Information technology for development of small and medium-sized exporters in Latin America and East Asia

Includes bibliography

The technical skills of information technology workers in Argentina

Includes bibliography

Fact Findings and Lessons Learned from the Comparative Study on Information Techonology (IT) Usage by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America and Asia

ECLACs International Trade and Integration Division (DCII) will launch the book titled Information Technology for Development of Small and Medium-sized Exporters in Latin America and East Asia in the end of September 2005. The report provides an overview of the present condition of Information Technology (IT) and its use to promote international trade. It focuses on the experiences of IT usage by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Latin American and Asian-Pacific regions, with a special focus on SME exporters in the 13 researched countries, that were selected from the Forum for East Asia - Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) member countries. This issue of the FAL bulletin is produced based on the executive summary of the book.

Especial educación

Avances hacia las metas en educación del eLAC2010. Columna de Cuba, Punto de Coordinación Temática en Educación. Nuevos indicadores en educación, OSILAC. Estudio de RITLA e Instituto Virtual LACCIR. RedCLARA: Conectando escuelas e investigadores académicos. Acceso digital para la inclusión social: el Plan Ceibal en Uruguay. Acompañamiento Educativo: Computadores para Educar en Colombia. UNESCO y Clase 21: creando capacidades y contenidos. RELPE: conectando los portales educativos de la región. Noticias breves. Últimas publicaciones.

The software and information technology services industry: An opportunity for the economic autonomy of women in Latin America

The objective of this report is to understand the rationality that underpins public and business policies for promoting the IT and SIS industries and to determine whether they incorporate gender equality and/or provide incentives for women’s participation. The report also explores how this group of women is symbolically constructed within the firms, what issues are emphasized by the women themselves and what solutions or resources they propose for overcoming the problems. It then contrasts this discourse and intervention with the experiences, visions and demands of women leaders in the SIS sector. For this purpose, the policies, programmes and best practices of Europe are analysed and compared with instruments currently in place in Latin America and the Caribbean, in terms of their specific characteristics and degree of progress. Special attention is given to the cases of Argentina, Costa Rica and Colombia.

Adoption and application of information technology in the Caribbean and its contribution to scientific, technological and human resource development

Includes bibliography

TIC y género

Las TIC: herramientas clave para alcanzar la igualdad de género ONU MUJERES, Oficina Región Andina. Por una sociedad de la información con equidad de género Dafne Sabanes Plou. “Visualizamos el uso potencial de las TIC para reestructurar redes familiares de comunicación”, entrevista a Juan Eduardo Rojas. “Es una tarea permanente capacitar a administradores de telecentros como líderes tecnológicos en sus entornos sociales”, entrevista a Olga Paz Martínez. “La inclusión de la mujer en las TIC puede hacer una enorme diferencia en la disminución de la brecha digital”, entrevista a Zoraida Franco. “Las TIC pueden ser la herramienta más tangible que tenemos ahora para luchar contra la discriminación de género”, entrevista a Martin Hilbert.

ICT and gender

Information and communications technologies: essential tools for achieving gender equality. By UN-WOMEN, Andean Sub-Regional Office. -- “Training telecentre operators as technology leaders in their social environment is an ongoing task”, interview with Olga Paz Martínez. -- For an information society with gender equity. By Dafne Sabanes Plou. -- “Including women in ICT can make a big difference in narrowing the digital divide”, interview with Zoraida Franco. -- “We see the potential of ICT for rearranging family communication networks”, interview with Juan Eduardo Rojas .-- “ICT might be the most tangible tool we have right now to fight gender discrimination”, interview with Martin Hilbert.

Children’s rights in the digital age

The digital divide exacerbates inequalities in access to information and knowledge, making it more difficult to socialize with peers and limiting awareness of and the ability to use basic tools for life in society. Reducing this gap sets in motion virtuous synergies of social and cultural inclusion for children and adolescents, facilitating skills development and generating lifelong opportunities. Although the younger generations are connected digital natives, inequalities persist among socioeconomic groups, though these have been tempered by connectivity programmes in public schools in the region. The main article of this edition of Challenges uses current information to examine the progress made and the gaps that remain in this area. Providing children and adolescents with access is merely a first step. They then need to be protected from the risks associated with information and communications technologies (ICTs), which must be harnessed for purposes of meaningful learning, promoting uses that are more in line with the educational curriculum. Lastly, the article posits that connectivity policies must be linked to the fulfilment of children’s rights in the framework of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. As is customary, this issue also contains information on meetings and conferences held in the region during the year and recent publications in this field. Mention is also made of good practices from Peru in reducing gender gaps and a joint initiative between mobile operators and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to protect children in the digital age. Viewpoints includes expert opinion on the potential of ICTs as tools that can facilitate the exercise of the rights of children and adolescents, but also lead to violations of these rights.

Road maps towards an information society in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography