{"id":168470,"date":"2023-05-31T05:45:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T10:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=168470"},"modified":"2023-05-31T08:50:20","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T13:50:20","slug":"ictp-254-digital-inclusion-and-why-solving-it-is-beyond-telecoms-with-kwesi-prescod-and-yacine-khelladi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2023\/05\/ictp-254-digital-inclusion-and-why-solving-it-is-beyond-telecoms-with-kwesi-prescod-and-yacine-khelladi\/","title":{"rendered":"ICTP 254: Digital Inclusion, and why solving it is beyond telecoms, with Kwesi Prescod and Yacine Khelladi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>The recently published ECLAC digital inclusion study has been getting some attention across the Caribbean region, as countries continue to grapple with how to narrow the widening digital divide. With ECLAC digital inclusion study Consultant, Kwesi Prescod and international Economist and ICT4D Consultant, Yacine Khelladi, the findings of the ECLAC study are discussed. However, the conversation then veers to the role of the telecoms regulator <em>and the telcos<\/em><\/em> <em>in addressing digital inclusion, along with the impact of the human, social and economic challenges on digital inclusion and vice versa.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1526598487&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\" title=\"ICT Pulse Podcast\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICT Pulse Podcast<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\/ictp-254-digital-inclusion-and\" title=\"ICTP 254: Digital Inclusion, and why solving it is beyond telecoms, with Kwesi Prescod and Yacine Khelladi\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICTP 254: Digital Inclusion, and why solving it is beyond telecoms, with Kwesi Prescod and Yacine Khelladi<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This episode is also available on <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SoundCloud<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast\/id1373550291\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly9pY3QtcHVsc2UtcG9kY2FzdC5saWJzeW4uY29tL3Jzcw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Google Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/3d0U4ZYX80e5lenYLdzyX4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spotify<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/3f727ec1-de7d-416f-8bdc-31d9a911a09e\/ict-pulse-podcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Amazon Music<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast?refid=stpr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stitcher<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like financial inclusion, digital inclusion has been very topical in recent years, and there continues to be a growing concern about the widening divides across the Caribbean region. In late 2022, the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) published the <a href=\"https:\/\/repositorio.cepal.org\/bitstream\/handle\/11362\/48652\/1\/S2201174_en.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">results of a study<\/a> it had undertaken to investigate the extent to which the digital transformation frameworks and initiatives in Caribbean countries addressed digital inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To be fair, the findings, which were based on examining Caribbean 10 countries, were not surprising and echoed a longstanding observation and concern about limited data availability. However, the results were also an impetus to convene a recent meeting in collaboration with the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) to revisit ICT indicators and metrics Caribbean countries should be collecting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this podcast episode, digital inclusion and the ECLAC report are discussed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introducing our guests<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"168472\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2023\/05\/ictp-254-digital-inclusion-and-why-solving-it-is-beyond-telecoms-with-kwesi-prescod-and-yacine-khelladi\/kwesi-prescod-k-prescod\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Kwesi-Prescod-K-Prescod.jpeg?fit=640%2C640&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"640,640\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Kwesi Prescod (K Prescod)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Kwesi Prescod&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Kwesi-Prescod-K-Prescod.jpeg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Kwesi-Prescod-K-Prescod.jpeg?fit=640%2C640&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Kwesi-Prescod-K-Prescod.jpeg?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-168472\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Kwesi-Prescod-K-Prescod.jpeg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Kwesi-Prescod-K-Prescod.jpeg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Kwesi-Prescod-K-Prescod.jpeg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Kwesi-Prescod-K-Prescod.jpeg?resize=440%2C440&amp;ssl=1 440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kwesi Prescod<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kwesi-prescod-66356aa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Kwesi Prescod<\/a><\/strong> (BSc.Eng, MBA) has over twenty-five years of experience in ICT. Thanks to his extensive experience in the management, development and operations of 2G to 3.5G telecommunications networks on behalf of carriers and vendors alike, Kwesi has also contributed to the development of the ICT Policy in Trinidad and Tobago by playing a lead role in the regulatory reform necessary for telecoms sector liberalisation and e-commerce development. Additionally, he initiated the call to establish Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and the associated ecosystem, which are key to national and regional Internet development and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Experienced in many roles within the ICT administrative space, Kwesi has also led the policy function of the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT), and established medium-term strategies to address Caribbean Forum \u2014 European Union Economic Partnership Agreements compliance, Digital Terrestrial Television migration, and the reform of Universal Service, price regulation and competition management regimes. He has also provided support to regional and international agencies in the development of intra-regional ICT policy frameworks. More recently, Kwesi co-authored the UN ECLAC\u2019s study on <em>Digital Inclusion within the digital transformation initiatives in the Caribbean<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"132788\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2018\/06\/ictp-009-leading-effect-change-caribbeans-ict-space-yacine-khelladi-civic\/yacine-khelladi-world-wide-web-foundation\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Yacine-Khelladi-World-Wide-Web-Foundation.jpg?fit=515%2C501&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"515,501\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;11&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 5D Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1472493618&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00625&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Yacine Khelladi (World Wide Web