Communications Ministry celebrates World Telecommunication Day
Government Information Service - Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 at 4:00 PM
Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Works Arlene Smith-Thompson
Below is a message from the Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communications and Works Arlene Smith-Thompson on the occasion of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, Tuesday, May 17, 2011
I am pleased to address you on behalf of the Minister for Communications and Works Julian Fraser, as we join other global stakeholders in the celebration of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.
According to the International Telecommunication Union, the purpose of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the internet and other information and communication technologies (or ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.
I am sure you will all agree that the advent of ICT and the digital revolution in recent years has impacted almost every aspect of our daily existence in this knowledge-based information age. ICT is also shaping the future of our young people.
This is a fact that our own Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) recognises and has chosen to highlight this year through the use of the adapted theme – ‘Molding your Future through Technology’.
You may have noticed that the airwaves have been ‘buzzing’ lately with the TRC’s educational campaign that has specifically targeted fourth and fifth formers of all private and public secondary schools in the Territory.
These expositions were deliberately designed to spark their interest levels particularly in careers within the
telecommunications area.
This is just one of the public relations activities with which the TRC is engaged as part of the overall global awareness initiative, as well as its operational mandate, to expose local users to the many benefits of connectivity through ICT use.
Three weeks from now, on June 6, the TRC will announce the winners of their Telecom Expo Essay Competition where lucky students from each of the Territory’s High Schools will receive an engraved plaque and iPad.
The overall winner will then go on to the International Telecommunication Union’s conference in Geneva, Switzerland in October this year.
The Minister for Communications and Works fully endorses the efforts by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to recognize and celebrate World Telecommunication and Information Society Day in the Virgin Islands and applauds the work of this statutory body in doing so.
The Secretary General for the International Telecommunication Union, Hamadoun Touré has urged us to celebrate this special day by focusing on connecting people around the world and harnessing the full potential of ICTs so that we can all enjoy a more productive, peaceful and better life.
In considering the Secretary General’s call to action, it can be said that while many of us may not experience problems of access to internet and other information and communications technologies, opportunities still exist for greater partnerships between the public and private sectors as well as civil society in order to improve the availability
of such resources to less privileged individuals.
Indeed it will certainly augur well for us as a people in these Virgin Islands if we are able to capitalize on the many benefits that could be realized from such strategic relationships.
Let us therefore resolve to do our part on this World Telecommunication and Information Society Day to ‘Mold the Future through Technology’ especially for our younger generation.
Thank you.
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