CARICOM CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICERS DEFINED AS PACESETTERS

Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Directors of Information of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have been heralded by CARICOM's Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite as specialised agents in informing the Region on government policies, plans, roles and positions.

In her address to CIOs at their third meeting on 12 October in Barbados, Ambassador Applewhaite deemed the functions of CARICOM information directors as "indispensable," and she pointed to their roles in shaping the opinions and steering the course of the Region's private sector and the wider society.

The CARICOM Official told the CIOs, "the Community depends on the information you have at your disposal to decide upon their own actions, entitlements and directions, " and "for information on government policy on legal and regulatory matters."

In alluding to the nexus between information and communication technologies and new directions for the Community, the CARICOM Deputy Secretary General expressed hope that the CIOs will form a "virtual community" in order to take full advantage of the advanced technology within their reach.

Ambassador Applewhaite lauded the initiative of the CARICOM Ministers responsible for ICTs to have the CIOs meeting coincide with their meeting also being held in Barbados this week, and she urged the Region's Information directors to have more regular interface.

The CARICOM Deputy Secretary General also extended sympathy, support and solidarity to Member-States that suffered loss of life and damage caused by recent hurricanes.