Event Celebrates 20 Years of Cetic.br and Discusses Paths for a More Inclusive Digital Future

International reference in data production on the adoption of ICT, Cetic.br will bring together Brazilian and international experts on the 13th and 14th of this month in a meeting with lectures, debates, and launches

The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), a department of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2025. A global reference in data production, Cetic.br has monitored, through regular surveys, the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Brazil, helping the country understand the impacts of ICT in society. The department's two decades of work will be celebrated at the International Seminar Cetic.br 20 years – Data and Analysis for an Inclusive Digital Future, which will take place this Tuesday (13th) and Wednesday (14th), in São Paulo (SP). With free admission and live streaming via NIC.br's YouTube channel, the event will gather experts from various critical sectors for digital public policies, including government authorities, international organizations, academics, the private sector, and civil society organizations.

One of the objectives of the meeting is to review the digital agenda's trajectory over the last 20 years, including aspects such as digital inclusion and challenges for meaningful connectivity, digital transformation in the economy, in the public sector, and its impact on social policies, such as health and education. The event will also contribute to the formulation of a future survey agenda, addressing topics such as information integrity and the impacts of digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence on society.

The seminar will feature the release of the most recent editions of the ICT Health, ICT Kids Online Brazil, and ICT Households surveys. In addition to statistics, the publications include reports, analysis of results, and articles. On the occasion, there will also be a presentation of new indicators from the ICT Enterprises survey, which has, since 2005, investigated access to infrastructure, use, and appropriation of digital technologies by the private sector. The ICT Enterprises 2024 book will also be launched at the event.

“The continuous production of public statistics on the adoption and use of digital technologies in the country is an important front of NIC.br’s work for the Internet's development in Brazil. In 20 years, Cetic.br has built a solid trajectory and gained international recognition for producing indicators that support public policies in the digital area and help ground debates on topics related to ICT. This work strengthens Brazil’s position as a strategic and respected actor in the international debate on the information society,” emphasizes Demi Getschko, NIC.br's president-director, adding that since 2012, Cetic.br has been recognized as a Regional Center with the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Renata Mielli, CGI.br coordinator, underscores that the surveys conducted by Cetic.br are of great relevance for understanding how the Internet and ICTs impact Brazilian society. “They have been helping the country identify inequalities and opportunities, as well as guide different sectors in decision-making. All this work has only been possible due to the multistakeholder Internet governance model adopted in Brazil, which is based on the actions of CGI.br and NIC.br.”

CGI.br’s executive secretary, Hartmut Glaser, highlights the invaluable data collection that Cetic.br has established over two decades. “Celebrating its 20 years is to acknowledge the relevance of reliable and independent indicators for consolidating a more connected and fair country.”

In the same vein, Alexandre Barbosa, manager of the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society, points out that Cetic.br's historical series offers an accurate picture of connectivity evolution in Brazil. “When we conducted the first edition of the ICT Households survey in 2005, 68% of Brazilians had never accessed the Internet, and only 24% of urban area residents were network users — a number that jumped to 86% in 2024. In two decades, the country has undergone a profound digital transformation, and Cetic.br has been monitoring each stage of this process, recording and analyzing these changes.”

First day

The Opening Ceremony of the event begins at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday (13th), with the participation of Alexandre Barbosa (Cetic.br|NIC.br), Cimar Azeredo (IBGE), Demi Getschko (NIC.br), Hartmut Glaser (CGI.br), Renata Mielli (CGI.br), and Tawfik Jelassi (ADG-UNESCO, Paris). At 10:15 a.m., a panel will reflect on Cetic.br's trajectory and its establishment as a UNESCO Category 2 Center. The debate will address the implications of Cetic.br’s measurement and training projects for public policies and international cooperation. After the keynote presentation by Tawfik Jelassi, a debate will take place with the participation of Guilherme Canela (UNESCO, Paris), Alexandre Barbosa (Cetic.br|NIC.br), and Janis Karklins (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia). Marlova Jovchelovitch Noleto (UNESCO Brasilia, Brazil) will be the moderator.

Following, at 11:00 a.m., keynote Sonia Jorge (GDIP) will speak on “Digital inclusion and meaningful connectivity.” The evolution of Internet access and use—monitored for two decades by Cetic.br|NIC.br—and the socioeconomic implications of digital inequalities will be on the agenda. The session will feature the presence of Alison Gillwald (RIA - South Africa), Carolina Botero (Fundación Karisma - Colombia), Fernando Rojas Mejía (CEPAL), and Thierry Geiger (ITU). Daniel Cavalcanti (Senior Consultant MGI - Brazil) will be the moderator.

The program continues at 2:30 p.m. with the keynote presentation by Daniel Luna (Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires - Argentina) in the session “Digital health and the impact of AI,” which will include an overview of available evidence and future perspectives for digital health. The invited guests for the debate are: Ana Estela Haddad (Ministry of Health), David Novillo (WHO/Europe), Elettra Ronchi (Consultant at Sciences Po and WHO/Europe), and Heimar Marin (Scientific coordinator of the ICT Health survey - Brazil). The moderation will be by Luciana Portilho (Cetic.br|NIC.br).

