Broadband in Latin America: Beyond Connectivity

Based on a model of the broadband ecosystem developed by the authors in their 2010 book, Fast-tracking the digital revolution: Broadband for Latin America and the Caribbean, they now analyse the evolution of this technology in Latin America, assess the economic impacts of its diffusion, propose public policies for its expansion and debate the future of the ecosystem. The policy analyses and proposals presented in the book focus on national programmes to foster universal broadband access and the debate on Internet neutrality. The study of the current trends highlights the progress of cloud comp…

2024 School of Digital Transformation and Innovation in the Caribbean

The School of Digital Transformation and Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean serves as a dynamic capacity-building programme for policymakers. Through lectures, panel discussions, case studies, and peer learning, it delivers pertinent, up-to-date content on transformation trends , and best practices, with a regional focus. Formerly known as "The Digital Transformation and Innovation Summer School," the programme has been collaboratively organised by prominent entities, including the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), CAF - The Develo…

Diálogo sobre gobiernos corporativos, protección de datos y ciberseguridad

El pasado 23 de abril, se llevó a cabo este evento paralelo al III Foro de los Países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible, organizado por la CEPAL…

Reducir la brecha digital: un objetivo común de latinoamericanos y europeos

(15 de marzo, 2010) Los asistentes al V Foro Ministerial ALC-UE sobre Sociedad de la Información acordaron hoy en Segovia, España, fortalecer las estrategias digitales para seguir desarrollando la regulación del sector de tecnologías de información y comunicaciones (TIC), el acceso y uso de Internet, la privacidad y fiabilidad de la red, el desarrollo de contenidos digitales, el gobierno electrónico y la gobernanza de Internet. El Foro de dos días fue organizado por la Presidencia española de la Unión Europea, en colaboración con la Comisión Europea y con el apoyo de la Comisión Ec…

Costa Rica Will Host the Second Meeting of the Conference on Science, Innovation and ICTs of ECLAC

The Second Session of the Conference on Science, Innovation and Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will kick off next Monday, September 12, at 6 p.m. local time in San Jose, Costa Rica. The event will coincide with the inauguration of the World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR 2016), which will bring together representatives of government, industry and ICT associations, as well as academics, to analyze the latest proposals aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promoted by the United…

“It’s Not Possible to Create a Better Future for Work Without Creating a Better Future for Production”: José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs

“It’s not possible to create a better future for work without creating a better future for production. These are two sides of the same coin,” José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), sustained this Thursday, June 1, 2023 at the inauguration of the ECLAC-ifo-PILLARS Workshop: Labor Market Effects of Automation and Technology Adoption in the Global Economy, which is being held in Santiago, Chile using a hybrid format (in-person and virtual). “In order to create decent jobs, it is indispensable that we focus on a pr…

Annotated provisional agenda. Third meeting of the Conference on Science, Innovation and Information and Communications Technologies of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Practices and initiatives for the development of cross-border e-commerce in Latin America and the Caribbean and its impact in the post-pandemic era

E-commerce fosters innovation and contributes to the process of digital transformation of MSMEs through the implementation of digital technologies, new business practices and new business models, which can improve the efficiency and productivity of companies beyond the effects on access to new national and international markets. This document presents some practices and policies that governments in Latin American and Caribbean countries have implemented before and after the COVID-19 pandemic to promote the participation of MSEs in cross-border e-commerce, including measures to deepen the penet…

Final assessment report. Assessment of development account project 16/17Y: Big data for measuring and fostering the digital economy in Latin America and the Caribbean

Information and communication technology for disaster risk management in the Caribbean: subregional solutions to the challenge of limited human resource capacity

This document was adapted from a paper originally presented to the 8th Annual Caribbean Conference of Comprehensive Disaster Management, held in Montego Bay, Jamaica in December, 2013. It summarizes several activities that ECLAC has undertaken to assess the current state of information and communications technology (ICT) in the field of disaster risk management (DRM) as practiced in the Caribbean. These activities included an in-depth study that encompassed a survey of disaster management organizations in the region, an Expert Group Meeting attended by the heads of several national disaster of…

