MCTI receives contributions to Brazilian Digital Strategy

 

The Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (MCTIC) held, on May 23, the second sectoral meeting on the Brazilian Digital Strategy (EDB), to address the social impacts of digitalization. The meeting brought together contributions from experts from academia, the private sector and the third sector. Nine federal government institutions are part of the inter-ministerial working group responsible for defining the bases of the EDB.
 
The director of Sectoral Policies and Programs in Information and Communications Technology at MCTIC, Miriam Wimmer, highlighted that the EDB should be built as an "umbrella" for various federal government initiatives around the digitization of the economy and society. Started in March, the work devoted two months to intra-governmental articulation and entered the phase of sectorial meetings on May 2, after receiving contributions from the industry.
 
Guest speakers addressed trends in technological development and their social impacts on issues such as employment, social interaction, startups, consumer rights and citizen responsibility. "The continuous expansion of internet access, the greater digitization of the economy and the vertiginous growth of the Internet of Things, at the same time that the positive impacts of digitalization increase, raise new concerns for public policies", highlighted Miriam, in the text of presentation of the meeting.
 
Under the coordination of the MCTIC Information Technology Policy Secretariat (Sepin), the EDB should be submitted for public consultation as of August and, by the end of the year, generate a presidential decree. Since March, the Working Group (WG) has had 60 days, extended by another 90, to point out guidelines and articulate various government initiatives related to public policy under construction. The federal government hopes to promote the advancement of digitalization of production processes and the country's training for the digital environment.
 
Established in February, the WG has ten members, two of them from the MCTIC – the Secretary of Information Technology Policy, Maximiliano Martinhão, and the director Miriam Wimmer –, alongside representatives of the Ministries of Justice and Public Security (MJ); Defense (MD); of Foreign Affairs (MRE); of Culture (MinC); Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC); and Planning, Development and Management (MPDG; the Office of Institutional Security of the Presidency of the Republic (GSI) and the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel).