Developing the human capital is a crucial element for countries to better leverage ICT. In this our June 2019 Community Chat and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Claire Craig and Clifford Browne, the panel discusses ICT for job creation and economic development in the Caribbean region, and helping girls navigate the digital landscape and fostering greater ICT participation.
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As we have all heard by now, it is widely held that in today’s world, ICT is a crucial driver of economic and social development. To that end, countries worldwide have been trying to determine how best to develop their enabling environment upon which to leverage ICT. In addition to having the requisite infrastructure and ubiquitous access to the technology and to services, developing the human capital is a critical component that must be addressed.
In this our June 2019 Community Chat, we focus on that human element, through the following two topics, which were submitted for discussion by our guest panellists:
Clifford Browne
Our first topic, ICT as a strategy to reduce unemployment in the Caribbean and for economic development, was proposed by Clifford Browne, who is the Co-Founder of the Caribbean Coding Academy, located in Grenada. The Academy seeks to prepare Caribbean youths, along with those who are young at heart, for jobs for the new digital economy of the Caribbean, with a particular focus on coding, artificial intelligence and robotics.
In introducing this topic, which is not new, and which to a considerable degree, countries worldwide are still grappling with it, Clifford expresses the view that he thinks many countries, especially those in the Caribbean, are approaching education in (and for) the digital age the wrong way. He also makes some interesting assertions with regard to coding, and where it is positioned in the innovation value chain.
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Claire Craig
Thereafter, Claire Craig, who was on our May Community Chat, leads us through a discussion on What can we do to help girls navigate the expanding digital landscape and encourage greater participation in ICT? Claire is the Enterprise Applications Support Manager, at St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), in Trinidad and Tobago. She is also one of the coordinators of the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG).
As one of the few ICT/tech specialists at UWI who is female, Claire is keenly aware of the activities that have been implemented to increase awareness and to encourage greater ICT participation by women and girls. However, she is of the view that those efforts are not enough, which is the basis for us to have another conversation on the issue.
We would love to hear your thoughts!
Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse
Select links
Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:
- Claire Craig
- Clifford Browne
- Caribbean Coding Academy
- University of the West Indies (St Augustine)
- Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG)
- Caribbean Girls Hack
- ICT Pulse Podcast episode, ICTP 055: Ensuring the meaningful inclusion of girls and women in ICT
- Robert T. Kiyosaki book, Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
Image credits: alles (Pixabay); C Browne; C Craig
Music credit: Ray Holman
