UNFIP

 

Digital Diaspora Network for the Caribbean

and

ICT Development in the CARICOM Countries

 

 

 

       “Information technology is not a magic formula that is going to solve all our problems. But it is a powerful force that can and must be harnessed to our global mission of peace and development.  This is a matter of both ethics and economics; over the long term, the new economy can only be productive and sustainable if it spreads worldwide and responds to the needs and demands of all people. I urge everyone in a position to make a difference to add his or her energies to this effort.”
       

       -Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations
        Kofi Annan’s IT Challenge to Silicon Valley, 5 November 2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discussion Paper

by Dr. L.A. Nurse for the

Meeting on Bridging the Digital Divide for the Caribbean

24 January 2003

 

United Nations

Digital Diaspora Network for the Caribbean  

Contents

 

Executive Summary

 

The Initiative............................................................................................. 4

Role of the Digital Diaspora Network....................................................... 4

The Mission............................................................................................... 5

Rationale................................................................................................... 5

The Process............................................................................................... 5

 

 

Caribbean Digital Diaspora  (UN  ICT  Task Force / UNDP / UNFIP Initiative)

The Diaspora............................................................................................. 6

Building the Network................................................................................ 6

Expected Results....................................................................................... 7

 

Caribbean Strategies

Strategic Objectives.................................................................................. 8

Application of ICTs................................................................................... 8

Expected Results.........................................................................................

 

Current Status of ICT in Caribbean

Overview.................................................................................................. 9

Teledensity and Access........................................................................... 10

Legal and Regulatory Framework............................................................ 11

 

Policy Framework for Action

Setting the Agenda.................................................................................. 12

Policy Forums......................................................................................... 13

Policy Summary....................................................................................... 14

 

ICT Issues and Challenges

Impact on Existing Activities.................................................................. 15

Potential for Development...................................................................... 15

Connectivity............................................................................................ 16

Skills Development................................................................................. 16

Content................................................................................................... 17

Resource Allocation................................................................................ 17

Bridging the Digital Divide..................................................................... 18

 

 

·        References............................................................................................... 20

 

 

·        Appendices..............................................................................

  

Table 1 Teledensity in Caribbean Countries......................................................... 21

Table 2 ICT Access – Internet Users and Number of PCs..................................... 21

           Table 3 Telephone and Internet Accounts in The Caribbean…………………………22            

 

Executive Summary

 

The Initiative

 

Convinced of the positive potential of ICT to accelerate economic growth and social development, the UN ICT Task Force, in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme and United Nations Fund for International Partnerships, is embarking on an initiative to contribute to the development process in the Caribbean. The initiative is known as the Digital Diaspora Network for the Caribbean (DDN-C). To achieve its objectives, the initiative seeks to use networking and partnering strategies to build and mobilize a competent community of interest and to identify resources to facilitate the development and implementation of Caribbean ICT – based projects.

 

It is proposed that a network should be established to mobilize the technological, entrepreneurial, and professional expertise of persons of Caribbean origin, now residing in North America (the Caribbean Diaspora), businesses with a Caribbean orientation, and Caribbean counterparts. While in this phase the focus is on the development of a North American / Caribbean network, it is recognized that it may be expanded in a later phase to include European and/or other countries with appropriate resource and networking capability.

 

 

The Role of the Digital Diaspora Network

 

A defining component in the development of the DDN-C is a conference scheduled for January 24th 2003 at the UN Headquarters in New York. This conference will review the current status of ICT development, the challenges which must be faced, the proposed DDN-C initiative, and the expected benefits. In addition the conference will identify mechanisms for strengthening and following-up on the initiative.

 

The Caribbean Digital Diaspora Network will be programmed to provide a rich source of ideas, skills and support and to act as a platform for the exchange of information and other resources to create and sustain digital opportunities in the Caribbean

 

It is recognized that there are other initiatives focusing on the Caribbean, each with its own particular objectives and methodology. However, it is also accepted that new synergies and potentials can be created within the proposed network. Furthermore, acting partly as a forum for motivating, facilitating and evaluating ICT development in the Caribbean, it could also stimulate further rationalization in the application of resources to the challenges facing the Caribbean and lead to a more integrated and effective ICT development process.


