Information Society

CARTAGENA, Colombia, Sep 15 (IPS) - Social inequality is "the main" problem for freedom of expression in Latin America, said Frank La Rue Lewy, who was named United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression on Aug. 1.

MEXICO CITY, Jul 20 (Tierramérica) - Mexico is drafting measures to regulate the sales of pharmaceuticals over the Internet: reforms have been announced for laws dating back to the 1980s, when the world wide web did not yet exist, and new monitoring systems are in the works to track the who, how and what of online sales.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jun 18 (IPS) - Cleyton Perroni’s motorbike has been a part of his life since he was 12. But 19 years later, its role changed from recreation to an essential working tool as, equipped with a cell phone, he became a reporter of daily life in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo.

SINGAPORE, Jun 7 (IPS) - When Lee Hsien Loong became Singapore’s prime minister after his father, Lee Kuan Yew, four years ago, he encouraged citizens to "feel free to express diverse views, pursue unconventional ideas, or simply be different". Today, these hopes for a city-state that can be more relaxed about criticism and more open to frank debate appear to have been too high.

HAVANA, May 30 (IPS) - Changing society to bring about greater respect for diversity requires the participation of the mainstream press, despite the combination of alternative media and the various forums, blogs and networks on the Internet that promote a more democratic flow of information.

BUENOS AIRES, May 19 (IPS) - Many parents in Argentina, like their counterparts in developed countries, worry that their teenage children spend too much time on their computers and cell-phones, with little real-life interaction with others, and devoting hardly any time to reading. But a new study shows that such beliefs are partly based on preconceived notions that do not stand up to scrutiny.

HAVANA, May 17 (IPS) - After years of deliberation, the University of Havana has finally decided to switch over to free software on its network of computers, virtually all of which are running the Windows operating system, produced by United States software giant Microsoft.

HAVANA, Feb 14 (IPS) - More than a year after the outbreak of the so-called "e-mail war", the debate on cultural policy has not died down in Cuba. And although the issue is not addressed in the national media, the discussion continues, and is spreading to embrace other aspects of life in this socialist island nation.

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 12 (IPS) - In keeping with its aim to shore up the strong role played by the state, which was badly weakened during the years when free-market economic policies were predominant, the Argentine government is implementing a successful programme of electronic learning for its employees that is already being requested by a dozen Latin American countries interested in replicating the experience.

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 3 (IPS) - "I’d like to be offered the role of a madwoman some day, or of a vicious person, just out of curiosity, because I’m really not like that at all," says Carmen Drive, a 56-year-old Argentine homemaker who has already acted in 18 movies without ever having set foot outside her home town, population 30,000.

VENICE, Nov 29 (IPS) - With clashing civilisations, as with clashing people, there&#39s one strategy that works: talk your way out of it. Just how is, of course, the more difficult question.

QUITO, Nov 21 (IPS) - The possible cancellation of the mobile telephone operating licence granted by Ecuador to Porta Celular, a company indirectly owned by Mexican multi-millionaire Carlos Slim, could set a precedent in Latin America.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 15 (IPS) - The crackdown in eastern Europe and the United States on websites posting racist content or child pornography could expose Latin America to the risk of becoming a new "cyber paradise" for on-line paedophilia and racism, experts say.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 12 (IPS) - The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) being held in Rio de Janeiro Monday through Thursday, with more than 1,500 people attending, is discussing issues that are not yet a concern for the majority of users, but are already having a major impact on their lives.

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 12 (IPS) - A young Argentine couple will set out from this capital city in December on an overland journey through 12 Latin American countries, as far as Mexico, taking their country’s films to small towns in rural areas, with backing from the state and civil society organisations.

MAHAVILACHCHIYA, Oct 26 (IPS) - In a north-central village, deep inside Sri Lanka’s backwoods, a young man is glued to a computer screen, pushing a mouse and filling in figures.

HELSINKI, Oct 16 (IPS) - It is dubbed the "the world&#39s largest ever factual multi-media event" by its producers, and it will be watched by a potential of 300 million viewers around the world.