Enabling Openness: The future of the information society in Latin America and the Caribbean - Paperback

In recent years the internet and other network technologies have emerged as a central issue for development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

They have shown their potential to increase productivity and competitiveness in the economy, to create new ways to deliver education and health services, and to be driving forces for the modernisation of the provision of public services.

This book examines some of the key unanswered questions:

Will the internet in Latin America and the Caribbean remain open over the next ten years?
Will online surveillance increasingly challenge individual privacy?
Will open data, social media and new forms of participation improve democracy in the region?
Will we be able to harness the collaborative potential of the internet to create more socially meaningful and sustainable economies?

The answers to these questions will be central to determining whether or not the internet will effectively contribute to a more open and developed society in our corner of the world.

The book builds on a seminar, Open Development: Exploring the future of the information society in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Montevideo on 2-3 April 2013. Organised by Fundación Comunica and IDRC, and held alongside the Fourth Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean, the seminar was an opportunity to reflect on the direction of the changes happening in the region, to bring new themes to the table and to explore how they can better be addressed in regional efforts.