“Inequality and digital inclusion” will be the main theme of the Sixth Regional Seminar on Social Development of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which will take place on June 16-18, 2026 with the participation of government authorities, academics and representatives of international organizations.

This hybrid event is being organized by ECLAC in conjunction with the ECLAC–BMZ/GIZ Strategic Alliance and the European Union’s “Inclusive Societies in Latin America and the Caribbean” program, the Republic of Korea, and the Ford Foundation.

Over the course of the three-day seminar, participants will share experiences, good practices and proposals aimed at bridging digital gaps and moving towards more inclusive societies in the region.

The programme features three keynote speeches: “Inherited Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean” to be delivered by Francisco H. G. Ferreira, Amartya Sen Professor of Inequality Studies and Director of the International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE); “The challenges of digital inclusion for reducing inequalities” by Ellen Helsper, Professor of Digital Inequalities in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE; and “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work in Latin America and the Caribbean” by Fabian Stephany, Departmental Research Lecturer at the Oxford Internet Institute of the University of Oxford (virtual).

The event’s panel discussions will explore topics such as the multidimensional measurement of inequality; digital gaps and inclusive social development; digital social protection and health; the use of digital technologies by children and adolescents; labor policies in the face of automation; and the school-to-work transition in the digital era.

There will also be four side events that analyze issues including the importance of universal, comprehensive, sustainable and resilient health systems for advancing towards inclusive social development; the impact of non-contributory pension systems in eradicating old-age poverty; the challenges of educational inequality and social mobility; and the state of social cohesion in Latin America.

This seminar also seeks to give continuity to the debates put forth at the Sixth Session of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, and to the commitments that emerged from the Second World Summit for Social Development, held in Qatar in 2025. The aim is to produce strategic inputs that would help identify transformative recommendations and proposals for moving towards inclusive social development, reducing inequalities and narrowing digital gaps. 

WHAT: Sixth Regional Seminar on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. "Inequality and Digital Inclusion: Challenges and Opportunities for Inclusive Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean."

WHEN: Tuesday-Thursday, June 16-18, 2026. Inauguration on Tuesday, June 16 at 9:00 a.m. local time in Chile (UTC-4).

WHO: Government officials from countries such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay; representatives of international organizations; academics and specialists from Latin America and the Caribbean and other regions.

WHERE: ECLAC’s main headquarters in Santiago, Chile (Av. Dag Hammarsköld 3477, Vitacura). 

Members of the press who would like to cover this event in person are asked to register by writing to prensa@cepal.org.

Live transmission: https://live.cepal.org/SRDS6