CONNECT A SCHOOL, CONNECT A COMMUNITY

The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) supports the Strategy for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (“eLAC”).  A long-term vision aligned with the MDGs and the goals of WSIS (Figure 2-1), eLAC provides short-term action plans with qualitative and quantitative goals.  These plans, which comprise the region’s Plan of Action for the Information Society, have served to promote integration and cooperation in the area of ICTs, and also have acted as a link between international-level goals and the needs and priorities of the region and its countries.²³

In 2005, eLAC 2007, the regional plan of action for the 2005-2007 period, outlined 30 goals and 70 activities divided into five "cluster" areas:

(1) Access and digital inclusion,

(2) Capacity building and knowledge creation,

(3) Public transparency and efficiency,

(4) Policy instruments, and

 (5) Enabling environment.

The access and digital inclusion cluster established goals and activities for online schools and libraries, including an objective to:

 “Double the number of public schools and libraries that are connected to the Internet, or connect one third of them, if possible via broadband, particularly those located in rural, isolated or marginal areas…”²⁴

This goal was supposed to be achieved by mid-2007 but remained unfulfilled in most countries.  The Monitoring eLAC 2007 Report shed light on the state of progress in the region in terms of the spread of ICTs, according to the goals and activities established in eLAC 2007.  The report pointed out that there had been significant progress in the region in developing "information societies" in each country.  Fifteen out of the 27 monitored action areas showed acceptable or strong growth.  The remaining 12 action areas showed moderate to insufficient advances.  Areas of action in which progress was strong and notable were: 

• Digital access and inclusion in community centres and local government;
• Capacity-building and knowledge creation in research and education networks;
• Governmental transparency and efficiency in e-Government and e-Education;
• The development of indicators and measurement as policy instruments; and
• Monitoring of WSIS and the execution of eLAC2007.²⁵

The most recent regional plan of action, eLAC 2010, delineated the ICT goals and targets for the region between 2008 and 2010.  It provided 83 goal-oriented activities for six priority areas in the region:  (1) education and training, (2) infrastructure and access, (3) health, (4) public administration and e-government, (5) productive sector, and (6) policy instruments and strategic tools.  With education as a top priority for the region, the eLAC 2010 plan established specific goals and activities for achieving better accessibility and capacity levels in the region, including a goal to:

Connect 70% of public educational institutions to the Internet, preferably via broadband connections, or triple the current number.²⁶

Figure ‎2‑1:  The Link between eLAC and International Initiatives

Source: ECLAC.