The National Innovation Council, headed by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, once again evaluated the Digital Transformation process in Cuba

The preliminary ideas for the elaboration of the Policy for Digital Transformation in Cuba and Cuba’s 2030 digital Agenda were analyzed by the members of the National Innovation Council (CNI due to its acronym in Spanish) at its May meeting.

In a session on Monday, headed by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, the Council, at the suggestion of the President, agreed that both projects, with the observations made, should be submitted to the decision-making bodies of the Party and the Government for approval.

Founded a year ago, the CNI is "the State's advisory body, of national character, which assists the President of the Republic, aimed at recommending decisions to promote innovation in the functioning of the State, the Government, the economy and society in a coordinated and integrated manner, which contributes to the vision of the nation, as well as to the fulfillment of the National Economic and Social Development Plan in force".

The digital transformation process, a strategic and urgent issue, was discussed for the second time in less than six months at the CNI, this time with presentations by the Ministry of Communications (MINCOM due to its acronym in Spanish) and the Union of Computer Scientists (UIC due to its acronym in Spanish).

The head of the Communications Ministry, Mayra Arevich Marín, explained that the Policy for Digital Transformation in Cuba enriches and updates the Comprehensive Policy for the Improvement of the Informatization of Society, but does not replace it.

It is, she added, a higher stage of this policy, in which, based on what has been achieved, it emphasizes processes, placing people at the center. However, he added, due to the breadth of its scope, it is convenient to structure it in strategic axes for its implementation, in correspondence with the strategic sectors of the National Economic and Social Development Plan until 2030.

The digital transformation -she added- is transversal to all economic, political and social factors, and involves the Government at its different levels, all economic actors and citizens. The Minister of Communications also pointed out that the roadmap for the implementation of the initiative is the programmatic document Cuba’s 2030 Digital Agenda.

The deputy minister of MINCOM, Grisel Reyes León, explained, among other aspects, that the preliminary ideas for the elaboration of the Policy for Digital Transformation have, as background, several policies: Improvement of the Informatization of Society in 2017; Automation and Industrial Development, both in 2020; Industrial Development and Technology in 2021. In addition, they comply with guidelines of the 8th Congress of the Cuban Comunist Party.

Aylin Febles Estrada, president of the Union of Computer Scientists of Cuba, addressed the preliminary ideas for the Cuban Digital Agenda.

Its vision is "that the Cuban socialist society is a digital, inclusive, participatory, rights-based society, with a population endowed with skills and competencies that allow them to make critical, ethical, humanistic and productive use of data and technologies; with a high, affordable and accessible connectivity, with a digital economy and an interconnected State, transparent and close to the citizen, and that the culture of innovation prevails in a safe environment that contributes to the general welfare and to achieve a prosperous and sustainable socialism".

The CNI meeting in Maywas attended by the member of the Political Bureau and Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR, for its acronym in Spanish), Army Corps General Alvaro Lopez Miera; the member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee, Jorge Luis Broche Lorenzo, head of its Department of Attention to the Social Sector, and the Deputy Prime Ministers Ines Maria Chapman Waugh, Jorge Luis Perdomo Di-Lella and Alejandro Gil Fernandez, in addition to ministers and members of the CNI, among other personalities.