With the support of the ILO, Javier Quintero Rojas is enthusiastically shaping a generation transformed by technology
From the mountains of Bucaramanga, with roots in the warm and quiet land of Gamarra, Javier Quintero has made teaching his life project and technology a tool to transform the present of hundreds of young people. His commitment to technical education, within the framework of the SENATIC project, is also an act of hope for a fairer Colombia with more opportunities.
Javier Enrique Quintero Rojas was born 45 years ago in Gamarra, a small town on the banks of the Magdalena River, in the southern part of the Cesar department. At that time, Gamarra had limited development opportunities but preserved an intangible richness that remains in his memory: close knit families, unhurried time, street games on dirt roads, and the voices of grandparents through the walls. It was a place where everyone knew each other by name, and stories were woven among shared patios and simple snacks.
His childhood, though marked by material hardship, was deeply joyful. He lived with his parents and sister, embraced by a community that treated him as one of their own. On one side lived his paternal grandparents, on the other, his maternal ones. He grew up surrounded by affection and family companionship, and it was there in that small but warm world that his earliest ideas of what it means to support, teach and care began to take shape.
At 16, he left his hometown to pursue his studies. Nearly three decades have since passed in Bucaramanga, the city that welcomed him and where he has built both his professional career and his family life. He has been married for 22 years to a healthcare professional and is the father of four children. An electronic engineer by training, he holds a specialisation in learning environments and a master’s degree in telematics focused on academic processes. But beyond his credentials, what defines him is a simple phrase: “I love being a teacher.”
For the past 20 years, he has dedicated himself to education, especially at the upper secondary level. His journey has taken him to rural areas such as Puerto Wilches, along the Magdalena River, and to technical institutions like the Unidades Tecnológicas de Santander. Since 2018, he has been a teacher at the Oriente Miraflores Educational Institution, located in the Morrorico neighbourhood Comuna 14 of Bucaramanga a district facing deep social challenges but home to a resilient, cheerful, and high-potential community.
For Javier, the school is a refuge an oasis that protects young people from the dynamics of violence, substance abuse, or school dropout that sometimes surround them. He is committed not only to teaching software programming within the SENATIC project but also to listening, motivating, and guiding his students. He has worked closely with young people with cognitive disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, firmly believing that education — when it is humane and patient can be the most powerful tool against any form of exclusion.
Through SENATIC, he has found a pathway to deep transformation. At first, many students were hesitant, but he won them over with an honest promise:
Javier Enrique Quintero Rojas was born 45 years ago in Gamarra, a small town on the banks of the Magdalena River, in the southern part of the Cesar department. At that time, Gamarra had limited development opportunities but preserved an intangible richness that remains in his memory: close knit families, unhurried time, street games on dirt roads, and the voices of grandparents through the walls. It was a place where everyone knew each other by name, and stories were woven among shared patios and simple snacks.
His childhood, though marked by material hardship, was deeply joyful. He lived with his parents and sister, embraced by a community that treated him as one of their own. On one side lived his paternal grandparents, on the other, his maternal ones. He grew up surrounded by affection and family companionship, and it was there in that small but warm world that his earliest ideas of what it means to support, teach and care began to take shape.
At 16, he left his hometown to pursue his studies. Nearly three decades have since passed in Bucaramanga, the city that welcomed him and where he has built both his professional career and his family life. He has been married for 22 years to a healthcare professional and is the father of four children. An electronic engineer by training, he holds a specialisation in learning environments and a master’s degree in telematics focused on academic processes. But beyond his credentials, what defines him is a simple phrase: “I love being a teacher.”
For the past 20 years, he has dedicated himself to education, especially at the upper secondary level. His journey has taken him to rural areas such as Puerto Wilches, along the Magdalena River, and to technical institutions like the Unidades Tecnológicas de Santander. Since 2018, he has been a teacher at the Oriente Miraflores Educational Institution, located in the Morrorico neighbourhood Comuna 14 of Bucaramanga a district facing deep social challenges but home to a resilient, cheerful, and high-potential community.
For Javier, the school is a refuge an oasis that protects young people from the dynamics of violence, substance abuse, or school dropout that sometimes surround them. He is committed not only to teaching software programming within the SENATIC project but also to listening, motivating, and guiding his students. He has worked closely with young people with cognitive disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, firmly believing that education — when it is humane and patient can be the most powerful tool against any form of exclusion.
Through SENATIC, he has found a pathway to deep transformation. At first, many students were hesitant, but he won them over with an honest promise:
“This course will give you real skills that will put you in a privileged position in the job market.”
Today, his students not only learn logic, computational thinking, and algorithms they also learn to believe in themselves, to develop patience, and to think clearly.
The SENATIC project supported by the ILO, the Ministry of ICT and SENA has strengthened the institution’s links with initiatives such as the computational thinking hub led by the British Council, and has allowed the technical area to be integrated with school based entrepreneurship. For Javier, technology must go beyond entertainment: it should serve to solve social problems and make life easier, not just fill it with screens.
That is why, when he found out that SENATIC would not be limited to a single cycle but would continue, he was thrilled. He saw a different spark in his students’ eyes, a renewed sense of motivation. “The message brought by the ILO awakened something in them,” he says. He firmly believes that programmes like this must not disappear, as they represent a real opportunity especially for those who face fewer open doors.
Javier is one of those teachers who not only educates but transforms. From his classroom where lines of code intertwine with dreams for the future he sows, each day, the idea that learning is a way to resist, to grow, and to move forward. In contexts where access to technology remains unequal, he insists on one essential idea: everything we can do for young people whether from the public or private sectors is always worthwhile.
SENATIC is not just a programming course; it is a vehicle for social justice. And thanks to teachers like Javier Quintero, that possibility becomes reality.
The SENATIC project supported by the ILO, the Ministry of ICT and SENA has strengthened the institution’s links with initiatives such as the computational thinking hub led by the British Council, and has allowed the technical area to be integrated with school based entrepreneurship. For Javier, technology must go beyond entertainment: it should serve to solve social problems and make life easier, not just fill it with screens.
That is why, when he found out that SENATIC would not be limited to a single cycle but would continue, he was thrilled. He saw a different spark in his students’ eyes, a renewed sense of motivation. “The message brought by the ILO awakened something in them,” he says. He firmly believes that programmes like this must not disappear, as they represent a real opportunity especially for those who face fewer open doors.
Javier is one of those teachers who not only educates but transforms. From his classroom where lines of code intertwine with dreams for the future he sows, each day, the idea that learning is a way to resist, to grow, and to move forward. In contexts where access to technology remains unequal, he insists on one essential idea: everything we can do for young people whether from the public or private sectors is always worthwhile.
SENATIC is not just a programming course; it is a vehicle for social justice. And thanks to teachers like Javier Quintero, that possibility becomes reality.
Javier Enrique Quintero is part of the group of more than 800 instructors continuing in 2025 under Line 1 of the SENATIC project a nationwide alliance between the Ministry of ICT, SENA and the ILO, for young people in technical upper secondary education.
