The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is pleased to invite
you to participate in our electronic conference on web/internet needs and
priorities for Latin America and the Caribbean. Please take a moment to
read the following document. If you know others who would be interested,
feel free to forward this message to them. You will find the electronic
conference site at the end of this same document on PAN Americas
Consultation page:
http://www.idrc.ca/lacro/docs/conferencias/panamericas.html
Your participation in this electronic forum is critical to help design our
new development assistance program for the region. Thank you.
Interacting Better Through the Internet
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a PAN Americas Consultation for Latin America and the Caribbean
by Canada's International Development Research Centre
Do Research and Development
organizations in Latin America and
Caribbean use the Web and Internet to
fullest advantage?
What is needed to improve how people use
and benefit from the Web and Internet in
Latin America and the Caribbean?
If you represent a group that needs to use these electronic networking
tools or you are an expert in technology and its use in this region, we want
your ideas to help us design IDRC's PAN Networking program in Latin America
and the Caribbean.
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is undertaking a
consultation to identify needs and priorities among its clients for using
the Web and Internet. Your views will help us define and finalize components
of our new PAN Networking program for Latin America and the Caribbean.
We are running an electronic consultation which involves development
experts and agencies, technical experts, electronic community builders and
facilitators, and most importantly - user groups in the region - from
October 20 to December 10, 1997. Immediately after this, we will bring key
participants and other experts to Montevideo to meet in person to finalize
an agenda and bring the electronic process to a close.
Do You Know about the IDRC?
---------------------------
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is a public
corporation created by the Canadian government to help people in the Third
World find solutions to social, economic, and environmental problems through
scientific research and research-related activities. We have been in
business for almost 3 decades and operate a regional office in Montevideo.
Our support covers the whole spectrum of activities:
research,
diffusion of knowledge,
pilot testing and evaluation,
in a wide variety of social and physical science fields across
the continent. Through program initiatives that address particular
development issues, we help research, innovation and development
organizations create and apply new knowledge that achieves development
goals. Full information on IDRC and our regional office in Montevideo is
available on our Web site (www.idrc.ca/lacro).
What is the Objective of this Consultation?
-------------------------------------------
With your help, IDRC will be able to design a program of activities that
meets our clients' development needs in a way that reflects our unique
strengths and complements the support available from other agencies. Keep in
mind that IDRC is a research-oriented organization. Therefore, PAN Networking
activities you propose in keeping with the four objectives above must have
a strong component of scientific investigation and involve the research and
innovation community.
Providing connections and infrastructure is possible, but this will only
occur within the context of experimental, pilot projects in which there is a
significant research component. PAN projects need a strong likelihood of
becoming sustainable and having significant participation of co-funding or
in-kind support by other partners.
PAN Networking projects will need collaboration with other actors in both
the public and private sectors to optimize development impact. Collaboration
means sharing the design, management and operation of projects - as well as
the risks and rewards.
Who Should Participate?
-----------------------
This invitation is open to anyone who works in Latin America and the
Caribbean, or represents an organization in the region, as well as
interested experts from around the world. We want a wide variety of people
to help us in this electronic process:
* doers - representatives of the various communities and S&T
organizations who want help to improve how they use the Web and
Internet to deliver their mandates, to name only a few:
gender, environment, health, science and technology policy and
management, small and medium enterprise development, resource
use conflict management, information and communication.
* gurus - people who think about the "big picture" of information
technologies, their future and their broad social, cultural and
industrial impacts.
* experts - technical specialists in the hardware, telecom
technologies and software for groupware and communications,
as well as facilitators who have experience creating and
animating groups to use the Web/Internet resources fruitfully.
* funders - program managers from the international, regional and
local development agencies who are supporting programs in information
and communications technology, as well as bankers from the private
sector in the region who can see a new market for their investments.
* helpers - development groups in the region that already use or want
to use electronic tools to help them deliver their public
services more effectively.
* entrepreneurs - business people working in this area who know the
local electronic environments and the users, and who can spot
new business opportunities.
What Language Can You Use?
--------------------------
There is a preference for English, in order for as many of the different
language groups as possible to participate on a common ground, but we will
receive, respond to and post material in French, Spanish and Portuguese as well.
Any Questions?
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Contact Gabriela Couto (IDRC, Montevideo)
email: gcouto@idrc.ca (subject: PanAmericas Cons.)
fax: (5982) 902-0223
tel: (5982) 902-2031/34