The Mission

 

The mission of the Caribbean Digital Diaspora initiative is to promote ICT development in the Caribbean (CARICOM Countries). The initiative will be launched via a conference on 24 January 2003, which will bring together ICT entrepreneurs and professionals with an interest in the Caribbean to explore the opportunities. This is also expected to lead to identification of necessary resources such as skills, finance and technical assistance that may be mobilized for ICT development purposes in the Caribbean. Further, an organizational framework could be established to promote and manage the resulting network of interest, to ensure continuity

 

The Rationale

 

It appears that many Caribbean oriented businesses along with entrepreneurs and professionals from the Caribbean but now residing in North America are willing to commit time and other resources in support of ICT development activities in the Caribbean. This represents an important resource, which properly empowered through networking, could assist in addressing the Caribbean challenges and responding to identified needs.

 

It is also known that Caribbean based ICT entrepreneurs and professionals, would welcome a beneficial integration into the network of increasingly knowledge - based North American business potential. Building a platform for cooperation between these two groups with a common interest in the Caribbean would therefore enable both to benefit from the digital development process taking place there.

 

The United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force (UN ICT) along with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP), Digital Partners Institute (Seattle USA) and Gruppo Cerfe (Italy) developed a similar initiative for the African continent. Launched on 12 July 2002, that initiative has already led to the development of  (a) Afrishare -an African database of ICT skills, (b) a social venture fund for Africa, and (c) the Digital Diaspora Network for Africa (DDN-A) - a steering committee to manage implementation of the process.

 

The Process

 

Caribbean Governments have also taken action at the national, regional (CARICOM) and the hemispheric (Summit of the Americas) levels in specifying strategies for ICT development in and between their countries.  These will therefore help to determine the policy framework within which developments will take place. In particular it should be noted that the CARICOM Secretariat has been charged with the responsibility of proposing a comprehensive Caribbean ICT strategy at the 14th Heads of Government Summit, scheduled for early in 2003. The DDN-C initiative is therefore expected to feed into the CARICOM process for determining the regional strategy.

 

In this respect, the conference organizers have received strong support from the Permanent Representatives of Caribbean Countries to the UN and from the CARICOM Secretariat. Throughout the planning period, the Permanent Representatives in New York served as an expanded forum in which the ideas and plans were discussed and developed. In addition they helped to identify appropriate participants for the conference and its likely follow up programme.

 

 

Digital Diaspora Network for the Caribbean

 

The Diaspora Concept

 

It is known that significant numbers of ICT professionals and entrepreneurs now living in North America originated from developing countries, including the Caribbean. There are two main explanations for this. The first has to do with the issue of economic opportunity and the second with professional development.

 

This outcome is a consequence of the fact that:

 

Partly due to their stage or circumstances of development, most developing countries have not recognized the full value of their own knowledge capability and rewarded it sufficiently. Therefore skills naturally flowed outwards to those countries where knowledge is viewed as an asset, and represents a greater value proposition for the professional.

 

In this context, much has been written about ‘the brain drain’, a paradoxical situation in which skills and knowledge are motivated to flow from the areas of origin and of greatest need to the areas of greatest abundance.

 

It has however been recognized that the highly skilled and professional migrants in particular consider themselves to be a community overseas notwithstanding their loyalties to their adopted countries.  This community expresses itself as an informal and unstructured network, but with a defining characteristic, which is, to support development in their home countries or region. This is sometimes referred to as a “Diaspora”.

 

In addition to the economic and professional choices of the individual, there are many corporations that are involved in ICT activities in the Caribbean and may wish to be part of the initiative. They could assist in identifying investment opportunities therefore contributing to job creation and foreign exchange earnings capability for the Caribbean countries. Indeed early investment wins could help countries to “leapfrog” the digital divide in attempting to harness and manage information and knowledge for development.

