Is Crowdfunding One Way to Pay Education?

Introduction

The new global economic crisis derives from a health crisis, unlike global financial crises such as the one that took place in 2008.

Covid19 democratized this new crisis and halted economies worldwide, a situation from which nothing and nobody is exempt. The production and consumption of goods, as well as distance training and education have become a priority. A great battle is now being fought against an unknown actor (a virus), which hinders the connection between people and ‘normal’ life as it was known. Geographically close people became as physically distant as those geographically apart. This levelling in distancing appears to enable more democratic opportunities, regardless of individuals and the area they are in, but this might not be the case: we were not ready for this, and inequality remains stark.

Now more than ever, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is an indispensable ally in social and economic recovery in various areas of activity. In the present and in a post-pandemic future, ways to overcome barriers and counteract new threats need to be (re)invented so that the world can carry on growing and developing with a better prepared ‘normal’ life.

Collective and/or collaborative funding (crowdfunding, or Cf) is an innovative way to leverage development in moments such as these, especially for financing projects that promote sustainable recovery, adjusted to immediate future needs. Crowdfunding presents itself as a response which can quickly surpass the advantages of micro credit - it is a contractual proposal disseminated on the internet and using new technologies, often emerging before State and bank funding, since it resorts to the available liquidity of the general public for quick, non-bureaucratic financial help. In every moment of crisis, new opportunities for financial innovation arise and this tool may gain more potential if properly developed (Valancience & Jegeleviciute, 2014).

Given the lack of literature, especially on the analysis of projects in education, the present chapter sets out to encourage the study and development of the subject. The barriers imposed by unequal opportunities in education, which exist regardless of any unexpected changes and notably during Covid19, must be overcome. Digital education and mass availability of distance education/training is a very recent, important subject. Before a common, poorly-understood enemy, a new reality was forced upon society, exposing existing inequalities. The analyses presented herein address the way network relations and platform technologies operate in current online collaborative environments, in order to make funding alternatives through Cf available to all and to help overcome socio-economic inequalities in areas such as education, in which the right to equality must be prioritised.