AED/LearnLink helps FEMICA and LACUM integrate functions such as email, listservs, and web site development into their networking portfolio. High profile members such as the International Union of Local Authorities for the Latin American Region (IULA-CELCADEL) already have well-developed web sites, but the majority of FEMICA members stand to benefit significantly from online networking opportunities. A persistent question without an easy answer is how municipalities at the local level will gain access to online materials in light of the Latin American “digital divide.”

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Ribbon cutting at the inauguration, from left to right, Patricia Durán de Jager, FEMICA’s Executive Director; Victor Hugo del Pozo, Mayor of Antigua, Guatemala; and HugoCifuentes, a rep from Hotel Casa Santo Domingo

PARTNERING
FEMICA is integrating IT into its operations and has welcomed AED/ LearnLink’s provision of training and technical assistance, national policy reform advocacy, and suggestions for ways of increasing citizen participation in local decision making. LearnLink’s activities support FEMICA and LACUM’s aim for improving the exchange of information on local government information and, especially the sharing of lessons learned about government management issues.

FEMICA’s networks link with mostly national associations of municipalities for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, plus IULA-CELCADEL, whose constituencies are mostly mayors or city managers. In contrast LACUM’s constituency is regional and international organizations dealing with housing, urban services, and environmental issues.