Abstract

Projects to bridge the so-called "digital divide" have reinforced a pattern of exclusion by designing autocratic uses of information and communication technologies. Social history and memory are also subject to power-knowledge networks established by State and private sector combinations of ideological and economic manipulation.<p> The discussion focuses on important case of urban intervention in the capital city of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, seen as an opportunity for the rescue of human and social values while also offering horizons for social capital accumulation and environmental recovery. However, the abuse of digital media has been a tool for the creation of despotic narratives. Against this trend, preservation or memory is subject to a critical perspective that may lead to the definition of digital emancipation as a new pattern of civic intelligence and community involvement in the promotion of a national cultural heritage.</p>