Comments on: Fundamental questions on the Caribbean Internet Governance Policy Framework https://ict-pulse.com/2013/08/fundamental-questions-caribbean-internet-governance-policy-framework/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fundamental-questions-caribbean-internet-governance-policy-framework&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fundamental-questions-caribbean-internet-governance-policy-framework Discussing ICT, telecommunications and technology Issues from a Caribbean perspective Sat, 10 Aug 2013 19:26:24 +0000 hourly 1 By: Kevon Swift https://ict-pulse.com/2013/08/fundamental-questions-caribbean-internet-governance-policy-framework/#comment-150410 Sat, 10 Aug 2013 19:26:24 +0000 http://www.ict-pulse.com/?p=28443#comment-150410 Michele, you have given a great overview of how the CIGPF is supposed to fit into the wider regional ICT agenda. I intend to go through version 2.0 but judging from your commentary, you have touched on some of the critical challenges to our cohesive ICT development, which have nothing to do with technology or its potential. I am glad you mentioned the EU’s integration mechanism and the concept of transposition where there is a mandatory domestication of directives coming out of the European Council and Parliament. The ITU-EC’s recent project in the region, HIPCAR, used the terminology “transposition” loosely, which no one has seemed to question at all, even now where at the end of Phase 2 of the project there has been a hodge-podge of partial implementations across the region but nothing really meeting the objective of harmonisation (harmonisation wouldn’t have been solely met by the project in any case). While CARICOM Heads may be reticent to approach supranationality of the European kind, the technical and policy officers in the ICT sector seem to be either unaware or unconcerned with how we achieve integration in ICT. At least for some, RDDS and CIGPF simply helps us discover new policy areas.

The Single ICT Space will need to be predicated on a single CARICOM citizen identity and tackle some of those other non-technical issues we often by-pass in the ICT sector, including labour and mobility (think regional travel options and you’ll see exactly what I am alluding to!). A saving grace for all of this to happen is drumming up discussion and spreading information through blogs like ICT Pulse. I suspect other folks following these discussions through the blogs are all ICT sector types as well. Maybe we should all try to engage our trade and foreign affairs counterparts, and civil society, to try and tackle the elephants in the room that are set on becoming permanent fixtures. New age problems need new age solutions.

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