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Francophone Festival
March 18, creative writing workshop, 2-4 p.m., auditorium, Modern Languages Faculty, UCR; concert by the Franchutes and Crêperie Friends, 7:45 p.m., Cocorrico Verde, San Pedro, reservations at 2224-9744; concert by French duo, 8 p.m., next to Rayuela, Cuesta de Moras, San José; Benedit dinner to support Haiti, 8 p.m., details at 2258-1160.

International Arts Festival
Spain National Ballet ( Spain ), dance, March 18-20, 8 p.m., Nacional Theater, Av. 2, Ca. 3/5. Info: 2221-5341. Performance by Rosella Matamoros (C.R.) and Inés Aubert, March 18, 6 p.m. and presentation of the film “November,” at 7 p.m., both at the Contemporary Art and Design Museum, CENAC.

Piano Concert
By Juan Pablo Andrade, Sara Feterman, Manuel Matarrita, Alonso Saavedra, Diego Suárez and David Ugalde, with mezzosoprano Stacy Chamblin and cellist Gerson Campo, March 18, 7 p.m., Room 107, Faculty of Music, UCR, San Pedro.

Story Telling Night
Performed by Cuentófagos Group, March 18, 7 p.m., Casa de la Cultura Popular José Figueres Ferrer, 300 m. north, 300 m. east of Santa Teresita Church, Barrio Escalante. Info: 2211-7876.

The ferry that runs between Puntarenas, on Costa Rica's central Pacific, and Paquera, on the Nicoya Peninsula, will be out of service for at least a week.

The closure was ordered on Wednesday after an access ramp on the Paquera side of the Gulf of Nicoya collapsed. The Public Works and Transport Ministry's (MOPT) maritime division is in charge of repairing the ramp.

Meanwhile, at least 4,000 daily ferry users will be affected and the company that runs the ferry, Naviera Tambor, expects to lose approximately $10,000 each day business is interrupted, according to the daily La Nación.

Those wishing to cross the Gulf of Nicoya may take an alternate ferry, operated by Coonatramar, that runs from Puntarenas to Playa Naranjo, about 25 kilometers via a gravel road from Paquera. The ferry will leave Puntarenas daily at 6:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The ferry from Naranjo will leave daily at 8 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Coonatramar said it could increase the frequency of ferry trips according to demand.

According to La Nación, the poor condition of the ramp had obligated a reduction in heavy traffic since early January and, beginning last Friday, only people, bicycles and motorcycles were allowed to pass on the ramp.

Three years after president Oscar Arias promised to neutralize Costa Rica's greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2021, his government appears to have failed in taking its climate change message to the majority of its nation's citizens.

A survey released on Wednesday by the Tropical Agronomy Research Center (CATIE) to gauge public consensus on climate change concluded that 71 percent of Costa Ricans say they need “a lot more information” about climate change in order to understand the issue.

The survey's 1,473 participants considered local governments to be the “least trustworthy sources” of information about climate change, alongside private companies and religious leaders. Scientists, news mediums and conservation groups proved to be the “most trustworthy” sources for such information, according to the respondents.

The survey found that 90.3 percent of those sampled believe climate change is occurring in the country, but the survey concluded that much confusion exists about what climate change is and what causes the phenomenon.

When asked which factors contribute to climate change, deforestation received the greatest response, with 81 percent saying it is a contributing factor.

And while deforestation does contribute to global temperature increases, the majority of scientists agree that the burning of fossil fuels is the greatest contributor to climate change. Only 44 percent of those surveyed recognized fossil fuels as a contributing factor.

Communicating the climate change message falls largely on the shoulders of Peace with Nature, an initiative which Arias founded in 2007, and which is developing the carbon neutrality program.

Pedro Leon, the initiative's director, said “it is clear that we need to educate the population so that they understand the issue, if we are going to accomplish (carbon neutrality).”

Of the 1,473 persons interviewed for the survey, 62 percent lived in urban areas and 38 percent in rural zones. Males accounted for 35.5 percent of respondents, while women made up 64.5 percent of the interviewees. The average age of those interviewed was 40.95 years.

Images of children toting mini-computers flashed across the screens at an event held at the Marriott Hotel in San José on Wednesday.

These students, who each had a ‘child-proof' laptop on the desk in front of them, and who faced teachers who operated digitalized blackboards and portable clipboard-like computer screens, seemed worlds away from the rest of Costa Rica, where many schools are struggling to provide students with up-to-date textbooks.

But Dell Inc., headquartered in the U.S. state of Texas, has begun digitalizing Costa Rica's classrooms, school by school.

According to Roberto René Picado, head of sales for Latin America, Dell's products are already in many public schools throughout the country, but the company is looking to expand further.

On Wednesday, 50 teachers from the country's private schools participated in the launching of “Connected Classroom”, an initiative meant to introduce schools to technological opportunities. The most ‘plugged-in' program features one-on-one education in classrooms full of 30 students, durable and IT-supported computer technology and real-time testing in lecture-style learning environments.

“This is an interactive and personalized educational model that not only changes the way students are taught, but also enriches the learning of students,” Picado said, as he walked reporters through the technology.

Stressing the importance of expanding students' access to technology, he added, “Our children, who are growing up in a digital era, have better access to technology and information than any preceding generation. Educators today should prepare this ‘connected generation' with the skills necessary to succeed in a digitally-changing world.”

Picado will continue to work over the coming months to introduce the technology – which include the Latitude XT2 personal computer for teachers, the Latitude 2100 computer for students and the PC XT2 Tablet – to the country's schools.

Life expectancy in Costa Rica remains among the highest in Latin America, as the National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC) reported this week that the average life span in the country is 79.3 years.

By averaging the ages of people who died within the country during the past year, INEC concluded that the national life expectancy for women is 81.8 years and the life expectancy for men is 76.8 years.

According to the United Nations World Population Prospects report, among Latin American countries, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile and Puerto Rico all have life expectancies of more than over 78 years of age.

INEC also announced that the country's infant mortality rate fell during 2009. For the year, an average of 8.84 infants out of every 1,000 died during their first year of life. In 2008, the infant mortality rate was calculated at 8.95 infant deaths per every 1,000 births. Of the estimated 75,000 children born in Costa Rica in 2009, 663 died before reaching their first birthdays.

Costa Rica has one the lowest infant mortality rates in Latin America. Cuba, Puerto Rico and Chile also have infant mortality rates measured at fewer than 9 for every 1,000 births. Many African nations have infant mortality rates of more than 100 deaths per 1,000 births. There, more than 72 percent of infant deaths occurred in the first 28 days of life and were considered neonatal deaths or deaths at the time of birth.

In Costa Rica, three provinces reported infant mortality rates above the national average. The infant mortality rate per 1,000 births for Puntarenas was calculated at 11.7, for Cartago at 10.71, and for Limón at 9.26.

According to a report conducted by the United Nations in 2009, increased numbers in infant deaths are usually found in areas of higher poverty. In October, INEC's housing survey revealed that the southern Brunca region had the highest incidence of poverty, with almost 31 percent of households in the region falling below the poverty line.

INEC also reported that deaths of mothers during childbirth dropped in 2009. For every 10,000 births, an average of 2.67 mothers died while in labor. In 2008, that figure was 3.33 maternal deaths for every 10,000 births.