ICT Pulse – The leading technology blog in the Caribbean

Jamaica’s Path to Universal Legal Identity in the Digital Age
2024-04-17 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Jamaica)
On Wednesday April 17th 2024 the SlashRoots Foundation will be hosting the second forum in our Digital Democracy Series titled ‘Jamaica’s Path to Universal Legal Identity in the Digital Age’.
The GOJ is in the process of finalizing NIDS regulations in preparation to launch an expanded pilot as it moves towards national rollout. Eventually, the national ID will be opened up to actors across the Jamaican landscape for general use and integration within digital services.
In the session titled ‘Jamaica’s Path to Universal Legal Identity in the Digital Age’, we’ll reflect on the underlying problems Jamaica seeks to address with NIDS, discuss some of the difficult trade-offs that can emerge during the rollout of digital IDs, and ask how we might achieve universal access to trusted legal identification in Jamaica.
You are invited to join us as we explore issues of implementation, adoption, citizenship, privacy, and governance with local and international experts.

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UN’s International Girls in ICT Day Webinar
2024-04-25
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LACNIC 41
2024-05-06 - 2024-05-10
LACNIC 41, one of the most important Internet events in the region, will take place at Panamá City, Panamá at the Megapolis Convention Center, from May 6 to 10.
Among other activities, the agenda will include technical tutorials, presentations by experts, and the Public Policy Forum.
The standards of behavior defined in the LACNIC Community Code of Conduct will apply to this event. Click here to read the Code of Conduct.

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8th Caribbean ICT Regulators Forum
2024-05-13 | Half Moon Resort, Rose Hall, Montego Bay, St James, Jamaica
Venue: Half Moon Hotel, Jamaica
Through the kind support of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) will be hosting the 8th Caribbean ICT Regulators Forum on May 13th, 2024, at the prestigious Half Moon Hotel in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
This 8th Caribbean ICT Regulators Forum, inter alia, will examine a consultant’s report to advance planning for a harmonised ICT regulatory framework in support of the CARICOM Single ICT Space in addition to addressing other significant current developments and upcoming events. It also holds special significance as it will be held at the same venue and immediately preceding the inaugural Caribbean Spectrum Management Conference on May 14th-15th 2024, and the Spectrum Management Task Force Meeting on May 16th 2024. These latter two events are being hosted by Jamaica’s Spectrum Management Authority and the conference is being organized in collaboration with Forum Global.
The CTU’s Regulators Forum serves as a vital platform for telecommunications/ICT regulators across the Caribbean region to convene, share insights, and collaborate on key issues shaping the telecommunications landscape. This 8th forum promises to be both informative and engaging, providing participants with opportunities for dialogue, knowledge exchange, consensus building and networking.

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IPv6 for Decision Makers: More Connected People, Smarter Systems, and More Secure Internet
2024-05-16 09:00 - 10:00
🚀 Join us for our 3rd CANTO Conversations of 2024! 🌐

🔍 Topic: “IPv6 for Decision Makers: More Connected People, Smarter Systems, and More Secure Internet”
🎤 Speaker: Mr. Oscar Robles-Garay – CEO, LACNIC
🗓️ Date: Thursday, May 16th, 2024
🕙 Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (AST)

As the CEO of LACNIC since 2015, Oscar leads an international non-government organization that assigns and administrates Internet numbering resources for the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.
With more than 25 years of professional experience in the Internet industry, he co-founded and served as a board member of several organizations related to the Internet governance, domain name system, IP address management, registry services, and Internet self-regulation, such as LACTLD, LACNIC and .LAT.

#CANTOConversations #LACNIC #IPv6 🚀

REGISTER HERE!

