(11 March 2010) Ministerial delegations from Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union will gather for theV EU-LAC Ministerial Forum on the Information Society to discuss the needs and priorities of the future digital agendas in both regions. The meeting will take place at La Granja de San Ildefonso (Segovia, Spain) on 14-15 March, 2010.
Under the theme "Digital Content for a Digital Society", government delegates will discuss how to adapt their future digital agendas to the specific characteristics of the region so as to contribute to reducing the digital gap and promote economic growth.
The Ministerial Forum will deliver its conclusions to the next LAC-EU Summit of Chiefs of State and Government to take place in Madrid on 18 May this year.
Organized by the Spanish Presidency of the European Union in collaboration with the European Commission and with the support of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the forum will open on Monday, March 15 at 9 a.m. with keynote presentations by the European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroess, and the Director of ECLAC's Production, Productivity and Management Division, Mario Cimoli.
The forum will address the following issues: 1) how to expand new high-speed broadband networks and ensure they are accessible for the entire population in every region; 2) how to develop digital capabilities among the population and promote the decentralized production of contents that respond to their demands; and 3) the role played by LAC-EU cooperation and the development of new areas of cooperation.
Access to broadband Internet is essential to reducing the digital gap. ECLAC has proposed considering it as a State-guaranteed paid, public global good.
More information and the forum agenda are available on ECLAC's website.
For press-related information, contact ECLAC's Information Services. Email: dpisantiago@cepal.org; telephone: (56-2) 210-2149.
