Data from Cetic.br serves as input for interministerial debate on ICT public policies

The 3rd Interministerial Meeting discussed how the indicators produced by Cetic.br can contribute to the construction of the Brazilian digital strategy.

National and international experts in public policy and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) participated last Tuesday (30) in the 3rd Interministerial Meeting - Dialogue on Public Policies and ICT Indicators in Brazil 2017, held by the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (MCTIC) to discuss the development of policies to promote the adoption of ICTs based on data and ICT indicators.

To stimulate the debate, data from surveys by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) of the Brazilian Network Information Center were used to outline the Brazilian scenario in themes such as digital economy, health, and education. Additionally, the debate was preceded by presentations of inspiring cases from neighboring countries like Uruguay and Argentina, as well as lectures by representatives of international organizations: Anne Carblanc from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Wilson Núñez from the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC).

The event is already integrated into the traditional calendar of MCTIC, recalled Maximiliano Martinhão, Secretary of Information Technology Policy at the Ministry. “The development of the Brazilian digital strategy is one of our priorities, and also a joint effort with other ministries. Data from Cetic.br are essential inputs for the construction of this plan.” In agreement, Benedicto Fonseca (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) reinforced that Cetic.br's indicators explore an essential facet for the digital strategy to flourish and deliver the expected results.

Demi Getschko, director-president of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), emphasized that the meeting represents a symbiosis of various initiatives, both public and private, that aim for the same goal: a better outcome for the country. “We are very pleased that the data from the ICT surveys are being well utilized by international and government organizations. We have 12 years of producing internationally comparable statistics. Furthermore, we also conduct training workshops to enhance the studies,” he stated.

After the opening of the meeting, which also included contributions from Ruben Delgado (Softex) and Atila Souto (MCTIC), Alexandre Barbosa (Cetic.br) stressed the relevance of mediating and producing statistics for designing effective public policies to promote digital inclusion, especially at this moment when the Brazilian Digital Strategy and the directions of Brazilian action in the context of the digital economy are being discussed. “The event strengthens the dialogue among different sectors of the Government, considering the transversal role of ICTs for economic areas, infrastructure, as well as for social policies and human rights, and sectoral policies in health and education.

Economic and Social Development
The main speaker of the meeting, Anne Carblanc (OECD), was responsible for detailing the benefits of digitization for economic and social development. “The digital technology ecosystem is changing the game, providing opportunities and new business models, increasing productivity, competitiveness, and also well-being. Many jobs will be impacted by digital transformation and this is a great challenge for policies,” she warned.

Carblanc also reflected on the speed at which digitization changes life in society, rendering laws and policies obsolete, and emphasized that a successful transition to digitization requires coherent and integrated policies, as well as maintaining dialogue and sharing best practices with the international community is essential in this process.

Vision of the impact of ICT in Latin America
For Wilson Núñez (ECLAC, Chile), “Latin America is not prepared.” He justified the statement with data from the region, citing that 75% of young people born in the Internet era – also called Generation Y or millennials – used the network in 2016, but only 22% of mobile connections are 4G and the fiber optic coverage is 12%. “The technology exists, we are evolving, but not at the speed we need to advance.” For Núñez, the alternatives are: to increase investment in infrastructure, maintain focus on accelerating digital transformation, define positions on disruptive innovations, use data in the formulation and implementation of policies, and reduce information asymmetries.

Vision of the impact of ICT in Brazil
Critical points of the Brazilian scenario were presented and debated at the meeting from the perspective of the business, health, and education sectors. Based on data from the ICT Business Survey, Leonardo Lins (Cetic.br) listed the bottlenecks: the online presence of companies is still low, it is necessary to disseminate access to quality broadband, invest in human resources training, automation, and innovation.

Rafael Soares (Cetic.br) reminded that the ICT Health Survey points to challenges for the universalization of ICT infrastructure in public health establishments, as well as in establishments distant from capitals. The training of professionals in the area, the interoperability of information systems, and the expansion of telehealth services were also critical points highlighted by the researcher.

The ICT Education Survey, in turn, shows that ICT infrastructure in schools needs to be improved and expanded, both in terms of the number of equipment and the quality of Internet access. Daniela Costa (Cetic.br) also mentioned the lack of quality open educational resources, the integration of ICT into the school curriculum, and the need to promote the initial and ongoing training of teachers.

The presentations of data from each of the surveys were discussed by public managers, academics, and specialists in the respective fields of activity.

The experience of Uruguay
Diana Parra Silva, from the Agency for the Development of Electronic Government Management and the Information and Knowledge Society (AGESIC), presented the Uruguayan context, recalling that “the digital inclusion policy should not only consider technology but also equitable transformation.” In Uruguay, digitization is based on pillars such as social policies and inclusion, sustainable economic development, government management, and governance. There is, for instance, a specific program for digital inclusion of the elderly, which includes the distribution of tablets associated with classes on how to use the equipment.

The experience of Argentina
The digital education agenda in Argentina was also discussed during the event with the presentation by Florencia Ripani (Ministry of Education and Sports of Argentina). Teaching of robotics and programming, hackathons, and activities to empower women in the IT field are some examples cited as priorities by the country, which plans to connect all schools by 2018, starting with rural ones. “We want to prepare students for the current and future society, to solve problems, create opportunities, and change the world,” Ripani emphasized.

This content was automatically translated with the support of artificial intelligence.