Vive Digital Colombia, an example of ICTs as a tool for development with social inclusion

Pictures: ©Ministerio TIC, Colombia

"The Internet has no borders. Therefore, we must continue to work actively from a political perspective through the OAS, to take advantage of the revolution of the information society to solve our main problem, which continues to be inequality and poverty" emphasized the Minister of Information and Communication Technologies of Colombia, Diego Molano Vega, in a joint meeting of the Permanent Council and the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) of the OAS held on July 23, 2014 at the organization’s headquarters in Washington.

Minister Molano Vega has been the principal manager and promoter of Vive Digital Colombia, a practice of global excellence that seeks to expand Internet to create jobs and eradicate poverty, obtaining important results that have earned Colombia several international awards for its achievements in the field of digital inclusion by promoting access, use and appropriation of ICTs by the entire population. This is not a small accomplishment in today's knowledge society. "With more internet, there is less poverty," said the Minister, citing studies that show the close correlation between the reduction of poverty and internet penetration

Reducing poverty and social inclusion has been a priority of the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos from the beginning of his administration, a priority that is shared by his counterparts in the region, as demonstrated last month at the OAS General Assembly with the signing of the Declaration of Asuncion on "Development with Social Inclusion". As Member States work to close social gaps and to help more than 164 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean out of poverty, the value of ICTs is underscored, as a tool that has the potential of expanding or "democratizing" opportunities for development (i.e. education, health, information, markets, and participation, among others).

"In Colombia, we went from 7% of SMEs connected to the Internet in 2010 to 60% by 2014, surpassing our initial target of 50%." Increased access to internet, complemented with useful content for SMEs - which account for 96.4% of the country's enterprises - impacts productivity and market access.

In this regard, the Minister also mentioned other objectives of ViveDigital Colombia such as generating employment through technology and improving productivity. He noted that in the initial diagnosis made in 2010, a lack of access and use of internet by the "bottom of the pyramid" was observed, which is composed of the poorest section of the population and of MSMEs, particularly micro enterprises. This scenario of digital exclusion is largely shared by all countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and exacerbates social inequalities in the region.

On the role of regional coordination and dialogue facilitated by the organization, in particular through the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), the Minister said that "the OAS plays a vital role, critical to the development of this industry." "For example, in order for us to be able to use our own cell phone in every country, roaming services must operate in the region. This required substantive work by the OAS-CITEL six years ago. Work to facilitate coordination among all countries. Only after the CITEL reached an agreement with countries did cell phone manufacturers make changes and telecom operators deploy their networks."

The OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, highlighted the importance of the Minister’s presentation and the priority of ICTs for the organization’s development agenda as a matter of hemispheric importance. "In his speech, Minister Molano made it clear that the OAS has an important role to play, and we have played this role.” The Secretary General continued, recalling that CITEL - created in 1993 - "has been involved in this technological development process. Since the convening telecommunications operators were all public, to the current situation, which is very diverse...we have to appreciate that. This is an area in which we must continue to play a role."

For his part, the President of the CIDI, Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago, Ambassador Neil Parsan, linked the presentation of the Minister of ICTs with the policy dialogue and other initiatives undertaken by the OAS-SEDI in the region. “Initiatives such as Colombia’s Digital Plan are quite relevant in several of the areas within the purview of CIDI and supported by the OAS Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI). Among them, I would point out, that echoing the Summit of the Americas held in Cartagena, in CIDI’s Science and Technology Ministerial held in Panama in 2013 and programed in Guatemala next year; both governments and private sector have stressed the importance of expanding access to broadband internet in all of the countries of the region.”

“The different CIDI Ministerial dialogues, in sectors such as Science and Technology, Competitiveness, Education and Labor, as well as several other initiatives are working together to integrate better the ICTs and the education sectors, so that a greater proportion of our citizens can have access to quality education, and to facilitate the mobility of talent, as a factor for competitiveness. Events like the upcoming Americas Competitiveness Forum to be held in October in Trinidad and Tobago, or the Virtual Educa recently hosted by Trinidad and Tobago and Peru, or the Educational Portal of the Americas, and the partnership with the Mobiles for Education Alliance, are just a few examples of those efforts.”

As presented by the Chair, the linkages between ICTs and a diversity of development issues are also evident in the actions of the OAS-SEDI given the cross-cutting characteristic of technology and its growing importance to move towards a more prosperous and equal region. The experience of Colombia presented at the OAS is a valuable example for the organization and for Member States seeking to bring the benefits of the knowledge society to the entire population as part of an inclusive development agenda.

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