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Latin America presents a very diverse age structure in which the demographic impact of the young population is very high. It is estimated that 158 million young people between the ages of 15 and 29 live in the 22 countries that make up the region (approximately 25% of the total population). Hence the growing importance and weight of a social and political sector in constant transformation, with a high capacity for resilience and with its own agenda marked by the pulse of innovation, technological developments and collaborative learning models.
We address these and other issues this Tuesday at an event organized by the International Youth Organization (OIJ), in which 50 young Spaniards who seek to innovate, acquire skills and contribute to a more equal and inclusive digital transformation for all participated. During the meeting, which included the participation of the First Vice President of the Spanish Government, Nadia Calviño, and the Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence, Carme Artigas, among others, the central points and priorities of the Ibero-American youth agenda in terms of digital transformation were defined. Employment, education, connectivity, training and training in information and communication technologies (ICT) were some of the most frequently mentioned concepts during the different exchanges. And a good part of the reflections focused on the need to create a body or institution that gathers, evaluates and monitors digital transformation policies for the young population of Latin America.
The creation of the Ibero-American Digital Youth Council by the First Vice-Presidency of the Spanish Government and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation is excellent news for the region, since it will help to solve challenges and problems presented by youth groups and networks in the region. The advisory body will have the support of the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI), the Spanish Youth Council (CJE), the Spanish Youth Institute (INJUVE) and the OIJ itself.
As a multilateral organization that values, ponders and works for the integration of its member countries, from CAF -development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean- we are certain that both Spain and the rest of the countries of the Ibero-American region have the necessary tools to promote true digital cooperation among themselves. This is demonstrated by the agreement, via the Ibero-American Conference, around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Or the Ibero-American Environmental Charter approved by the Heads of State and Government of the member countries in March of this year. Or the roadmap adopted at the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit to guarantee inclusive and sustainable food security. In that same activity, even the main political and economic referents of the Ibero-American countries drew up the guidelines to guide public policies towards closing the digital gaps. And to promote legislation that has an impact and is effectively implemented in both the public and private spheres of each country.
We also celebrate Spain’s recent assumption of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, a bloc with which we actively work to strengthen geopolitical ties and promote new business opportunities with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac). Along these lines is the announcement of an investment of 45,000 million euros that the EU will carry out in Latin America and the Caribbean to promote, among other things, the digital transformation. CAF will be part of this initiative through projects such as the one that will mean that by 2026 85% of the Colombian population will have access to quality internet. In parallel, we will be co-organizers of the first meeting of the 60 EU-Celac Finance Ministers in September of this year in Santiago de Compostela to continue establishing lines of cooperation in key sectors for the development of both blocs.
The regional challenges in terms of digitization are many and urgent, and the intervention of Ibero-American youth must be accompanied by strategies that involve greater participation in debates and public dialogue, as well as more rights in the fields of education, employment, and social inclusion.
That is why we signed a protocol of action between the different international organizations to take advantage of the Spanish experience in reducing the digital gaps of the young people of the region. And that is why we also promote all these initiatives that will promote a more just, sustainable region that leaves no one out on the road to digital integration in Latin America.
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