A new digital agenda (eLAC2018), capable of responding to the new challenges faced by the region’s countries in the context of the global technology revolution, will be defined on August 5-7 during the Fifth Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean, which will take place in Mexico City, Mexico.
The meeting is organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the government of Mexico. Working groups will discuss matters such as access and infrastructure, digital economy, e-Government, governance of Internet and social inclusion and sustainable development.
The first Action Plan for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (eLAC), whose Technical Secretariat is held by ECLAC, was established by countries in 2005 and implemented until 2007. Two more phases followed (2008-2010 and 2011-2015) and it is expected to be renewed for a fourth stage, through 2018, in Mexico.
Just as in previous ministerial meetings, ECLAC will present in Mexico a report that seeks to contribute to the debate among national representatives. The last conference was held in April 2013 in Montevideo, Uruguay, a country that will hand over the presidency of the process to Mexico this year.
A few weeks ago, on May 26, eLAC won the category of “International and Regional Cooperation” at the prizes awarded annually by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), an honor that recognizes its contribution to the building of a regional digital agenda.
In addition, the eLAC2018 plan will be an input to the global process of reviewing the results and projecting a new agreement in the framework of the WSIS, scheduled by the United Nations General Assembly for the end of this year.
Ten years since its creation, eLAC acts as a platform of political dialogue between the authorities of the ministries and institutions in charge of the digital agendas and policies on information and communications technologies (ICT), along with representatives from the private sector, academia and civil society.
The registration forms for participants as well as journalists are available at the Conference’s website: ://conferenciaelac.cepal.org. The meeting will take place at the Convention Center of Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretariat.
