Opinion – Ronaldo Lemos: What should be the technology agenda for Brazil?

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Brazil has a new president. He will have the opportunity to start the process of making up for lost time in relation to the country’s technological agenda. Just to recap, from 1992 to 2014 Brazil played a leading global role in the area of ​​technological governance.

This role began with Eco 92 in Rio de Janeiro, when Brazil provided email addresses for all international delegates who came to the country for the first climate conference. Something surprising and rare at the time. Most of them had never used email at the time.

Since then, there have been many achievements of Brazil in the area. The creation of the Internet Steering Committee, with a multisectoral character. The creation of the Marco Civil da Internet. The country’s role in the World Intellectual Property Organization, under the leadership of Gilberto Gil. The creation by Brazil and Argentina of the Open Government Partnership, with the US joining, and so on.

The Brazilian leadership ended with the organization of the international conference NetMundial in 2014 in Rio de Janeiro. The world heeded the country’s call to discuss the future of the internet, including China, Russia, the US, Europe, Latin and African countries. This was the swan song of the country’s leading role in technological governance. He died beautiful, but he died.

Since then, the country has lost its relevance and agenda in this field. Instead of leader, we become led. We were in the wake of anything that arose in this area, being passively affected by its often disastrous consequences. Given the phenomenon of fake news and inauthentic behavior coordinated on the internet, which fractured, inflamed and convulsed the country. We accept everything as facts of nature, without any critical view or action on its structural causes. In other words, we were victims. The alienated and helpless kind.

Now the country has a chance to dust off and turn around. To assume a lofty and sovereign position in relation to technology, as has happened before. After all, there is no country that is capable of developing without clearly defining what it wants to do in terms of technology.

As it is now a requirement to participate in the knowledge economy, the country’s stance on technology will define whether we will continue to live mostly from nature or whether we will be able to start living off ideas, whether large and complex, or simple and spontaneous.

Next week I will list what, in my opinion, are the main axes that should be included in the country’s new technological agenda. For those who were frustrated not to find them already in this text, I leave some spoilers: it is a much more purposeful than reactive agenda. It’s time for the country to build a plan for where it wants to go. And follow that plan. To paraphrase the brilliant Guinean economist Carlos Lopes, successful developing countries are those that have very few priorities. Ours are to identify areas in which we are already competitive, capabilities that are already in place, and apply layers of competitiveness over them. In addition, to resume international protagonism so that we are never again helpless victims of technology as we have been in recent years. And finally, establish a national data policy, the greatest wealth that the country has in its favor to develop technologically. Enough spoilers. Until next week.

READER

It’s overBrazil as a global leader in the area of ​​technological governance
AlreadyBrazil completely subjugated and scrapped in the area of ​​technological governance
It’s comingChance for Brazil to resume its global role in technology policies

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