 

Building the Network

 

The UN ICT Task Force, along with UNDP and UNFIP consider that these forces, particularly those professionally and entrepreneurially associated with ICTs can be brought together into a Caribbean Digital Diaspora Network, to bring focus and solutions to some of the challenges of the Caribbean ICT development process. This Caribbean North American Diaspora Network will by definition consist of policy makers, managers, entrepreneurs, researchers and other ICT professionals representing a resource to be mobilized. It therefore allows for pooling of experience, leveraging of resources, and coordinated strategies.

 

This network will also include Caribbean based counterparts, who are keen to draw on the anticipated benefits in the interest of ICT development in the Caribbean region. This network will therefore be transnational in character and highly skills based.

 

Furthermore, by considering the appropriate policy context, the initiative can be directed towards the priority areas identified by the Caribbean countries themselves, generating a synergy with the international agendas now redefining the global development process.

 

Expected Results

 

The initiative will be discussed and elaborated at a meeting on Bridging The Digital Divide 24th January 2003 at the UN Headquarters. Modeled partly on a similar successful initiative for Africa, the Digital Diaspora Network for the Caribbean is expected to begin with four (4) main commitments.

 

  1. Network Structure

 

Agreement on a structure and platform for empowering the Digital Diaspora Network for the Caribbean to facilitate the collection and dissemination of information and to undertake mobilization of resources for ICT development in the Caribbean.

 

  1. Venture Fund & Resource

 

Identifying a corporate, international and professional resource base capable of providing financial, technical, skill and other support to ICT development initiatives in the Caribbean.

 

  1. Steering Team

 

The formation of a steering team, coordinated by the CARICOM Secretariat and/or the University of the West Indies is proposed.  It is envisaged that this steering team will oversee, monitor and evaluate follow-up activities, including any new initiatives implemented from time to time.

 

4.      Areas of Focus

 

Identification of thematic areas and programme directions on which the network should focus initially.

 

 

 

Caribbean Strategies

 

The proposed Caribbean Digital Diaspora Network is consistent with the strategies being outlined at the regional CARICOM level. In general ICT should not be considered to be an end in itself, but a catalyst for the achievement of specified national objectives and development of other sectors. It however requires special focus because of its cross sectoral and integrative capabilities and especially because national competitive advantage is now being redefined in the globalizing economy. Very high asset value is now attached to the concept and reality of the knowledge society, which is emerging as the driving force in development.

 

The ICT strategies for the Caribbean must therefore now necessarily be based on principles that derive partly from the agreed ICT policy frameworks and from the development agendas specified at the regional and national levels.

 

 

Strategic Objectives

 

The CARICOM Secretariat is developing the ICT strategy for the Caribbean. They have already identified the following strategic objectives.

 

 

The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat is also formulating an ICT policy and moving ahead with implementation at the country level.

 

Application of ICTs

 

To achieve the strategic objectives, implementation of the action plan will target the major sectors of the region’s economies, along with some cross-sectoral activities where important to achieving a broader national or regional goal. The application of ICT in the Caribbean will therefore be focused on the following areas.

 

 

·        ICT policy Framework

·        Infrastructure, Connectivity & Costs

·        Human Capacity development - Education

·        Health & Telemedicine

·        E- Business Environment

·        E-Government for Civil Society & Democratic Governance Economic Opportunities

·        Enabling Efficiency & Productivity in the Tourism sector

 

·        Resources for ICT development in the Caribbean

·        Developing agriculture with Information.

·         Outsourcing

·        Culture & recreation

·        Economic opportunities

·        Environmental Stability

 

·        International Business Services

·        Disaster Recovery

·        Manufacturing


Project Implementation

 

It is intended that project implementation should also be used as a learning process. This will require systematic documentation, which in turn could lead to more efficient processes in similar projects in the future, and the development of model sharing and of training materials for use at the national and regional levels. These may even be made available for sharing with other developing countries.

 

The normal project life cycle will therefore require that there is definition and analysis of the concept, documentation of the business case, specification of action plan and provision for on-going and periodic evaluation.

 

 

Current Status of ICT in the Caribbean

 

Overview

 

ICT activities in the Caribbean have been developing along a traditional continuum, focusing progressively on telecommunications infrastructure, computerization, development of informatics as an economic sector, and most recently on e-business facilitation. This process may be categorized as a sector enhancement approach. It is illustrated in figure 1.

