Grenada hosting third CARCIP innovation workshop

Grenada will be the venue for the third in a series of workshops rolling out across the Caribbean aimed at harnessing the power of Caribbean innovation as an engine of technology enabled development and enterprise.

Part of a broader World Bank-funded initiative called CARCIP, the Caribbean Communications Infrastructure Programme, which is co-ordinated by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), the workshops will take place in Grenada on March 24 and 25.

A release from the organiser said that building on the foundation of upgraded critical Internet and telecommunications infrastructure, CARCIP aims to clear the path for local innovators and entrepreneurs to develop world-class, locally driven, technology enabled services that address the needs of Grenada and the wider Caribbean.

“The thrust by CTU to accelerate Caribbean entrepreneurship through technology-driven innovation builds on the work of their Caribbean ICT Roadshow, which has been held 21 times in 18 Caribbean countries,” said the release.

“The CTU has been the regional pioneer for initiatives designed to build awareness of ICTs and to promote innovative, beneficial use of the technologies in Caribbean countries for fostering national and Caribbean development,” said Bernadette Lewis, Secretary General of the CTU.

The underlying philosophy of the CTU’s engagement with the region through CARCIP, Lewis said, is that the very same conditions that present severe challenges for the region are also creating unique opportunities.

In the case of Grenada, the CARCIP workshop is an opportunity to deepen the Government’s ongoing thrust to develop the country’s ICT sector. “We are extremely proud to be the next host of the CTU’s CARCIP Innovation Workshops, and we look forward to discovering new ways to apply technology to everyday challenges,” said Jacinta Joseph, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communication, Works, Public Utilities, Physical Development and ICT, Grenada.

CARCIP is a partnership between the World Bank and the Governments of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia and Grenada, alongside regional organisations such as the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) and the Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network (CKLN), all under the co-ordination of the CTU.

The Grenada workshop is the third in the ongoing series. Among the workshop presenters are Dr. Farid Youssef, Faculty of Medical Sciences, the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine; and Norman Gibson, expert in rural development and environmental management in the Caribbean.