Areté— Art, Education, Technology, focuses on harmonizing arts, technology and education in order to promote creativity as a means for human and social development. ARETÉ (the ancient Greek paradigm of unique excellence or skill of any sort) brings together institutions with educational, artistic and cultural missions (such as Ministries and NGOs) in the re-design and implementation of innovative environments and learning experiences based on Media Lab digital technology and research. The goal is to empower people to improve the quality of their personal and community learning, towards the improvement of human and community development. ARETÉ is being developed in collaboration with our sponsor INCAE by initiative of its collaborator, Mesoamérica Foundation.

Community Publishing — Provides community members (senior citizens, children, adolescents, teachers) with new easy-to-use digital tools so that they can act as reporters, photographers, illustrators, editors, and designers of online publications about their local communities. These projects tap into the wisdom and strength of community members, supporting new forms of grass-roots communication and new models for media coverage.

Computer Clubhouses — The Media Lab helped establish a network of after-school centers, called Computer Clubhouses, where youth from underserved communities learn to design, create, and invent with new technologies. In 1997, the Computer Clubhouse project won the prestigious Peter Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation. Intel has provided funds to open 100 new Computer Clubhouses in the US and around the world.

Education for Peace (E4P)— Aims to reverse trends of violence and conflict in Colombia through massive application of high-tech inventions combined with the adoption of new ideas about learning. E4P initiatives engage people living in areas of conflict in “doing peace” by breaking radically from prevailing assumptions about who can learn, what they can learn, and how they can learn. The E4P project is being developed in collaboration with the 2B1 Foundation.

Health Nets — The Media Laboratory has developed a strong program in the creation of health technology, enabling people to take more control of their own health care, especially in preventing illness before it occurs. The Digital Nations consortium provides members with technical designs and expertise, health-systems design expertise, and aid in the creation of state-of-the-art health systems.

Learning Hubs — The Media Lab has established a worldwide network of organizations committed to deep change in learning and education. These Learning Hub sites serve as working models of “out-of-the-box” learning, based on ideas developed by Media Lab Professor Seymour Papert over the past 30 years. At each site, Media Lab researchers work closely with local “learning activists” who develop, research, and help others appropriate successful models of learning.

Learning Independence Network — Facilitates a “true transfer of technology” by enabling people and organizations in the developing world to design and create their own technological tools and solutions to community challenges, fostering a greater sense of independence and self-sufficiency. An initial Learning Independence Network has been established in Costa Rica.

Lincos: Little Intelligent Communities — The Media Lab has joined with the Foundation for Sustainable Development (founded by former Costa Rican President Jose Maria Figueres) to create economically-sustainable community technology centers, known as Little Intelligent Communities (or Lincos), that provide health care, learning technology, government services, banking, soil and environmental testing, and entertainment on one site. In 2000, Lincos was awarded the Alcatel III Award for Technology Innovation.

PIE Network — The Media Lab is collaborating with museums around the world in an effort to integrate science, art, and engineering in new types of playful learning experiences. As part of the PIE (Playful Invention and Exploration) Network, museums are developing new hands-on activities and programs based on technologies and educational research from the Media Lab, enabling museum visitors to play, invent, and explore with new digital technologies.