Digital review 2007 of Latin America and the Caribbean: progress and challenges policies for development with ICT. Abridged document

SummaryThis document is an abridged version of the "Latin America and the Caribbean Digital Review 2007" report which provides an inventory of the national policies and strategies that aim to guide the different countries of Latin America and the Caribbean towards Information Societies. It aims to contribute the understanding of the situations faced by these countries as this process matures. The report is the result of a collective effort by UNDP, ECLAC, DIRSI and ICA-IDRC. It describes the progress achieved and challenges remaining for policy development in 21 countries of the region. The initiative responds to the calls made by the countries in the current Regional Action Plan (eLAC2010), specifically to goal 60, in which the authorities aim to "Strengthen national policies for the information society from a regional perspective, including coordination and participation by public agencies, civil society and the private and academic sectors, within their respective roles and areas of responsibility, in the design and dissemination of ICT programmes."The first part of the Digital Review 2007 deals with the development context of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in Latin America and the Caribbean, characterized by the so-called digital divide, focusing on its characteristics and dimensions. The second part of this study focuses on two selected topics that are part of the development agenda: education and health, given that they are fundamental tools in the fight against poverty. The third part analyzes the state of existing policies for the construction of Information Societies at a national and regional level in Latin America and the Caribbean; lastly, the fourth part presents the digital development profiles of the countries of the region. The document shows that although all of the countries of the region have begun to face the challenges of becoming modern and equitable Information Societies, a great heterogeneity among the advances of the countries persists. A certain grade of political maturity can also be observed by comparing countries that are part of a second generation with countries that are recently starting with the process. These results underline the great potential for the exchange of experiences and intra-regional collaboration, in order to accelerate the learning process in the elaboration of policies that strengthen development with ICT in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Digital Review project acts as vehicle in this learning process.