 

Figure I

A typology of the ICT Development Continuum

In The CARICOM Countries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                            

T I M E  

 

 

However, the dawning of the new millennium and the emergence of a globalized economic system reflected in the WTO process, brings a new sense of urgency to define and leverage national competitive advantage for growth and development. Furthermore according to Drucker[1]

 

“Developing countries can no longer expect to base their development on their comparative labour advantage. The competitive advantage that now counts is the application of knowledge.”

 

This objective requires a new approach to setting development goals, as growth will now be conditioned, if not determined, by global positioning of the economy. ICT therefore becomes a powerful catalyst, for comprehensive cross sector strategies to stimulate and facilitate a “wider economic process, and enhance global positioning.”[2]

 

The sector enhancement approach outlined in Figure 1 has inevitably led to slow project-based, rather than process driven growth of ICT in the individual CARICOM countries. Because of this not only is the region as a whole lagging behind the leader countries e.g. USA, Canada, and Europe in ICT development, but also there is significant disparity in the levels of “e-readiness” between the CARICOM countries themselves.

 

Teledensity and Access

 

Teledensity is a measure of basic network capacity, which in turn is a major requirement for Internet access. It is defined as the number of telephone lines per 100 persons in the population. Best estimates by the ITU indicate that Teledensity is still rather low in the CARICOM countries averaging 27.7% compared to 65.51% in Canada and 66.45% in the USA. See Appendices – Table 1 for ITU estimates.

 

Network access is also critical. In the ICT context access requires three main components viz. basic telephone access, PC penetration and Internet access. All are necessary because the Internet currently relies on the telecommunications network for transmission and the PC still provides the main interface to the Internet.

 

(a)      Network Access

 

Network access can be measured through the statistics on ’household penetration.’ The available estimates relate to the wire-line service only, but it must be remembered that the growth of mobile service will eventually modify the significance of the term ‘household penetration’ It must nevertheless be noted that if populations do not have access to basic telephone service, which is an important communication technology, the scope for moving further up the continuum is severely restricted.

 

However, as the world moves towards the development of knowledge-societies and as global economic positioning becomes more directly defined by it, basic telephone access while still important will not be sufficient. Internet access will also become very critical.

 

(b)      Penetration of PC’s

 

On average there are only 9.14 PC’s per 100 persons in the CARICOM Countries, which while being above the average for The Americas as a whole, contrasts very unfavorably with estimates for the leading countries of 40.31 PC’s per 100 persons in the Canada and 62.50 in the USA.

 

 In general therefore, Internet access is still at an incipient stage in the Caribbean countries. (See Appendices - table 2)

 

(c)      Internet Access

 

Table 2 also provides the ITU estimates of the number of Internet users in the CARICOM countries. The contrast with the USA and Canada is similar to that observed for PC penetration. For instance whereas there are approximately 2,014 users in Canada and 5,015 in the USA for every 1,000 inhabitants, the average for the Caribbean is only507.96.

 

However it can be seen that there is not a linear relationship between PC penetration and the number of Internet users. There is a perception in the Caribbean that this is very much related to the cost of service provided by the ISPs, and to the extent to which the internet is used in business processes where there will be multiple users per service.

 

Legal and Regulatory Framework

 

It was observed earlier that ICT development in the CARICOM countries developed on a project-by-project sector- enhancement basis. It is therefore not surprising that enabling legislation and regulations are not comprehensive and therefore generally inadequate. Even in the nineties when all governments were targeting informatics development to become an important sector of activity in their economies, no specific ICT legislation was put in place. The emerging informatics sector had to piggyback on incentives and regulations that were already in place for manufacturing, merchandise trade and general-purpose international business corporations.

 

Where new regulations were actually put in place they were not outlined within the context of integrated national ICT plans.  However the most recent focus in the ICT sectoral enhancement continuum, e-commerce development, has seen the recent drafting and in some cases the proclamation, of e-commerce legislation. This came as a reaction to demands for a legal framework for e-commerce transactions, and even to facilitate some e-government functions. More recently, a few of the countries have also drafted some form of a computer misuse act.

