Local-Communities Insertion Network Para America Latina: The Link-All System

Implemented under the @lis Programme of the European Commission, Link-all is a pilot project aimed at helping remote communities in Latin America to secure sustainable development through the introduction of advanced information and communication technologies. It focuses on three (3) sectors, namely cultural heritage, crafts and eco-agro tourism, which are complementary and strongly linked to remote, rural areas. The overall objective of the project is to strengthen and integrate local activities by building strong synergies between these targeted sectors, while fostering the preservation of the environmental, the cultural and historical legacy of the local communities. The objectives of the project are implemented through the creation and operation of an innovative knowledge based B2B IT platform capable of enacting ?environmentally friendly sustainable development? in a Latin American context, in order to aggregate the natural, cultural, and human resources of remote communities. The Link-all platform includes tailored and integrated, state-ofthe-art IT tools that provide a range of key e-inclusion facilities strengthening the integration of local development activities. Networked demonstrators are being deployed in selected areas and the Link-all platform supports an infrastructure covering a wide range of ?field connectivity realities? faced by the Latin America remote communities via the Internet. Training activities are currently underway in the selected communities a coherent business framework is being elaborated. The Link-all Project started in October 2003. Its? duration is three (3) years.