The paper has been drafted in the form of a letter to an imaginary aunt who has recently been appointed Secretary of Communications in a Latin American country. This device allows for a creative approach to discussing issues and proposals for taking better advantage of the opportunities offered by information and communication technologies (ICTs) for human development in the region....

“A person waking up today from a hundred years' sleep would get quite a fright. Many things would have changed, but I think the most shocking impression would be that the world has become much smaller. Not only can we travel around the globe in much less than 80 days, but money and information can do so in seconds. Markets, wars and products are all becoming globalized, as are environmental impacts and the circulation of ideas”. ...

1. Offer concrete solutions 2. Move forward at the pace of the community 3. Learn from mistakes 4. Localize globalized communication 5. Work with a gender perspective 6. Let people speak with their own voice 7. Generate new knowledge ...