At 4:15 p.m., the keynote presentation by Sonia Livingstone (LSE - United Kingdom) will conclude the first day. With the theme “Education and well-being of children and adolescents in the digital environment,” she will discuss how children and adolescents can interact with digital technologies from a perspective that ensures the promotion and protection of their rights. Ana Úngari Dal Fabbro (Ministry of Education - Brazil), Cristina Ponte (New University of Lisbon - Portugal), Cristóbal Cobo (Digital Education Specialist), and Patricio Cabello (University of Chile / University Andrés Bello) are the debaters. Mario Volpi (UNICEF Brazil) will be responsible for moderating.

Second day

On Wednesday (14th), the event begins with the presentation of keynote Bertrand de la Chapelle (Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network and Datasphere Initiative) in the main session “Digital economy and AI,” which will reflect on the challenges for building inclusive digital economies, particularly in Global South countries. Carlos Eduardo Torres Freire (CCDEP/ Fundação SEADE - Brazil), Mayra Silva (NOSi - Cape Verde), Raúl Echeberría (ALAI), and Sebastian Rovira (CEPAL) participate in the debate, which will be moderated by Eugênio Vargas Garcia (Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Brazil).

At 11:00 a.m., the panel “Information integrity in the AI era” will discuss challenges and potentialities for the production of evidence and reliable indicators to support the implementation and monitoring of policies related to the information integrity agenda. Guilherme Canela (UNESCO, Paris), João Caldeira Brant Monteiro de Castro (Presidency of the Republic's Social Communication Secretariat - Brazil), Molly Lesher (OECD), Giulia Tucci (IBICT/UFRJ, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT), and Nina da Hora (Instituto Da Hora - Brazil) participate in the discussion, moderated by Patrícia Campos Mello (Folha de S. Paulo and TV Cultura).

At 2:30 p.m., the panel “Digital transformation in the public sector” will address the changes caused by the adoption of digital technologies in the public sector, as well as future perspectives for transforming public service delivery and the relationship between citizens and governments mediated by digital technologies. Delfina Soares (UNU-eGOV), Elsa Estevez (Conicet/UNLP - Argentina), Eleidimar Silva (Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services - Brazil), Maria Alexandra Cunha (FGV-SP), and Virginia Pardo (Agesic - Uruguay) are the debaters. Manuella Maia Ribeiro (Cetic.br|NIC.br) will moderate.

“Thinking about the future: digital technologies and environmental impacts,” at 4:00 p.m., closes the agenda of activities by showing how digital technologies and AI-based applications can offer powerful tools for action against global climate change. Glauco Arbix (FFLCH-USP - Brazil), Paulo Artaxo (IF-USP - Brazil), and Virgilio Almeida (UFMG - Brazil) debate the topic, moderated by Luciana Mancini (Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Microenterprise and Small Business).

To check all the details of the seminar's program, visit the official website of the event.

Mark Your Calendar
International Seminar Cetic.br 20 years
Where: Teatro Unimed (Alameda Santos, 2159 – 1st Floor - Jardins - São Paulo, SP)
When: May 13th and 14th – Tuesday and Wednesday
Time: from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Online broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/nicbrvideos

About Cetic.br
The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) of NIC.br is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on Internet access and use in Brazil, disseminating periodic analyses and information on network development in the country. Cetic.br|NIC.br is also a Regional Center for Studies under the auspices of UNESCO and celebrates 20 years of operation in 2025. More information at https://cetic.br/.

About NIC.br – Brazilian Network Information Center
The Brazilian Network Information Center — NIC.br (https://nic.br/) is a private, non-profit civil entity responsible for operating the .br domain, as well as distributing IP numbers and registering Autonomous Systems in the country. NIC.br implements the decisions and projects of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee - CGI.br since 2005, and all the resources collected come from its activities, which are of an eminently private nature. It conducts actions and projects that bring benefits to the Internet infrastructure in Brazil. NIC.br includes components such as Registro.br (https://registro.br), CERT.br (https://cert.br/), Ceptro.br (https://ceptro.br/), Cetic.br (https://cetic.br/), IX.br (https://ix.br/) and Ceweb.br (https://ceweb.br), as well as projects like Internetsegura.br (https://internetsegura.br) and the Best Practices for Internet Portal in Brazil (https://bcp.nic.br/). It also hosts the W3C São Paulo Office (https://w3c.br/).

About the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee – CGI.br
The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, responsible for establishing strategic guidelines related to the use and development of the Internet in Brazil, coordinates and integrates all Internet service initiatives in the country, promoting technical quality, innovation, and the dissemination of offered services. Based on the principles of multistakeholderism and transparency, CGI.br represents a democratic Internet governance model, praised internationally, where all sectors of society equally participate in its decisions. One of its formulations is the 10 Principles for Internet Governance and Use (https://cgi.br/resolucoes/documento/2009/003). More information at https://cgi.br/.

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