HUNDREDS TURNED out to share in and discover the wealth of knowledge opened to the public at the first ever Regional Conference on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for National Development, held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston last week Wednesday to Friday.
Elizabeth Terry, conference Chair and ICTs Project Director at the HEART Trust/NTA said the conference was held because there was a realisation that there were a number of initiatives taking place in many spheres of social and economic activities in Jamaica that people didn't know about.
"Individually we understood or had seen some of them, but we weren't able to showcase all of these," She said the four tracks of the conference, Community Deve-lopment Bridging the Digital Divide; Education and Training - Developing the Sovereign Learner; Enablers and Catalysts - Providing a Facilitative Environment and Business Opportunities, were all aimed at giving everyone the opportunity to see what was happening in these areas.
Mrs. Terry added that the second goal of the conference was "to reach some kind of consensus on how best we can utilise information and information communication technologies to make the quantum leap forward that Jamaica needs to make, not only to be successful, but to survive in the global economy. We really felt that we are not yet tapping into either the potential of our people in terms of their creativity and talents, neither were we using all of the ICTs potential".
ICTs is defined as the storage, transmission and processing of data and the development of informational output in audio, visual or text formats and translating these for use in commercial, educational and social purposes.
She said that the Conference, which was convened by the HEART Trust/NTA and co-sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, Science and Technology sought to garner not only the initiatives in Jamaica, but to highlight initiatives that were in progress in the region and North America. To this end, presentations were made by resource persons and experts from Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Canada, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US).
"It is our hope at the end to arrive at some kind of action plan where we can speak to the initiatives that we need to now take in each of these four areas," the ICTs Project Director said.
Through the International Institute for Communication and Develo-pment, a communications platform, which was established prior to the event with a number of resource persons representing the four tracks, examined issues surrounding ICTs and the development of consensus among a wide cross-section of stakeholders on such policies and strategies to help Jamaica and the region on the whole.
Along with feedback from the conference, Mrs. Terry said, a draft plan of action would be developed, "because clearly two and a half day is not sufficient to come out with a crystal clear way forward document. But we want to at least point persons in a direction and to continue the collaboration because it is important that this resource team continue to share and to lobby for the necessary action to be taken".
She said there were discussions with persons at the grass root level, another avenue through which the ICTs news would be spread.
Mrs. Terry also pointed out that the action required was not just from government, but that it involved the private sector, teachers and communities, non-governmental organisations, adding that, "it is not a one way street, we need the partnership, we need the alliances".
Under the theme "Creating Opportunities for a Better Quality of Life For All", the conference looked at the modern ICTs as a major tool in widening access to learning and transforming prospects for the social and economic development of countries globally.
Presentations were guided and offered by over 100 resource persons from the Caribbean, Canada, the US and the UK, through interactive workshops. To ensure wide participation, some of the Plenary sessions of the conference were broadcasted on the Internet at www.ictjamaica.com.
Some of the many topics explored include Technology and Changing Business; The Early Childhood Experience, Practical Applications in Infant and Basic Schools; ICTs, Enabler or Threat; ICTs Business and Investment Opportunities; Adult Education Through Distance Teaching and Computer Aided Instruction and the Multi-Media Industry Close-Up.
Other areas discussed include a Study-Centred Approach to Teaching Literacy and Numeracy Through Technology; Utilizing Audio-Conferencing Technology; Protecting Intellectual Property on the Internet; The Way Forward for the Jamaican Farmer; Driving Community Economic Growth Through e-Marketing and e-Services; Media, Facilitating Community Develop-ment and Transforming the Education System for the 21st Century.
Included in the eighteen displays, which reflected the four sub-themes of the conference were, Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB), Jamaica National Building Society, WESCOM, Technology Innovation Centre, University of Technology (UTech), Cable and Wireless Jamaica, City of Kingston Co-op. Credit Union (COK), Agency ZED Productions Inc., Canada, Infoserv and Annamar Solutions.
