F O X A R O

The Latin American region exists in polarization, full of cultural richness and invaluable knowledge, but with a long way ahead. Opportunities are difficult to find and even more for vulnerable communities where a different mindset of necessities arises. The fundamental problem we detected is the dispersion of knowledge alongside the absence of connectivity between communities, as this has allowed society to generate stereotypes and paradigms about minorities and native people that distort reality and lead to segregation, mistreatment, and overall discrimination.

F O X A R O takes as a premise three core features to ameliorate the LAC outlook: 

1) generating a centralized compendium of inherited traditional knowledge collected in a cloud-based platform, 

2) connectivity through an online network, allowing for the constant interchange of information between communities around the region, and  

3) physical Learning Nodes where information can be gathered, processed and shared, both in vulnerable or urbanized locations.

According to El Economista (2018), in Mexico there are 67 native communities, summing more than 12 million people, and up to 25 million identify with indigenous groups. Native people stand out as one of the most vulnerable sectors in the face of discrimination, as people from urban areas view the cultural differences as a cause of poverty and socio-economical gaps. The degree of alienation towards these communities complicates the outlook of this sector. The problem is that societies believe the solution relies on readjusting them to standardized productive scenarios, but have yet to define if that is what they want. 71.9% of the autochthonous population was in poverty by 2016, according to CONEVAL. Moreover, CDI and INEGI identified in 2015 21.8% of the native population between 25-64 years old had incomplete basic education.

   These numbers reinforce the fact that local communities lack connectivity with traditional schools and socio-economical activities due to the continuous urban discrimination towards their lifestyle and traditions. The solution relies on creating motivating spaces for learning in areas where access to information is scarse while preserving local culture, more than building educational institutions, as the preservation of their knowledge would enhance the cultural heritage of humankind.   

During the first stage, we'll work with indigenous areas in Mexico, being the most prone to vulnerability, discrimination, and exclusion. CDMX and Guanajuato will be the first ones to implement the initiative.
 
Our solution aims to empower rather than impose, therefore each community will have open spaces where they can share their needs, particularly by a face to face interaction and interviews. Later on, a project will be presented according to their thoughts and principles, which will foresee the implementation or readaptation of a Learning Node. Most of the community will have to agree on construction or adaptation of the learning area, given that an essential part of our project is that the communities become the shapers of their knowledge and opportunities. When the learning area is ready, they will have the option of earning an extra income by proposing educational content that they consider valuable in a practical sense for other communities, either from their daily life or from their discoveries, or to co-create new interactive experiences to showcase.
 
F O X A R O's team will be responsible to collect, secure, preserve and distribute the information acquired, as well as provide the earnings corresponding to each initiative. 

The F O X A R O initiative focuses on connecting communities while preserving the local knowledge and enabling new learning processes for people to develop new abilities.  

The initiative will provide the space, the methodology and the tools need to create the learning experience. 

This is done in three different phases: 1) Gather 2) Preserve and 3) Share 

In the first phase, we'll work together with the communities to better understand what they want to communicate and how they wish to share it. In this first stage, the technological infrastructure and the necessary tools will be provided, these being: 

• The learning nodes equipped with didactic technology. 
• The Information-gathering platform allowing connectivity and exchange with other nodes. 
• The Network experiences, where other people who want to learn or teach skills can interact linking the communities and their identity with other places in the form of exhibitions in other cities. 

F O X A R O's journey starts when the first contact with the community is made when the knowledge is received and needs to be uploaded to the platform so it can be preserved and shared. The second phase is when the information is centralized once it is received and processed, so the data can be measured and used with ease. From there onwards, F O X A R O will guide the community through the third phase alongside experts from various areas related to learning, communication, and design to create an interactive experience that later will be shared in other Learning Nodes across the country. These interactive experiences aim to break the traditional barriers of learning while acknowledging the value of the existing knowledge within the communities. 

Once the experience is designed, it can be endlessly replicated. 

The learning methodology is inspired by the Montessori psychological approach to education as well as the learning through projects technique, which will give a more adequate approach to the learning experience. 

