A delegation from Latin America and the Caribbean undertook a technical tour to Germany organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the German development cooperation (GIZ), with the aim of promoting the exchange of experiences and strengthening institutional capacities in the area of ​​digital transformation, data governance and regulatory innovation in the region.

For five days, representatives from various countries in the region gained firsthand insight into approaches, best practices, and tools applied by research centers, regulatory agencies, innovation labs, and academic stakeholders that are part of the German and European digital ecosystem.

The initiative is part of the work of ECLAC’s Digital Transformation Lab (DLAB) and seeks to contribute to the development of more inclusive, effective, and evidence-based public policies in a context of accelerated digitalization.

The tour included the participation of authorities and technical teams from various countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Uruguay —through the Uruguay Innova (U+i) Program—, Chile —with the participation of GobLab and the National Artificial Intelligence Center (CENIA)—, Colombia —through the Ministry of ICT and its Digital Public Innovation Center—, as well as Brazil —with representatives from LA-BORA! Gov of the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, and the Advocacia-Geral da União (AGU)—. Delegates from the Ministry of Public Administration of the Dominican Republic and the Secretariat of Government and Digital Transformation of Peru also participated.

Visits and Technical Agenda

Among the main entities visited were the German Aerospace Center (DLR), a leader in research in aeronautics, energy, transport, and digitalization; the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA), the regulatory authority for telecommunications, energy, postal services, and infrastructure; the Fraunhofer ISST Institute, specialized in technologies for sovereign data exchange; the Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), dedicated to studying the link between the internet and society; the German Federal Foreign Office – Data Innovation Lab, focused on the use of data and artificial intelligence in foreign policy formulation; and the Technical University of Munich and the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre, where the delegation delved into data governance, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and advanced technologies.

These opportunities allowed for direct dialogue on regulatory frameworks, institutional models, cooperation mechanisms, and cutting-edge technological trends. Far from concluding, this experience marks the beginning of new collaboration opportunities to advance towards a more innovative, competitive, and integrated region in the digital era.