Conecta por Argentina: Bridging the Digital Divide

In Mencué, a small town surrounded by the Patagonian plateau in Río Negro, distance has always been part of daily life. The school — Escuela N°16 — is the heart of the community: 62 students, a handful of teachers, and a principal who often says that “here, the school is much more than a place to learn — it’s where everything happens.”

Until 2023, there was no internet connection in the area. Teachers downloaded materials from another town every two weeks, and students had never experienced an online class. That changed when Conectá por Argentina installed a satellite antenna and trained the teaching team to use new digital tools.

“The day the antenna was installed, the kids stayed after class just to watch the little light turn on. They couldn’t believe they could connect to the world from here,” recalls Silvia, the principal.

Since then, digital learning has become part of everyday life. The school began a robotics workshop with kits shared through Enseñá por Argentina’s education network, and students in 6th and 7th grade learned to program small robots that move, light up, and even tell stories. “They were amazed to see that they could code — and that coding could come from a place like Mencué,” says Lorena, one of the teachers.

Beyond the classroom, the connection brought new opportunities for everyone. Families now use the school’s Wi-Fi to do online procedures, access health information, and even take virtual training courses. The school became a community hub — a bridge between isolation and inclusion.

The teachers also joined online training sessions with educators from other provinces. “It was the first time we could participate live, not through printed summaries or videos someone brought on a USB drive. It makes us feel part of something bigger,” Lorena adds.

Conectá por Argentina has now connected 33 schools in 10 provinces, bringing digital access and training to more than 6,000 students and hundreds of teachers. But the story of Mencué shows what those numbers really mean: connection as belonging, learning, and future.

Today, students use the Internet to research local history projects, connect with other rural schools, and present their work through video calls. One of them, Abril, says:
“I want to be a teacher. Now I can study and see that there are many ways to learn, even from far away.”

For Enseñá por Argentina, stories like this one remind us why we keep expanding the program: because when a school connects, a community connects — and when a community connects, new futures become possible.