To achieve these objectives, technology, and digitalization processes are key factors. Our main utilization for it will remain in the physical Learning node, such as Cloud Computing, in this case, the PaaS used to gather and digitalize information, Augmented reality and didactic technological equipment to improve the learning experience and equipment to guarantee the sustainability of the Learning space. 

The innovation on F O X A R O relies on the approach to informal education. We don't aim to train vulnerable communities and sectors of the population to fit in the current maelstrom of society, but to widen the horizon of society itself in terms of learning and technical and social abilities to create new blue oceans for future sustainable socio-economical development.

Because it brings to the equation a factor that we have not actually consider before. Our way of living is not the only way of living. 

If we truly want to include vulnerable population and minorities into the economical workforce, we first have to ask, are they really looking forward to that change? And if not, how can we provide better opportunities while acknowledging and respecting their choices and making the most out of the technical and social abilities they already possess?

F O X A R O is born out of the idea that the only successful way to close the gap is to build bridges between their way of life and ours, and that can only be done by understanding their local context and mindset.

Nowadays the project is in a planning phase. We will start visiting communities in León, Guanajuato, and Mexico City expecting to build their learning areas at the end of 2020. We will do the same procedure the following year at least in 5 more different communities. First, the information gathered will be shared through exhibitions within universities, museums and public spaces available in the cities. After five years, we expect the project to be 100% sustainable and have several learning domes working all over the LAC region.

For the next year:

• Visit at least five different communities and work with them to co-create the project's initiative. 
• Have fully functioning learning domes in the communities
• Do the first interactive exhibition in Mexico City.

For five years:

• Increase the members of the team to deliver better service and better tracking of the communities.
• Successfully use technology when sharing information generated in the Learning domes.

The biggest challenge is to approach the native communities in a way that is well-received and that allows us to connect with them on a deeper level. 

The technological aspect is also challenging, as some of the equipment required to generate the learning spaces and the interactive experiences are expensive and require special 

Mostly through building a stable and trusting connection with the communities. Although is true that is a time-consuming task, it is a crucial step in order to better understand the mindset of the communities and how can we portray their knowledge in the most truthful and reliable manner.

On the other hand, regarding the technological aspect, it is desired that key partners take part in the implementation of these tools by linking with pre-existing companies will guarantee a more efficient adoption of the tecnology.

So far we consider, that the learning nodes could give the Latin American region a sense of belonging through the sharing of knowledge fro country to country. Learning about the region will create bonds that will fortify the identity aspect if the region while introducing a new approach to both formal and informal education.

Since the region shares a lot of similarities, the initiative is easily replicable, and can be adapted to each area with very little effort.

Only two people are directly involved in the concept development of the proposal. 

Once the initiative is fully applied at least twenty people will be involved in the process, from the technical aspects to the first approach with the communities, as well as key strategic partners for infrastructure, technological and financial support.

Both members of the team have been constantly involved in an educational path, whether through academic approaches or practical work-related experiences.

Marion Ximena Ochoa Hidalgo, Bachelor in International Business with a concentration in global affairs from Tecnológico de Monterrey, has participated in several international programs, most notably in the 2018 International Congress of Educating Cities in Cascais, Portugal, representing Mexico as a youth ambassador within the conference. Currently serving as a council member for the Municipal Education Agency in the city of Leon, Guanajuato.

Karen Díaz Ruiz, Bachelor in Business Creation by Tecnológico de Monterrey and Bachelor in Pedagogy (Education)- UNAM. She has a certification in Leadership Skills from Tecnológico de Monterrey as well as a Diploma in psychopedagogy from CEPE and a Certificate in Teaching as a Foreign Language.

The financial sustainability of the initiative is further described in the webpage.

The fact that the idea can migrate into an international arena is our primary interest, as it will strengthen the network that will bring life to the project.

Furthermore, the certainty that there are a lot of experts and tools that can support the expansion of the initiative is a unique opportunity that might tip the balance in our favor, allowing us to reach more people.

Microsoft and Adobe for the cloud-based platform and the digital design of the experiences.

Unreasonable Mexico to create disruptive learning activities for the knowledge aquired.