 

Only Jamaica may be said to have developed and proclaimed a national ICT policy. Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago are understood to have drafts under consideration. The position of the other countries is unclear. However, it is questionable whether countries should try to pursue this path alone. Therefore it is now accepted that a more efficient and cost effective strategy would be to develop a regional approach. The countries have therefore put in place a CARICOM mechanism for determining a regional ICT policy.

 

The process has so far included the following:

 

  1. The 13th Heads of Government Meeting in Georgetown Guyana recognized the potential of ICT for enhancing and integrating Caribbean societies in education, health, poverty reduction, delivery of public information and governance. All these principles are enunciated in the CARICOM Charter of Civil Society.

 

  1. Accepted recommendations of the special meeting of CARICOM Ministers responsible for information, communication and or technology from their June 2000 meeting in Antigua & Barbuda. These recommendations related to a process for outlining policy, agenda and strategy for development of ICT in the CARICOM region.

 

  1. Mandated the CARICOM Secretariat to present the CARICOM ICT strategy for consideration at its 14th meeting scheduled for early 2003.

 

 

Policy Framework for the Caribbean

 

Setting the Agenda

 

Caribbean countries are party to a number of processes, protocols and agreements that will impact on the shaping of their regional and national ICT policies. Some of these forums set the social, political and economic agenda; others relate directly to regional, hemispheric and even global ICT processes. The following processes among others will therefore influence the policy framework:

 

 

Each of these processes will be driven by its own specific goals, and its own ‘raison d’etre’. There is however a point of convergence. That point is the resolve that ICT should be pursued not simply as an end in itself, but more importantly as a catalyst for human social and economic development, notwithstanding the fact that it is also an area of dynamic business activity.

 

This position emerges partly from the realization that the difference between developing and developed countries is not only reflected in, but is also being exacerbated by the dramatic shift from a global income divide to a global knowledge divide. The modern development process is therefore being driven more by the harnessing of knowledge, rather than by simply managing production. ICT, the enabling process, will therefore be required to play an increasingly more crucial role in the development of developing countries.

 

Policy Forums

 

As indicated earlier, the eventual ICT policy of the CARICOM countries will be greatly influenced by the agendas of the several forums to which the region is a party. Significantly, all of these recognize that ICT will play a defining role in the development process. ICT has therefore been a subject of special focus in the international, hemispheric, regional and national development policies and agendas which impact on the Caribbean.

 

(a) The Summit of the America’s process

 

 At its Montreal meeting the development agenda was prefaced with the following statement regarding connectivity.

“We, the democratically elected Heads of State and Government of the Americas, meeting in Quebec City[3], recognize that a technological revolution is unfolding and that our region is entering a new economy, one defined by a vastly enhanced capacity to access knowledge and to improve flows of information. We are convinced that the promotion of a Connectivity Agenda for the Americas will facilitate the beneficial integration of the hemisphere into an increasingly knowledge-based society. We share the goal of providing all citizens of the Americas with the opportunity to develop the tools to access and share knowledge that will allow them to fully seize opportunities to strengthen democracy, create prosperity and realize their human potential. Connectivity will open new opportunities to our society in all areas, for which equal access and appropriate training are necessary.”

A connectivity agenda was also outlined as follows:

1)      Individually and collectively move towards expanding access to global knowledge and full integration with the knowledge society

2)      Promote the modernization of the telecommunications sector

3)      Establish conditions taking into account national legal frameworks that promote and strengthen free and fair competition in telecommunications services

4)      Seek out innovative ways of facilitating access to and usage of computers and software in our learning environments

 

(b) The CARICOM Strategy

 In a communiqué following the most recent meeting[4] it was reaffirmed that the CARICOM Heads of Government:

“… Recognized the potential of information and communications technologies (ICTs) for enhancing and integrating our societies in areas such as education, health, poverty- reduction, delivery of public information and governance – objectives articulated in the CARICOM charter of civil Society. They also noted the potential (of ICTs) for transforming our economic landscape, growing the CSME and advancing the regional trade agenda, by increasing competitiveness in services and seizing opportunities offered by e-commerce. The heads are however not unmindful of increasing challenges the digital revolution has posed for smaller economies such as ours, underscoring the need for a regional approach.

