NEWS

Organized by Red de Innovación Local (RIL) and BID Lab as part of the GovTech Connect Regional Program, CONECTA IA brought together public leaders, experts, entrepreneurs, and organizations from across Latin America to exchange experiences and reflect on how to harness the potential of artificial intelligence in public management.

The event convened representatives from the 58 cities participating in the initiative, including mayors, local government leaders, and public sector teams from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay. Among the participating delegations, the presence of nine Chilean mayors stood out, alongside Sebastián Figueroa, Undersecretary for Regional and Administrative Development at Chile’s Ministry of the Interior and Public Security.

Beyond local governments, CONECTA IA brought together a broad innovation ecosystem. Nearly half of the participants represented startups and technology organizations from across the region, creating a space for dialogue between those developing innovative solutions and those facing the day-to-day challenges of public management.

“These gatherings are essential because they allow local governments to learn from one another. When a mayor sees that an initiative has already been implemented and delivered results, it stops being just an idea and becomes a real possibility for their own city,” said Natalie González, GovTech Connect Coordinator at RIL.

The event opened with remarks from Delfina Irazusta, Global Director of Red de Innovación Local (RIL), and Javier Madariaga, Senior Specialist and Project Lead at BID Lab, who presented the vision behind GovTech Connect and its regional implementation. Throughout the day, discussions focused on the strategic use of artificial intelligence in local governments, the automation and improvement of public services, institutional capacity building, public procurement for innovation, the development of technology pilots, governance, and the construction of public trust.

To deepen these discussions, the forum featured internationally recognized experts including Mariana Mazzucato, Sandra Sinde Cantorna, Idoia Ortiz de Artiñano Goñi, and Fernando Vargas, who shared experiences, lessons learned, and real-world implementation cases from different international contexts.

Throughout the event, participants and speakers agreed that the challenge for local governments is not simply adopting new technological tools, but also developing capabilities, strengthening leadership, and creating the conditions necessary for artificial intelligence to help solve concrete problems and improve people’s quality of life.

CONECTA IA sought to establish itself as a space for learning, collaboration, and collective action among governments, the private sector, international organizations, and the entrepreneurial ecosystem, fostering a regional conversation on how to advance the responsible and effective adoption of artificial intelligence in cities.