Big data and open data as sustainability tools: A working paper prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

The two main forces affecting economic development are the ongoing technological revolution and the challenge of sustainability. Technological change is altering patterns of production, consumption and behaviour in societies; at the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ensure the sustainability of these new patterns because of the constraints resulting from the negative externalities generated by economic growth and, in many cases, by technical progress itself. Reorienting innovation towards reducing or, if possible, reversing the effects of these externalities could create the …

Report of the twenty-ninth session of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Resolution 750(XXXVIII) Conference on Science, Innovation and Information and Communications Technologies of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Tourism in Central America and the Dominican Republic in the face of digital technologies: Challenges and opportunities for MSMEs

Tourism micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) recognize the importance of digital tools to attract tourists, showcase the company and sell products and services. However, they make basic use of these tools to communicate and promote the company, missing opportunities to improve their competitiveness, productivity and sustainability. This study analyses the state of the digital transformation of tourism MSMEs in the member States of the Central American Integration System (SICA), both their internal capacities and external conditions that affect their ability to innovate. The study …

Working paper on the eLAC 2018 Digital Agenda in consideration of Caribbean priorities for technology-supported development

eLAC 2018 will coordinate the implementation of programmes to support the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in achieving social and economic development goals for Latin America in the Caribbean during the 2015-2018 timeframe. The conceptual framework for this programme of work is described by the eLAC 2018 Digital Agenda, which is anticipated to be ratified by the fifth Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean, to be held in August 2015 in Mexico City. There is a need for broader input from Caribbean countries to the eLAC 2018…

Information and communication technologies for agricultural development in Latin America: trends, barriers and policies

The present publication has been prepared to study the potential of ICTs to promote socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable agricultural development. In Latin America, social inclusion and environmental sustainability in agriculture are especially relevant issues, in light of the great structural heterogeneity within the sector and, more recently, the stepped-up pressures on natural resources resulting from the boom in international commodity markets. Yet, the adoption of ICTs in agriculture cannot be expected by itself to reduce production asymmetries and enhance social inclusion. …

Made in Latam: How smart manufacturing can give Latin America new hope for industrialization

La innovación, automatización y digitalización de los procesos productivos conllevan numerosas externalidades positivas para las empresas. Entre esos efectos se incluye un aumento de la competitividad y la productividad pues se mejoran los procesos operativos, se facilita el acceso a los nuevos mercados, se fomenta la diferenciación de los productos y se optimiza toda la cadena de valor. Las tendencias de la fabricación inteligente aprovechan esos cambios y ponen de relieve las oportunidades y los retos para las empresas. Existen varios factores que condicionan la adopción de nuevas tecnología…

Development strategies for the information and communications technology sector in the Caribbean: A global perspective

This occasional paper examines the experiences of three leading global centres of the ICT industry – India, Silicon Valley, and Estonia – to reflect on how the lessons of these models can be applied to the context of countries in the Caribbean region.Several sectors of the technology industry are considered in relation to the suitability for their establishment in the Caribbean. Animation is an area that is showing encouraging signs of development in several countries, and which offers some promise to provide a significant source of employment in the region. However, the global market for anim…

Expert survey on priorities for the information society in the Caribbean

An on-line survey of experts was conducted to solicit their views on policy priorities in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the Caribbean. The experts considered the goal to “promote teacher training in the use of ICTs in the classroom” to be the highest priority, followed by goals to “reduce the cost of broadband services” and “promote the use of ICT in emergency and disaster prevention, preparedness and response.” Goals in the areas of cybercrime, e-commerce, egovernment, universal service funds, consumer protection, and on-line privacy rounded out the top 10. S…

Plan of work 2013-2015 for the implementation of the plan of action for the information and knowledge society in Latin America and the Caribbean (eLAC2015)