Foundation)\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;https:\/\/webfoundation.org\/about\/executive-team\/&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Yacine Khelladi&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Yacine-Khelladi-World-Wide-Web-Foundation.jpg?fit=300%2C292&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Yacine-Khelladi-World-Wide-Web-Foundation.jpg?fit=515%2C501&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Yacine-Khelladi-World-Wide-Web-Foundation.jpg?resize=300%2C292&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-132788\" width=\"300\" height=\"292\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Yacine-Khelladi-World-Wide-Web-Foundation.jpg?w=515&amp;ssl=1 515w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Yacine-Khelladi-World-Wide-Web-Foundation.jpg?resize=300%2C292&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yacine Khelladi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kwesi-prescod-66356aa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Yacine Khelladi<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;is an International Consultant, and an Economist, who specialises in ICT, Social and Human Development, ICT National Policies and Strategies, Project Monitoring and Evaluation, to name just a few areas. He is also the moderator of the Caribbean ICT Stakeholders Virtual Community (CIVIC), an online platform for sharing information, ideas and projects on ICT and ICT-related developments in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yacine is also the Founder of Fundaci\u00f3n Taig\u00fcey, a non-governmental organisation that engages in grassroots community development, empowerment through the strategic use of ICTs, and knowledge networking. He has been based in the Dominican Republic for over 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;Insights into our conversation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To some degree, this conversation did not follow the typical path of discussions on digital inclusion, and accordingly, challenges some long-held beliefs and concepts on the subject and how it could be best addressed. To date, when considering strategies to address digital inclusion, the focus tends to be on telecoms, and specifically trying to encourage (or mandate!) the regulator and the telcos to do what is necessary to improve the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, with increased take-up of internet services across the Caribbean region being reported, there are still concerns that some segments of our societies remain digitally excluded, which suggests that infrastructure access \u2013 though not 100% in most countries \u2013 is not the only issue to be addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\">\n<li>Kwesi: Please give us some background and context for this study commissioned by ECLAC,&nbsp;<em>Digital inclusion in Caribbean digital transformation frameworks and initiatives<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Yacine: What have been your observations on digital inclusion in the Caribbean region?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kwesi: In the report, there was a discussion on the \u2018digital divides\u2019 and their relationship to digital inclusion. Why \u2018divides\u2019, and what does that mean for inclusion?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is the difference between access and being able to leverage the internet?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is the relationship between human and social issues and digital inclusion?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is the role of the telecoms regulator in addressing digital inclusion?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do we need a standalone ministry of ICT or an ICT division in every ministry?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><em>Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICTPulse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Facebook<\/a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ict-pulse-consulting-limited\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a>&nbsp;pages, or via Twitter,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ICTPulse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">@ICTPulse<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><em>Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode,&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>do get in touch<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><em>Let\u2019s make it happen!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Select links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode or otherwise, might be useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kwesi-prescod-66356aa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Kwesi Prescod<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/yacine67\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Yacine Khelladi<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cepal.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ECLAC report, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/repositorio.cepal.org\/bitstream\/handle\/11362\/48652\/1\/S2201174_en.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Digital inclusion in Caribbean digital transformation frameworks and initiatives<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago report, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/tatt.org.tt\/DesktopModules\/Bring2mind\/DMX\/API\/Entries\/Download?Command=Core_Download&amp;EntryId=1628&amp;PortalId=0&amp;TabId=222\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">National Digital Inclusion Survey 2021<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Images credit:&nbsp; K Prescod; World Wide Web Foundation;&nbsp; Discover Savsat (<a href=\"http:\/\/unsplash.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Unsplash<\/a>); <a href=\"https:\/\/flickr.com\/photos\/wwworks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">woodleywonderworks<\/a> (flickr); Lukas (<a href=\"http:\/\/pixabay.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Pixabay<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Ch\u00e9rie), by Andy Narrell<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Podcast editing support:&nbsp; Mayra Bonilla Lopez<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The recently published ECLAC digital inclusion study has been getting some attention across the Caribbean region, as countries continue to grapple with how to narrow the widening digital divide. With ECLAC digital inclusion study Consultant, Kwesi Prescod and international Economist and ICT4D Consultant, Yacine Khelladi, the findings of the ECLAC study are discussed. However, the conversation then veers to the role of the telecoms regulator and the telcos in addressing digital inclusion, along with the impact of the human, social and economic challenges on digital inclusion and vice versa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[355],"tags":[495,43,357,212,12,15],"class_list":["post-168470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-inclusion","tag-internet-governance","tag-interviews","tag-policy-2","tag-regulation","tag-trends","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Featured-Image-%E2%80%93-Digital-Inclusion.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-HPg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168470"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":168478,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168470\/revisions\/168478"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}