The CARICOM Secretariat was mandated to present a CARICOM ICT strategy for ratification at the next meeting scheduled for early in the year 2003 and a commitment was made to 

“… further pursue meaningful participation in hemispheric and other policy-making fora on the global information society.” Special mention was made of:

 

    1. Full participation in the hemispheric ICT process under the OAS through the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL); as outlined at the Quebec meeting, detailed later in this report

 

    1. Participate fully in the global process working with the European Latin America& Caribbean alliance for information Society. (IEU-LAC)

 

    1. Cooperate with the UN task force for information society set up by Secretary -General Kofi Annan.

 

Policy Summary

 

It is therefore clear that development of a Caribbean ICT policy framework is in process. The outstanding features and overall principles may be summarized as:

 

·        Implementation Process requiring:

 

o        The support and participation of civil society i.e. The private sector, the public sector, NGOs and the general population.

o       A forum where the players can participate in formulating policies, defining priorities, strategies, and plans of action.

o        A high-level government entity empowered to coordinate the short, medium, and long-term.

 

·        A high level national executing agency to manage the planning, executing, and financing processes.  The process should involve the entities responsible for defining economic policy and budgetary allocation at the applicable central, regional and sub-regional levels. 

·        A long-term commitment extending at least ten years

 

 

 

ICT Issues and Challenges

 

Within the policy framework identified above, an ICT enabled development process in the Caribbean would need to address a variety of issues or major challenges ranging from its impact on existing activities to its potential for future development.

 

Impact on Existing Activities

 

 

Potential for Development

 

In addition to faster and more systematic deployment into existing activities, ICT also has the potential for facilitating the achievement of stated objectives in the new paradigm for social, economic and human development i.e. the drive to the knowledge based society. It can facilitate:

 

·        Restructuring of governmental and societal interaction patterns so that shared information becomes the foundation for action. This can be achieved when information is no longer circumscribed by, or confined to, privileged niches.

·        Stimulating social, economic and political empowerment, because each individual would potentially have access to the same information base, and become both a recipient and a generator of information, thus contributing to knowledge development. This in turn stimulates a demand and supply equation for information and ICT management.

·        Operating as a “force multiplier” through rapid and reliable dissemination of relevant information, products, and best practices. In this way additional new ideas will be propagated and new societal capabilities stimulated.

·        Bridging the divide between developing and developed countries and stimulating the competitive advantage of countries as they are drawn progressively into a globalized economy.

 

However, in striving to benefit from this potential offered by ICT, a number of critical issues must be addressed. The issues include:

 

  1. Connectivity
  2. Skills Development
  3. Content
  4. Resource allocation
  5. Bridging the digital divide

 

Connectivity

 

At the national level connectivity infrastructure must be treated as a critical factor in the development of access to ICT capability. This implies the need for investment in a national telecommunications infrastructure. The basic capability would be based on a high-speed broadband Digital Diaspora Network, providing adequate bandwidth, with access to the international information superhighway at affordable cost. Even with the current levels of connectivity, cost is considered a major problem and deterrent to speedier development of the ICT sector.

 

Apart from putting the connectivity infrastructure in place at the national level, individuals need to have access capability either on a personal or community basis. This may be facilitated through the governments and the private sector acting as propagators by bringing ICT into their standard and on-going business processes. This would naturally have both a demonstration and a motivational effect, in encouraging personal use. Access would then more rapidly be brought into individual homes, or at least into local centres for community use.

 

Skills Development

 

Next to providing connectivity and access, skills development must be made a critical component of the ICT strategy. This issue is most important in areas where basic literacy is low. Even in countries with high literacy, e-literacy will be a necessary objective of skills development. However, basic literacy and e-literacy need not be treated as separate processes.

