The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, January 29, 2004

HIGH-TECH: President Abel Pacheco (center) inaugurated the international software summit yesterday. The event, which attracted technology experts from 11 countries, continues today.
Tico Times/Jeffrey Arguedas

Information Technology
Summit Held Here
Experts in information technology, software development and outsourcing gathered in San José yesterday to share their experiences and insight on the industry's future in the country's First International Information and Technology Summit, which continues today.
(Click for more)

Enrollment Open for Workshops
With Nobel Peace Laureates
Enrollment for February's "Shared Memory" workshops with Nobel Peace Prize winners ends tomorrow.
(Click for more)

January 29

Poetry Under the Moon
Christy Van Der Laat, Edmundo Retana, Felipe Granados and Minor Gónzalez share their poems, 7 p.m. at Casa de la Cultura José Figueres Ferrer, 300 m. north, 300 m. east of the Santa Teresita Church in San José. Entrance is free. Info: 224-0010.

Piano Recital
Pianist Jacques Sagot performs, 7:30 p.m., in the Session Room at the Municipality in Cartago. Info: 591-0173.

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Information Technology
Summit Held Here
By Fabián Borges
fborges@ticotimes.net

Experts in information technology, software development and outsourcing gathered in San José yesterday to share their experiences and insight on the industry's future in the country's First International Information and Technology Summit, which continues today.

The event, organized by the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER) and the Chamber of Software Producers (CAPROSOFT), attracted more than 200 business people, software developers and information technology experts from 11 countries.

Event organizers hope to foster the development of the region's growing software sector and promote Costa Rica as an information technology hub.

"Thanks to young and capable enterprising professionals, visionary business leaders and institutions such as the Costa Rican Electricity and Telecom Institute, Internet provider RACSA and the Science and Technology and Education ministries, our country is at the regional forefront of information technology," President Abel Pacheco said at the summit inauguration yesterday.

Foreign Trade Minister Alberto Trejos highlighted the importance of the software sector in the Costa Rican economy.

"The software sector is based on the inventiveness of human resources," Trejos said. "Software is built solely with soft inputs -- gray matter. In no other product is there such a disparity between the physical medium and the final value."

Alexander Mora, President of CAPROSOFT, said the event is a great opportunity to promote the country as a "smart" (information-technology savvy) destination, as well as a "green" (ecologically friendly) one.

Don't miss Friday's TT print edition or Digital PDF version for the full story.

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Protest Planned Against
Settlement with Oil Company

Members of the Costa Rican Federation for Conservation of the Environment (FECON) plan to protest today against the multimillion-dollar payments the government is negotiating with Harken because of the cancellation of its contract to drill for oil off the country's Caribbean coast.

The peaceful protest will begin at 2:30 p.m. in front of the Environment and Energy Ministry (MINAE) building in San Jose, say FECON organizers.

Harken's contract was cancelled after President Abel Pacheco signed a moratorium on oil exploration as one of his first acts in office in 2002. Harken last year submitted and then withdrew a request for international arbitration in the case, in which they requested a payment of $57 billion. (TT, Oct. 10, 2003).

Environment Minister Carlos Rodríguez told the press earlier this month that Costa Rica is negotiating a settlement of between $3 million and $11 million (TT Daily Page, Jan. 12).

In a statement, FECON called the payment "pretentious" and "a drain of public funds."

"In the new context of the free-trade agreement (with the United States), it is important that we denounce and manifest ourselves clearly against the limitless rights these corporations want to acquire," read the statement.

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Enrollment Open for Workshops
With Nobel Peace Laureates

Enrollment for February's "Shared Memory" workshops with Nobel Peace Prize winners ends tomorrow.

The event, scheduled for Feb. 10-11 at the Hotel Ambassador in San José, will feature Nobel Prize-winning guests Oscar Arias, former president of Costa Rica, and Guatemalan author Rigoberta Menchú, among others.

A prelude to the Universal Forum of Cultures in Barcelona in September, the event hopes to gather together people who are dedicated to finding solutions to social, economic and political problems.

Workshops include:

"The Power of Culture and Shared Memory," which delves into the themes of identity, inclusion, diversity, globalization and the impunity of human rights.

"Another World is Possible," which covers the quest for a more inclusive, equitable and just planet by examining the alternative exercise of power, sustainable development and a culture of peace and non-violence.

"The Challenges of Peace and Democracy Against Economic Power and Militarization," which will touch on the topics of peace, security and police action, demilitarization, prison systems, international organizations and international rights.

"We invite people from every social, economic and political sector of Costa Rica and the rest of Latin America to be a part of this event and to support the construction of a world where we all fit, men and women, in a culture of peace and non-violence," said Gustavo Cabrera, coordinator for the host organization Service, Peace and Justice in Latin America (SERPAJ-AL).

Enrollment is free. For information or to enroll, call 222-4857 or visit the organization's Web site: www.serpajamericalatina.org.

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Wednesday October 26, 2005