2nd Small Island Developing States Internet Governance Forum
2024-05-28 - 2024-05-29
Venue: Antigua and Barbuda
Side Event: 2nd Small Island Developing States Internet Governance Forum
Date |Time : 29 May 2024 | 14:00 – 15:30
Venue: Room 11
Introduction
The 2nd Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is proposed to be a significant Special Event during the SIDS4 conference in Antigua and Barbuda. Building upon the foundational work of the inaugural SIDS IGF in 2022, this forum aims to further enhance the dialogue and cooperation among SIDS in the realm of Internet Governance (IG), Internet Policy, and the Digital Economy. By aligning with the current theme of the SIDS 4 conference, this event seeks to leverage the collective experiences and challenges of SIDS, to foster a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable digital future for all.
Background
The first SIDS IGF established a vital platform for SIDS across the Caribbean, Pacific, and the Africa, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, and South China Sea (AIMS) regions to engage in the global discourse on Internet Governance without the necessity of formal membership in entities such as the Dynamic Coalition on Small Island Developing States in the Internet Economy (DC-SIDS). This forum highlighted the unique challenges and opportunities facing SIDS in the digital economy, fostering a global recognition of the need for inclusive dialogue and collaborative problem-solving. It set the stage for ongoing cooperation and identified initial governance, procedural, and operational mechanisms to address critical issues effectively.
Meeting Objectives

Maintain this globally visible, reputable, recognised platform and ongoing process where SIDS can be involved, collaborate, cooperate, share experiences and have their voices heard re: issues arising from and impacts on their countries by IG, Internet Policy and the Digital Economy without necessarily having to “join” an entity (e.g. the DC-SIDS)
Highlight and seek solutions for the critical issues affecting SIDS efforts towards a resilient prosperity.
Consider and Identify appropriate initial governance, procedural and operational mechanisms to effectively address and achieved resilient prosperity
Ensure that all stakeholders, including marginalised and remote communities, are included in the dialogue on Internet governance and digital economy, promoting equitable and inclusive growth.

ITU Regional workshop for the Caribbean on promoting and measuring universal and meaningful connectivity
2024-06-11 - 2024-06-13
Date: 11-13 June 2024
Venue: British Colonial Hotel, Nassau, Bahamas
Working language: English

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With financial support from the European Commission, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is organising a series of regional workshops. These workshops will convene policymakers and statisticians to deliberate on metrics for gauging progress towards universal and meaningful connectivity (UMC), analyze the persistent socio-economic and geographical divides, and harness data effectively to refine, monitor, and assess digital policies.

The regional workshop for the Caribbean will be held from 11 to 13 June 2024 in Nassau, Bahamas, and will provide an occasion to examine the concept of UMC and how to streamline it in national digital policies, how to improve the statistical capacity of countries in the region to produce and disseminate relevant statistical data, and how to use the data to identify good practices and policy recommendations. This workshop is organized in collaboration with the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority of Bahamas.

This workshop is intended for policymakers in charge of national policies and strategies for digital connectivity, and executives and experts responsible for the measurement of telecom/ICT development from ministries, national statistics offices (NSOs), regulators, telecom operators, research institutions, and other relevant organizations from the Caribbean.

The workshop will cover the following topics:

Embracing universal and meaningful connectivity: The new policy imperative (day 1)
Data-driven decision making: Enhancing statistician-policymaker collaboration (day 2)
Tracking UMC: Strategies for overcoming measurement challenges (day 3)

Participants from national statistical offices and other institutions that collect data on ICT are encouraged to complete two free, self-paced courses available through the ITU Academy: “Measuring digital development: ICT access and use by households and individuals” and “Measuring digital development: Telecommunication / ICT indicators” prior to the workshop.

Fellowships

There is no participation fee for this workshop. To encourage participation of developing countries and subject to availability of funds, one full or two partial fellowships may be granted per eligible Member State in the Caribbean. Full fellowships will cover the air ticket (one return economy class ticket by the most direct/economical route from the country of origin to the meeting venue), and appropriate daily subsistence allowance intended to cover accommodation, meals and incidental expenses. Partial fellowships will cover either the travel or the subsistence allowance. Member States shall cover the remainder of the cost of participation.

To apply for fellowships, participants must first register for the workshop and complete the two mandatory ITU Academy training courses. Then, they should complete the online fellowship form by 5 May 2024 at the very latest. Successful fellowship applicants will receive further guidance on preparing a short contribution.

In line with Plenipotentiary Resolution 213 (Dubai, 2018), it is encouraged that fellowship nominations take into consideration gender balance and inclusion of persons with disabilities and with specific needs.

