FAO's 1000 Digital Villages Initiative offers a course on audiovisual tools for young people in Latin America and the Caribbean

February 21, 2022, Santiago, Chile- The 1000 Digital Villages initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is designed to promote the digital transformation of one thousand towns and small cities throughout the world.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, this initiative has focused on rural tourism, and has included the launch of a new online course on audiovisual tools for digital marketing, which is supporting 52 enterprises in which more than 3,500 people participate.

The course offers theoretical and practical workshops to young people from 14 countries in the region (Belize, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Granada, Guatemala, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Venezuela), helping them to acquire the necessary knowledge to create and edit audiovisual pieces for social networks and websites, in order to promote their tourism ventures.

The course offered by the 1000 Digital Villages Initiative will last six weeks, during which the participants will create their promotional videos, and then present them at a virtual rural tourism fair organized by FAO in October.

The virtual fair will include the participation of governments, companies in the tourism sector and the digital world, and international cooperation agencies.

“Digital technologies are here to stay. It is essential that rural youth know about them and how to incorporate them into their enterprises, because they are a key tool for development and innovation,” said Luiz Beduschi, FAO Territorial Development Officer.

1000 Digital Villages in Latin America and the Caribbean

In 2020, FAO launched the global 1000 Digital Villages initiative to promote the digitalization of services in rural areas.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the initiative promotes connectivity, resources and digital solutions for thousands of people to improve their services, employment opportunities and income.

Fourteen countries in the region already participate in 1000 Digital Villages: Belize, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Granada, Guatemala, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Venezuela. 

In addition, 1000 Digital Villages is developing a network of rural tourism experiences, and an audiovisual repository with the initiatives from each country.