On the second day of the 4th Nation and Emigration Conference, at the Havana Conventions Center, the Social Communication and Technologies Panel took place, with the presence of the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.
Cuba's Deputy Prime Minister, Jorge Luis Perdomo Di-Lella, explained the three cornerstones of government management, science and innovation, social communication and digital transformation.
In his speech, he confirmed that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are a priority in Cuba. In addition, he updated on the digital transformation process and the characteristics it should have.
Cuba's Minister of Communications, Mayra Arevich Marín, addressed several topics, including the training of human capital, in which she explained the university majors related to the sector, as well as technical and professional education.
Mayra Arevich, who spoke about the role of the Joven Club de Computación (JCCE) and the Union of Cuban Computer Scientists (UIC), highlighted the importance of both organizations for the development and cultural transformation in the use and employment of ICTs.
The Minister of Communications provided information on some of the results of computerization in Cuba. Among them, she highlighted that there are 7.6 million active mobile telephone lines, 89% of them, 6.8 million with Internet. There is a 70% Internet penetration rate and 8 million Cubans are connected. There are 263 sites of provincial and municipal governments and OACE, which provide information, procedures and services, accessible from abroad.
Concerning digital television, she said that there is 89% of population coverage in standard definition and 72% in high definition. The transition from analog to digital TV is in progress.
She also addressed aspects related to the diversification of the productive sector, which has 35 companies, 257 MSMEs (22 state-owned and 235 private), 3 CNAs and 2 Science and Technology Parks.
She concluded her presentation referring to the strategic aspects of the Digital Transformation Policy.
As part of the panel, IICS Vice-President Onelio Castillo Corderi addressed the topic of social communication in the Cuban context and aspects of the Social Communication Law.
Castillo Corderi emphasized that the Social Communication Law defends an inclusive, responsible and ethical communication management. It respects equal rights and opportunities for all people, without discrimination, without aggression to human dignity. It promotes the development of emancipatory thinking and grants the country's public media system a legal framework that enables it to achieve greater autonomy and legitimacy, said the IICS vice-president.
La panelista, Rosa Miriam Elizalde Zorrilla, académica y periodista, realizó una presentación sobre Comunicación social y nuevo espacio público en Cuba.