Digital transformation delivers results only when people can use technology in ways that matter to their lives. In Guatemala, this means moving beyond access to devices and focusing on the skills, confidence, and support needed to navigate an increasingly digital world. For many communities, these first digital steps are the foundation for inclusion, opportunity, and participation.
My First Digital Steps was designed with this people-centred approach at its core. The initiative brings digital tools closer to communities in practical, accessible ways rooted in everyday needs, as part of a joint programme implemented by UNDP, UNESCO, and UNICEF, with financing from the Joint SDG Fund, which is supported by the European Union and sixteen Member States. Its purpose is simple yet transformative to ensure technology strengthens independence and participation rather than reinforcing existing inequalities.
Between October and November 2025, hands-on workshops were delivered in partnership with the municipalities of Salcajá, La Esperanza, and Olintepeque in the department of Quetzaltenango. The sessions focused primarily on women entrepreneurs, young people, and older adults, many of whom face educational, territorial, or generational barriers to digital participation. The emphasis was not on technology for its own sake, but on building practical skills that make everyday digital tools safer, more useful, and more empowering.
Participants learned how to install and use mobile applications, share photos and videos, create personalized stickers to support small businesses, identify warning signs of digital fraud, explore artificial intelligence tools for the first time, and use solutions such as WhatsApp Business. Across seven sessions, approximately 217 people took part. Most participants were women, and more than half identified as members of the Maya peoples.
The impact went well beyond technical learning. The workshops strengthened confidence, autonomy, and motivation, helping participants see the digital world as something they could navigate on their own terms.
For entrepreneur Nancy Chulú, founder of Happy Studio Accesorios, the experience opened new possibilities. She shared that she can now build a community around her business by offering tutorials on how to use and create products, while also promoting her work and connecting more directly with customers. Her story reflects a broader shift taking place across communities, where digital skills translate into visibility, connection, and economic resilience.
Initiatives like My First Digital Steps matter because they address digital transformation at its roots. They help reduce technological gaps within communities, strengthen civic participation as public services become increasingly digital, expand access to online government services, and lay the groundwork for more advanced initiatives, including the future use of artificial intelligence at the municipal level.
Digital transformation does not begin with large platforms or complex systems. It begins when people are given the opportunity to learn, explore, and adopt digital tools at their own pace, supported in ways that respect their realities and ambitions.
Original article: https://www.undp.org/es/guatemala/blog/mis-primeros-pasos-digitales-inclusion-que-transforma-vidas
Note:
All joint programmes of the Joint SDG Fund are led by UN Resident Coordinators and implemented by the agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations development system. With sincere appreciation for the contributions from the European Union and Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland for a transformative movement towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
