In our February 2024 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Media and Business Strategist, Nerissa Golden, of Goldenmedia LLC, and ICT Consultant and head of PromoTIC in Haiti, Gregory Domond, the panel discusses: Governments and their use of influencers and content marketing as part of their communications strategy; telecommunications networks and infrastructure resilience assessments and the lessons Caribbean countries can learn from the recently concluded assessment exercise in Haiti; and regulating digital media, can it be done without undermining citizens’ rights?

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music!!

Welcome to our February 2024 Community Chat episode on the ICT Pulse Podcast!  In typical fashion, we discuss three seemingly disparate ICT-related topics, and almost unfailingly, common themes or threads emerge during the conversation.

In an increasingly interconnected world, the way that governments and their citizens engage with information has been changing. The emphasis has shifted from glossy well-packaged content to seemingly more authentic and direct or straightforward interactions on social media. At the same time, with more people having a smartphone and access to the internet, the barriers to widespread dissemination of content that traditionally had been the remit of media houses and the press have been severely eroded. Now, virtually anyone can be a content creator, which although powerful and transformative also means that many of the conventional controls are not as effective.

At the same time, underpinning our increasing reliance on and use of technology is being able to access the requisite services as and when needed. Hence the robustness and resiliency of the telecommunications and ICT infrastructure is a regular topic of conversation across the Caribbean region, as many users are dissatisfied with the quality of the services they are receiving.

 

Introducing our guests

Nerissa Golden

Nerissa Golden is a Media and Business Strategist who helps her clients tell their stories. An Amazon bestselling multi-genre author, Nerissa believes that everyone’s unique journey is the foundation on which a legacy can be built. Her books include Start, Grow, Thrive: Build a Business to Last and Ordained for This: Living Fulfilled, at Peace, Provided for and on Purpose.

Nerissa is the CEO of Goldenmedia LLC, an insight-driven Public Relations, Event Promotion, and Content Marketing Agency, based in Montserrat, West Indies and the United States. They also manage digital lifestyle, education and news brands including Discover Montserrat, Truly Caribbean, and Emerald Vibes TV.

A journalist since the age of 17, Nerissa finds stories in every conversation and works to spread narratives that position Caribbean people in the best and brightest lights. She is a business strategy and visibility coach to high-performance women ready to elevate their brands without compromising values and authenticity.

Nerissa currently is the Deputy Chair of the Micro and Small Business Committee for the Government of Montserrat, a member of the board of the Montserrat Association of Persons with Disabilities and a strong supporter of the Pink Ribbon Charity Montserrat. You can find her teaching and coaching Caribbeanpreneurs at NAji – her eLearning Community.

Gregory Domond

Gregory Domond leads the firm, PromoTIC, which is dedicated to promoting ICT in Haiti. He is an ITU expert in rural connectivity and resilience assessment for networks and infrastructure of telecommunications, and currently is a Vice-Rapporteur within the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) study group framework.

Gregory has held senior positions at the telecommunication regulator, CONATEL, and in industry in Haiti. He has taught telecommunications since 2004 and has been Director of the Department of Electronic Engineering at INUKA University since 2016. He also served as a consultant at CONATEL for 12 years.

Gregory holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering and a Master’s in Telecommunications from the University of Coventry, England. He did research in telemedicine at Tokai University, Japan. He completed telecommunications training in the United States of America. He is the author of more than 200 articles on ICTs and several books.

 

The topics discussed

With as many as 60% of the world’s governments having political elections this year, the role of the media – in all of its forms – is more critical than it has been before to share information and facilitate debate and engagement. However, although many governments are using social media, arguably, it is limited to promotion, such as to highlight an achievement. Little use is being made of influencers and using the platforms for engagement. Hence, our first topic was, Governments, influencers and content marketing.

Continuing with a theme we started during our January Community Chat on resilience and in having Gregory back on the show, we decided to revisit the issue: Telecommunications networks and infrastructure resilience assessments. When Gregory was first on the Podcast in 2021, it was days after Haiti experienced an earthquake on 14 August that measured 7.2 on the Ritcher Scale and soon thereafter, on 16 August, Tropical Depression Grace also hit the country. In the wake of those disasters, he was contracted by the ITU to conduct a resilience assessment of the telecommunications networks and infrastructure in Haiti. Although the report should soon be made publicly available, he shared some of the findings, which other countries, particularly in the region, may find useful.

Finally, based on news headlines in Belize reporting that the Government is working on laws to regulate digital media. The recent impetus for the effort is the circulation of digital content involving a well-known individual in society in a potentially criminal matter, and the concern that the court of public opinion has already affected the chances the individual will be able to have a fair trial if the matter ends up in court. We thus thought it fitting to have a conversation on Regulating digital media, as often that form of regulation can be at odds with citizens’ rights.

 

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.

Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode, do get in touch.

Let’s make it happen!

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Images credit: N Golden;  G Dormond; Fathromi Ramdlon (Pixabay);  rawpixel (Freepik); Michal Jarmoluk (Pixabay)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez