1.200 bits per second. The 
government would only allow sending messages to users in Brazil. Any use of 
services beyond geographical frontiers would demand an express 
authorization of the Federal Secretariat on Computer Sciences and Automation.

"We were only authtorized to have international access in 1984, when we 
began thinking of an international network of NGOs called Interdoc, created 
by the former coleagues Mario Padrón (from Desco, Peru) and Charles Foubert 
(from Idoc, Roma). They planned to create na international electronic mail 
to start connecting NGOs all over the world. That's how we had the idea of 
building in Brazil an information network for the civil society with the 
support of the new technologies".

And so it was. In 1985, with a sole telephone line, the first Bulletin Boar 
System came up. It was baptized as AlterNex. Two year later, the BBS would 
be adapted to operate along with Renpac, reaching the whole country.

"Our brave BBS, using a Galacticomm software with two telephone lines and 
an 8-channel circuit at the speed of 9.600 bits per second, was running in 
a powerful IBM PC AT donate by a religious institution. We ended up sending 
this equipment to our fellows from ITEM, in Uruguay, and they were able to 
set up the first internet provider in their country with that".

One year more, after contacting the United Nations Development Programme 
(UNDP) and the Institute for Global Communications (IGC), we came up with 
the project of a Unix-based network services system connected worldwide. 
That's how, in July 18, 1989, we founded the first brazilian internet 
provider. At the same time came the idea of a National Research Network 
(RNP) to gather universities all over the country.

"The fact is we were searching an alternative path to communications in 
Brazil in a time when TCP/IP was considered na 'illegal' protocol by the 
government".

The idea of using the potential of information technology to integrate 
civil society organizations became renewed in 1992, when Rio de Janeiro 
hosted the World Summit on Environment and Development (also known as 
Rio-92), which assembled governmental and non-governmental leaders from all 
over the world. Carlos Afonso had the insight of setting up a whole 
communication network for the conference

"I went to Geneve to show the project and I heard things like 'this seems 
to be one of the very few serious projects coming from a brazilian', said 
by a director of Unced [United Nations Conference for Environment and 
Development], but we went on anyway".

ONU determined that the project was adopted by the conference. Supported by 
the RNP, APC [Association for Progressive Communications] and the engineers 
of the local telephone company, AlterNex ­ the internet provider created by 
Ibase ­ became responsible for linking Rio-92 to the world.

The experience was remarkable. In 1994, AlterNex launched the first World 
Wide Web server out of the academic environment. During the next years, the 
growth of the internet in Brazil was astonishing, as well as its social 
impact. "Many organizations started to use to share information and make 
denounces. It's almost impossible to measure, but the impact of this must 
have been enormous and decisive".

In 1997, for institutional reasons, Ibase decided to sell AlterNex, which 
became a commercial provider. Carlos Afoso, nevertheless, did not give up 
his dream of using the internet as a way of fighting social exclusion in 
Brazil. He committed to the cause as director of Technology Development of 
RITS ­ Information Network for the Third Sector, a non-governmental 
organization dedicated to disseminate knowledge and information for third 
sector organizations. In his day-by-day, in the articles he writes, in his 
permanent involvement with information technology and its potential human 
approach, Carlos Afonso has been a restless activist for social inclusion, 
digital inclusion, for a better future with equal opportunities for each 
and everyone.

"The disparities which make of this country one of the most unfair of all 
show don't seem to be disappearing. And there comes the next great 
challenge for us: to build ways of granting universal access to these 
technologies knowing that, in Brazil, the chances of individual access to 
each citizen are none. Of course we shall have Internet II and we shall 
keep updated, but let us engage in the commitment of creating alternatives 
like telecenters, internet in public schools, in offices, industries and 
syndicates. That is the way to go".
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