 

For Example, pupils using laptops in the classroom, or a classroom with an interactive whiteboard connected to a computer and to the Internet, can simultaneously facilitate teacher and student input, intellectual stimulation, creativity, downloading of content from the internet, and distance learning. All of the major learning processes, especially the cognitive and affective, are therefore integrated and need only to be managed through good lesson plans. Smart Technologies website (www.smarttech.com) among others provides guidance for teachers on how to use this type of technology in the classroom.

 

If ICT can be incorporated into the education processes and classroom methodologies, especially at an early point in the educational cycle, a smooth and effective solution would have been achieved. The Edutech programme being implemented by the Ministry of Education in Barbados is an example of this approach.

 

A comprehensive ICT skills development strategy will not be confined to the classroom and will require development of both end-user and technical skills. The end-user skills would include basic keyboarding skills, net literacy, handling ICT, hosting information, retrieving information etc. The technical skills would revolve around the development, management and maintenance of hardware and software systems and of course networking and connectivity.

 

Content

 

The next important issue and challenge in developing a comprehensive ICT policy relates to content. Content must be understandable not only to highly trained professionals but also to the average citizen in the community. For example, a farmer in a rural community could also benefit directly from information about market prices for his products, best agricultural practices for the crops he produces, or the latest government assistance programmes for farmers without awaiting the uncertain visit of an extension officer. Therefore the way information is presented through ICTs will also be an important factor.

 

This will have implications for the development of content in a contextual framework, including where possible, in the local language or idiom. In addition, content need not be restricted to written-text format, as in many communities voice data or graphics may be the most effective communication tools. Moreover, the use of culturally relevant icons in the software and hybrid voice/text technologies would be a distinct advantage. These factors will in turn have a linkage effect to the skills training programmes and also present business and or career development opportunities for programmers and developers.

 

 

Resource Allocation

 

The deep linkages and interrelationships between ICT and all sectors of the economy have been established; consequently an effective ICT programme should be developed within a strategic planning framework. Governments therefore will need not only to spell out the vision, but also to break that vision down into manageable components with specific targets and time frames for each. This in turn would lead to rational resource allocation in a logical developmental framework.

 

Each country’s sustainable development needs should determine the national strategy in each case. Furthermore at the national level, Governments need to demonstrate the political will to incorporate more ICT into the operational and other aspects of governance (e-government), and to allocate appropriate resources for achieving this objective.

 

In addition to governments’ resource allocation strategy and deployment of ICT, the business sector, NGO’s and international organizations will be required to contribute resources. This in turn is likely to lead to new business opportunities to be explored by the private sector participants.

 

Bridging the Digital Divide

 

Another major issue, the digital divide, exists at two levels.  Firstly it can be observed within countries i.e. at the national level and secondly between countries, i.e. at the international level. The most dramatic manifestation of the digital divide, however, is at the international level between developed and developing countries. It is precisely because of this that international intermediary organizations, e.g. The UN agencies, World Bank, Inter American Development Bank, will be required to play a major role in helping to bridge that digital divide.

 

Fortunately, the issue of the digital divide is at the top of the international political and economic agenda. This is reflected in:

 

 

In addition to the policy positions, practical initiatives have also been created to address this issue. Some of these specifically target the Caribbean basin and/or the hemisphere. The Caribbean countries should actively seek to benefit directly from these.

 

 

References

 

 

  1. ICT for Development, Poverty Reduction, Disaster Recovery, and Initiatives to Enhance Human Development by Denis Gilhooly Senior Adviser to the Administrator, Director ICT for Development, UNDP.

