IDRC-CLACSO Biblioteca Virtual

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ICTs Fostering Competitiveness in the Knowledge
Society
Ben Petrazzini, Director ICA
Private Sector Forum, 2-3 June 2006, Santo
Domingo, DR
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Background and Context

• 2001 - Summit of the Americas in Quebec
  connectivity and the creation of ICA
• 2005 - Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata
  employment creation and strengthening democratic
  governance
• 2006 OAS General Assembly in Santo Domingo
  Development, Good Governance and the Knowledge
  Society

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Where we stand? Whats next?

• The problem is not connectivity per se
• The problem is
• Connecting people
• Connecting ideas
• Connecting the Americas
• Time to move out of the ICT box, and reach the
  majority
• Time to mainstream ICTs
• Economy
• Health
• Education
• Governance
• Environment
• Etc, etc

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ICAs Vision of the KS in LAC
A society in which citizens are aware of the
potential of ICTs for development, and are
innovative adopters of ICTs as effective tools
used to achieve more equitable and sustainable
development
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The three pillars of the KS

• Job creation (e-Economy)
• Development (e-Enablers)
• Governance (e-Citizenship)

Connectivity cuts across all three and paves the
way to the KS
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Pillar 1
eEconomy

• ICTs in the informal economy
• Small Medium Size enterprises, e-commerce
  and employment
• Youth, digital and creative industries
• Intelectual property rights public goods

Objective Promote entrepreneurship and decent
employment (in particular among the youth)
through the adoption and effective use of ICTs.
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Example
Knowledge Economy Initiative

• Regional research on the KE
• Themes (a) Institutions, Innovations, and
  Knowledge flows, (b) employment, (c) Trade and
  new business opportunities, and (d) emerging
  industries
• Creative industries, ICTs in the informal
  economy, telework, SMEs and ICTs

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Pillar 2
eEnablers

• Education and skills
• for the e-economy
• Education at the
• bottom of the pyramid
• Health for the poor

Objective Improving the provision and access to
education and health services through the
adoption and effective use of ICTs
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Example

Educational Portals Network

• Regional Network for the free exchange and
  sharing of educational content
• _at_Campus Mexico
• Refurbishing of used computers, north south
  exchange and e-waste.
• HEALTH Punto J, Palm pilots and WiFi in the
  health sector

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Pillar 3
eCitizenship

• Open gov transparencyand accountability
• Citizen participation and privacy
• e-Gov for all supplyand access

Objective strengthen democratic governance in
order to promote more equitable socioeconomic
conditions through the adoption and effective use
of ICTs
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Example
E-Government Leaders Network

• Lead e-gov initiative in LAC. Gathers some 60
  e-gov leaders of 32 countries in the region.
  Supports knowledge sharing, applications
  exchange, training, research, exchange of
  practitioners
• E-gov for all cel gov and telecenters
• Citizen participation and transparency

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Key drivers towards the KS

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A multi-stakholder endevour

• Government
• Regulatory and legal framework and adequate
  incentives
• Private sector
• Low cost technologies and applications with a
  long term view of benefits
• Civil society organizations
• Agents of change
• International organizations
• Regionalization, scale up,
• transfer of knowledge,
• take risk on innovations

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Thank you
Conecting people
ICA
Conecting ideas
Conecting the Americas