Fellowships

About UMC

Depriving vast swaths of humanity from the possibilities offered by the Internet is costly, deepens inequalities and undermines development. Over the past 30 years, the number of Internet users surged from a few million to 5.4 billion. Yet the potential of the Internet for social and economic good remains untapped: one-third of humanity is offline, and many users only enjoy basic connectivity. Multiple digital divides persist across and within countries, between men and women, between youth and older persons, between cities and rural areas, between those who enjoy a fibre connection and those who struggle on a spotty 3G connection.

Achieving universal and meaningful digital connectivity —the possibility for everyone to enjoy a safe, satisfying, enriching, productive and affordable online experience— is key for enabling digital transformation and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.

Documents
Invitation letter
Draft agenda

CANTO's 39th Annual Conference & Trade Exhibition
2024-07-07 - 2024-07-10
WELCOME TO CANTO 2024

Towards A Sustainable Digital Economy!

CANTO’s 39th Annual Conference & Trade Exhibition, Get Involved, Engage and Influence the Region’s Digitalization Framework
Be a part of the conversation at CANTO 2024, where we explore strategies for telecommunications providers to leverage the opportunities in global digitization and sustainability trends. Join us for insightful discussions with industry thought leaders on this crucial topic. Reserve your spot at the event today!

REGISTER

Forecast Conference 2024
2024-08-14 - 2024-08-16 | University of Technology, 237 Old Hope Road , Kingston 6, Jamaica
Under the 2020 Memorandum of Understanding signed by the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Jamaica) and the University of the West Indies (UWI), the institutions “agreed to mutually cooperate to host the Frontiers of Research in Caribbean Science and Technology (FORECAST) Conference to strengthen scientific research in Jamaica and the region.” Executed jointly by the faculties with responsibility for Science and Technology, the FORECAST Conference is convened biennially and offers multiple spaces for learning, discussion, training, and presentations to foster new research and development opportunities.
The inaugural FORECAST Conference 2022 was successfully implemented virtually from August 10-12, 2022. The UWI assumed the lead role for the 2022 undertaking and as agreed, the University of Technology, Jamaica serves as host of FORECAST 2024. The University of Guyana and University of Trinidad and Tobago will partner with UTech, Jamaica, and the UWI for the 2024 iteration of the FORECAST Conference to be held on August 14-16, 2024 at UTech, Jamaica’s Papine Campus.

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Caribbean Youth Internet Governance Forum
2024-08-21
August 21, 2024
Venue: Pegasus Hotel, Guyana
The Caribbean Youth Internet Governance Forum (CYIGF) is a regional, multi-stakeholder event, spawned by the CTU’s CIGF, designed by youth, for youth. As the third ever of its kind, CYIGF 3 sets out to bridge gaps in youth representation and participation in regional internet governance initiatives and fora. It will give youth the opportunity to make their voices heard and inspire them to embed themselves within the internet governance community, becoming the changemakers of tomorrow. CYIGF 3 will feature presentations and panels on internet governance, digital inclusion and artificial intelligence from a youth perspective, from a variety of speakers, each with different backgrounds. CYIGF 3 happens at the same time as the 20th CIGF, for which all participants, youth and otherwise, are invited to attend.
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE

Date
Event

Wednesday 21st August
09:00 – 10:00
Welcome and Introduction

Wednesday 21st August
10:00 – 12:00
Capacity Building Session

Wednesday 21st August
13:00 – 17:00
3rd Caribbean Youth Internet Governance Forum

Wednesday 21st August
13:00 – 17:00
RECEPTION

Thursday 22nd August
09:00 – 10:00
Opening Ceremony

Thursday 22nd August
10:00 – 12:00
CIGF 20 (Reviewing CIGF Vision and Mission

Thursday 22nd August
13:00 – 15:00
National, Regional & Global IG Contexts

Thursday 22nd August
15:00 – 17:00
Panel Discussions

Thursday 22nd August
09:00 – 17:00
CTU/ARIN/LACNIC/ICANN POLICY FORUM

Friday 23rd August
09:00 – 10:00
Workshop Session

Friday 23rd August
10:00 – 12:00
Report & Synthesis from workshop session and Open Forum

Friday 23rd August
13:00 – 17:00
COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM

More info

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CTU’s 4th International ICT Forecast and Preparatory Meeting
2024-09-27 13:00 - 15:00
Pending…

CTU ICT Week 2024 – St Kitts and Nevis
2024-09-30 - 2024-10-05
