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CANADA CONTRIBUTES TO EVALUATING SOCIAL IMPACT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES IN LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

June 5, 2001 (10:35 a.m. EDT) No. 74

CANADA CONTRIBUTES TO EVALUATING SOCIAL IMPACT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES IN

LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

San José, Costa Rica - John Manley, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) will contribute $156 000 toward the development of a methodology for evaluating the impact of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in education in Latin America and the Caribbean.

"It is essential for the Latin American and Caribbean region to develop its own expertise in ICT evaluation research," Minister Manley said. "Costa Rica, through the Omar Dengo Foundation and the Ministry of Public Education, has extensive experience in this area, with 14 years of work in the public elementary school system."

Increasingly, countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are investing in ICTs in the education sector. Concern about accountability and the demand for better understanding of how ICTs can deliver social transformations have necessitated the development of a methodology to evaluate the social impact of ICTs in education projects.

Various studies and evaluations conducted by the Omar Dengo Foundation have revealed ICTs' educational impacts and have already shown areas where further research is necessary. That is why IDRC has chosen to support the Foundation in implementing this project. The Foundation will work closely with a high-level Costa Rican experts panel. The results of the project will identify how ICTs can better contribute to social and educational development.

"The Foundation is well positioned to successfully undertake this challenging project," said the President of IDRC, Maureen O'Neil.

The Omar Dengo Foundation is a private non-profit organization that was founded in Costa Rica in 1987. It has pioneered the use of informatics and new technologies in Costa Rican public schools. Its flagship program in Educational Informatics started in 1988 in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Costa Rica.

IDRC is a public corporation created by the Parliament of Canada in 1970 to help developing-country scientists and communities find their own solutions to social, economic and environmental problems through research.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Sanjeev Chowdhury

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

(613) 995-1874

Chantal Schryer

Chief, Public Affairs and Government Relations

IDRC