Taking Action: An Integral Approach to Accelerating Digital Inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean
Latin America is undergoing an unprecedented digital transformation, with internet access doubling since 2010. Still, the region has not overcome its “digital divide.” Two out of every three households have limited or no connectivity, as governments have struggled to expand basic digital infrastructure, such as broadband or satellite technology. Meanwhile, dependency on faraway data centers raises the cost and lowers the quality of digital services. Governments, in collaboration with private sector leaders, multilateral development banks, and the US government, have an opportunity to accelerate the region’s digital transformation by improving the legal and regulatory environment; building a bigger digital workforce; and expanding digital infrastructure, including through public-private partnerships.
To discuss these issues and generate recommendations for public policies and international partnerships to reduce the “digital divide,” tech sector leaders met and herd from Jennifer Bachus, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, Dept. of State; Antonio García Zevallos, Head of Competitiveness and Innovation Division, IABD; Almudena Fernández, Chief Economist and Team Leader for SDG and Development Policy for Latin America, UNDP; and Carlos Magariños, Director of Global Strategy and External Affairs, Vrio Corporation.
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Líderes se reunieron para impulsar medidas de estímulo con el objetivo de reducir la brecha digital en América Latina
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Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
Brazil Institute
The Brazil Institute—the only country-specific policy institution focused on Brazil in Washington—aims to deepen understanding of Brazil’s complex landscape and strengthen relations between Brazilian and US institutions across all sectors. Read more