[{"bbox": [97, 152, 1135, 341], "category": "Text", "text": "(EGDI) and 112 out of 193 in the E-Participation Index (EPI). This puts Guatemala behind El Salvador and Nicaragua, and slightly ahead of Honduras. According to the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, compiled by Transparency International, Guatemala ranks 154th out of 180 countries, with a score of 23 out of 100, indicating a high level of perceived corruption in the country. Additionally, the United Nations E-Government Survey places Guatemala 27th out of 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Globally, the World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Information Technology Report ranks Guatemala 107th out of 143 countries, highlighting significant opportunities for improvement in the field of information and communication technology (ICT)."}, {"bbox": [96, 364, 1135, 605], "category": "Text", "text": "**The digital divide persists in Guatemala across gender, geography, income, education and literacy, and ethnicity.** With mobile broadband being the main way Guatemalans access the internet, the top barriers to mobile internet use in Guatemala for both women and men are safety and security, literacy and skills, and affordability. In 2021, the greatest barrier to mobile internet adoption for urban Guatemalans was safety and security while the greatest barrier for Guatemalans living in rural areas was literacy and skills. Nine percent more women than men report that handset cost is a major reason they do not use the internet and four percent more women than men report information security as a key barrier. Women in Guatemala are 11 percent less likely to use mobile internet and 11 percent less likely to own a smartphone than men. These gaps widen when gender intersects with Indigeneity."}, {"bbox": [96, 630, 1135, 711], "category": "Text", "text": "At the same time, a gender-responsive approach to innovation, technology and digital education can increase women's and girls' awareness of their rights and civic engagement. Growing inequalities in digital literacy and access to technology are increasingly evident, with women being left behind as a result of this digital gender."}, {"bbox": [96, 735, 1135, 923], "category": "Text", "text": "**The Presidential Commission for Open and Electronic Government -GAE: Gobierno Abierto y Electrónico** is a temporary body established in 2012, which is tasked with leading the GoG's digital transformation. International organisations have provided technical assistance to enhance Guatemala's digital strategies in recent years. The GAE aims to support the Ministries and Agencies of the Executive Branch in implementing measures, commitments, and strategies derived from international instruments, as well as national policies and action plans, to contribute to the digital transformation of public management, ICT innovation, citizen participation, accountability, and transparency."}, {"bbox": [96, 947, 1135, 1108], "category": "Text", "text": "In 2021, the GAE formulated the National Digital Government Plan 2021-2026, updated in 2023. The plan aims to achieve 50 percent of services online by 2024 and 100 percent by 2026. However, progress is unclear since there is a lack of measurable outcomes. As part of fulfilling Commitment No. 2 of the 5th Open Government National Action Plan 2021-2023, the Presidential Commission for Open and Electronic Government updated the Digital Government Plan 2021-2026, which aimed to drive the digital transformation of the Guatemalan government."}, {"bbox": [96, 1132, 1135, 1347], "category": "Text", "text": "In 2021, Decree 05-2021, known as the \"Law for the Simplification of Administrative Requirements and Procedures,\" was approved. This law seeks to promote the modernization of the Guatemalan government by transferring direct responsibilities to the entities of the executive branch to digitize analog procedures, with the goal of facilitating and expediting administrative processes for citizens and improving the efficiency of the public administration. However, it lacks a centralized structure to manage and oversee these technological efforts. The aforementioned law, has a limited framework that leaves implementation criteria open within government systems. Currently, over a hundred systems and applications operate independently without integration or reuse of data collected from citizens across various executive branch dependencies."}, {"bbox": [96, 1372, 1135, 1480], "category": "Text", "text": "Furthermore, data exchange between institutions lacks organization, limited to isolated agreements that do not benefit all stakeholders interested in data reuse. Each dependency has made individual efforts to establish data exchange agreements, but it is essential to implement mechanisms that facilitate integration and communication among governmental entities."}, {"bbox": [96, 1504, 1135, 1639], "category": "Text", "text": "Up to now, efforts for digital transformation in Guatemala were dispersed among various state dependencies. This fragmentation is due to the absence of a governing body that coordinates a unified digital agenda for the government. As a result, coordination between institutions is slow, significantly delaying progress towards a more efficient and modern public administration, prompting the current government to seek a strategy to streamline efforts unidirectionally. This strategy is being formulated from the presidency throughout the entire executive"}, {"bbox": [1027, 1678, 1145, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 6 of 38"}]