Medellin has held the XI Latin-American Meeting on Digital Cities, with the participation of delegates from diverse countries including Spain, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Panama, as well as panelists from the U.S. and the UK.  

The challenge that governments are facing is the inclusion of citizens in the digital lifestyle. Today, the network is the “breeding ground” of culture and social development, both in terms of supplying information and how that shapes the personal and social behavior. 

Education is the pillar of society that is affected by this new cyber culture, offering new possibilities of access to knowledge, and changes the paradigm of teaching and knowledge acquisition. The struggle between formal education and new open structures is here and teachers must be prepared to participate in this new academic focus.

Also, utilities are affected not only the demands of users and how to meet them, but by the new requirements, for example in terms of connectivity, experiencing communities. 

The presentations emphasized the need to adapt to this new way of life and to find ways to reconcile the views of different generations to avoid creating divisions in society, not only by age but also differences in purchasing power or access to new technologies. The goal is not technology but people, is on the individual and its realization as such should be the emphasis on the design of digital strategies: the network we all are. 

Cities like Medellin and Tulua, Colombia, Curitiba in Brazil, Barcelona in Spain, the province of San Luis, Argentina and entire countries like the case of Uruguay, were highlighted at this meeting on the progress made in the plans for integration into the world and distributing digital access to ICT in all social strata.

Source: Computer World Colombia