 

  1. Digital Bridge to Africa:Tthe launch of the Digital Diaspora Network – Africa (DDN-A)  a final report on the meeting held under the auspices of the Un ICT Task Force  - Prepared by Digital Partners with consultant Jennifer Sly (UNICTTF 111/2002/14)

 

  1. Bridging The Digital Divide – A New Challenge for the African Diaspora in Europe presented at first meeting of the Digital Diaspora Network for Africa – Europe, Brussels, September 27th 2002 – CERFE

 

  1. Summit of the Americas, 2001. http://www.americascanada.org/eventsummit

 

  1. The Institute for Connectivity in the Americas  (ICA) http://www.icamericas.net

 

  1. UNDP - Sustainable Development Networking Programme (www.sdnp.undp.org)

 

  1. World Bank’s Global Development Network (www.gdnet.org)

 

  1. The Global Knowledge Partnership (www.globalknowledge.org).

 

  1. World Bank’s Global Information and Communication Technologies Department of the IFC. (GITC) (http://info.worldbank.org/ict/policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendices

 

Table 1

Teledensity in CARICOM Countries

(Wire-line Service)

 

Country

 

 

Population

 

Main lines per 100 persons

Fixed Lines

 Year - 2001

Antigua & Barbuda

64,362

47.35

37,300

Bahamas

 

40.03

123,300

Barbados

264,600

46.29[7]

123,800

Belize

222,820

14.44

35,200

Dominica

70,000

29.06

23,300

Grenada

98,600

32.75

32,800

Guyana

770,139

9.19

79,900

Haiti

 

0.97

 

Jamaica

2,515,500

19.73

562,827

Montserrat

4,000

 

 

St Vincent & Grenadines

111,214

21.96

24,900

St. Kitts / Nevis

43,530

56.88

21,900

St. Lucia

145,213

 

 

Suriname

408,401

17.58

 

Trinidad & Tobago

1,269,100

23.91

311,800

 

 

 

 

Caribbean Average

 

27.70

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Table 2

ICT Access – Internet Users & Number of PC’s[8]

Year 2001

 

 

Country

Internet Users Per 10,000 inhabitants

Number of PC’s per 100 Inhabitants

Antigua & Barbuda

652.03

NA

Bahamas

549.45

NA

Barbados

553.99

9.23

Belize

737.70

13.52

Dominica

777.37

7.50

Grenada

520.00

13.00

Guyana

1,091.95

2.64

Haiti

36.38

NA

Jamaica

384.91

5.0

Montserrat

 

NA

St. Kitts / Nevis

516

17.45

St Vincent & Grenadines

308

11.61

St. Lucia

 

NA

Suriname

330

4.55

Trinidad & Tobago

923.08

6.92

 

 

 

Caribbean Average

507.96

9.14

 

 

 

Canada

2,014.15

40.31

USA

5,014.91

62.50

 

 

 

Table 3

 

Telephone & Internet Accounts

In CARICOM Countries - Household Penetration

 

 

Country

Fixed

Lines

2001

 

 

Number

Of ISP’s

Number of Internet

Subscribers

Antigua & Barbuda

37,300

2

 

Bahamas

123,300

 

 

Barbados

123,800

6

27,600

Belize

35,200

1

6,000

Dominica

23,300

2

3,500

Grenada

32,800

1

3,200

Guyana

79,900

5

3,000

Jamaica

562,827

40

70,000

Montserrat

 

1

N.A

St Vincent & Grenadines

24,900

1

2,700

St. Kitts / Nevis

21,900

2

3,200

St. Lucia

 

1

4.500

Suriname

 

3

5,800

Trinidad & Tobago

311,800

6

60,000

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Drucker (1994)

[2] See ICT for Development, Poverty Reduction, Disaster Recovery and Initiatives to enhance Human Development by Denis Gilhooly Senior Adviser to the Administrator, Director, ICT for Development UNDP – presented at the Jamaica Conference 29 May 2002.

[3] The 2001 Summit of the Americas held in Quebec, Canada 2001

[4] The 23rd meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government held in Georgetown, Guyana July 2002. At this meeting a document was presented by the Secretariat outlining strategy for development of a CARICOM ICT policy.

[5] The 2003 conference is presently proposed for December 2003, in Geneva, and expected to be at the level of Heads of State and Government. The process leading up to the summit will include four regional preparatory conferences. The regional preparatory conference for the Caribbean is scheduled for the end of January 2003 in the Dominican Republic.

[6] CITEL has already started working with the CARICOM Secretariat on devising a regional connectivity strategy. 

[7] This figure is for the year 2000.

[8] As Estimated by the ITU – see http://.itu.int/itu-d/ict/statistics